1990 Fleer Soaring Stars

Some of the first insert cards that grabbed my attention were the 1990 Fleer Soaring Stars. I never got the Robin Ventura card, but I did get stars like Scott Coolbaugh and Todd Zeile. Sure they don't sound great now, but back in 1990, they were hot stuff.

Todd Zeile was white hot back then. Now he's more known for being on a bunch of teams and switching positions a lot. Scott Coolbaugh is now known for more for his brother Mike's tragic death. Back in 1990, Scott was the next coming of Ron Cey. That sounded a lot better 17 years ago too.

The initial attraction was the green. Green has been my favorite color since I saw Luke Skywalker's light saber in Return Of The Jedi. That left quite an impression on a young kid sitting in a movie theater in 1983. The card doesn't just have a green border, it's bathed in it. The Soaring Stars lettering and the star backed in a shooting rainbow color reminds me of those CBS Special intros that I'd see at the beginning of Garfield's Halloween Adventure or A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. So sue me. I liked the animation on the ghosts on the island and loved the idea of the dinner of popcorn, jelly beans and toast.

These cards look like some lost relic from the late 70's or early 80's. The design is so kitsch. You can see this card from a mile away. Sometimes that's a good thing. The only White Sox card is #4 Robin Ventura.

This set always stood out when I was a kid. My goals were even loftier when I was younger. I wanted to collect one of every card. So I tried to complete sets. A 12 card set is easy to complete at first glance. But when something seems too easy, it's usually hard. I only got the Zeile and Coolbaugh cards. I've seen the Ventura card on eBay occasionally, but never could bring myself to pay over $2.00 before shipping. One day I'll get that card, then on to the next project.