Has anyone ever figured out where these cards actually went to? Did they go to packs, complete sets, dealer exclusives, promotional items, retail team sets?
I only ask this because I just bought a collection from a man who was a regional manager for Friendly's in the late 80's/early 90's. I have heard "East Coast distribution" in the same breath as the Thomas No Name many times, but never and concrete examples. There are plenty of claims/stories on the internet about the origin but they will remain theories until they are proven.
Friendlies operates exclusively on the east coast, fitting into the lore.
So in this large, mostly oddball collection. I found a box of about 50 unmarked sealed packs. I opened 3 packs so far, as seen in the scan. The cards are absolutely MINT. Each pack contains 3 of the same player and a Friendly's promo contest flyer with an August expiration date.
A "collect X number of coupons" based promotion usually goes for a few months and the cards had to be made prior to the packaging. This leads me to believe the cards were produced early in the year.
Did I find what could be "IT" or am I getting excited for nothing here? Someone with some some verifiable knowledge please chime in.
