This is NOT a baseball card: The Hardest Button To Button

If there's one thing I like finding, it's random souvenir items. Cards with sound, figurines, actual game used items (not cards); even a frieze has found its way into my collection. One category of collectibles I don't have much of is buttons. I find that odd, because there have been so many buttons released over the years. Players, teams, stadiums, and events all end up stuck to a piece of metal wrapped around a safety pin. I have a couple team pins that came from fan packs, and a few late-80s player pins in a box somewhere. Wait a minute, I think I have a picture of some of them...

Jose Canseco: 1990 MLBPA Baseball Buttons

Dwight Gooden: most likely also 1990 MLBPA

Kevin Mitchell: stadium giveaway

It's kind of odd how the fonts change between the Canseco and Gooden. Also, there's no MLBPA logo on the Gooden but there is a logo on the Canseco.

I think you've just seen at least half of my collection of player buttons. But back to this one:

Steve Garvey looks pretty happy here. The text at the bottom reads: Sports Photo Assoc., Hawthorne, N.J. (c) 1978. The buttons were sold as late as 1981 (see this post about distribution methods). The above image is my scan, but I had to steal this one:

If you follow the link, you'll understand.

I have a feeling SPA sold their photos to Fleer, and must have been looking to distribute buttons for a few years. What better way to sell off a bunch of buttons than making a package deal with the company that wanted your photos?