09 November 2022

Hobby Archaelogy: 1994 Ingles Atlanta Braves stickers

 A fairly recent posting on eBay, followed by a question over at the Trading Card Database has turned up yet another previously undocumented set including Roberto Kelly.  This time, they are Atlanta Braves stickers from the Ingles chain of grocery stories in the Southeast.

Here is the full page advertiement posted in the 15 July 1994 Asheville Citizen-Times, from Asheville, North Carolina:

Braves Posters & Sticker CardsBraves Posters & Sticker Cards 15 Jul 1994, Fri Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina) Newspapers.com

Over the course of 6 weeks, from July 15th to August 26th, you could purchase the week's strip of 3 Braves stickers for 99 cents, along with a special poster to stick them to, also for 99 cents.  The reverse of each strip included a coupon for something in the store, an entry form for a contest to win a VIP package at a Braves game or limited edition (only 174!) Braves lithograph, and the complete rules of the contest.  


The checklist is as follows:

Week 1 - Tom Glavine / Ryan Klesko / Kent Mercker

Week 2 - Fred McGriff / Jeff Blauser / Bill Pecota

Week 3 - Steve Avery / Mark Wohlers / Javier Lopez

Week 4 - Mark Lemke / Greg Maddux / Tony Tarasco

Week 5 - John Smoltz / David Justice / Mike Stanton

Week 6 - Roberto Kelly / Terry Pendleton / Greg McMichael

The individual stickers are unnumbered.

I'm really surprised they haven't crossed my radar before. During the brief research I did on these, I found Ingles ads for these in the major newspapers in Atlanta; Anderson, South Carolina; Greenville, South Carolina; Asheville, North Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee.  So these were definitely out there, yet they were missed by both Beckett and the Standard Catalog.

The checklist has been added, both as singles and panels, at TCDB:

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewSet.cfm/sid/337498/1994-Ingles-Atlanta-Braves-Stickers