Many Will Enter, Few Will Win

A very long time ago I saw a comedian who found it funny to give people lotto tickets as gifts. Because the chance of winning was so remote, he quipped that the gesture was akin to giving someone “nothing.”

From 2003 through 2008, the Chicago Cubs held promotional dates in which prizes were given to a select few fans at several ballgames, typically no more than 100-500 of each. Although the chances of winning the prizes—autographed baseballs, jerseys, gloves, bats, and other sweet items—were slim, the Cubs did offer a bit of a consolation prize, at least for baseball card collectors, which was certainly better than nothing.

In 2003, the Cubs promotional schedule included 11 dates in which the giveaway was an official Rawlings baseball autographed by one of several players, such as Sammy Sosa, Ernie Banks, Billy Williams or Corey Patterson. The giveaway, however, was limited to 500 and given only to winners of a scratch-off game. All fans were given a game card, which was essentially a cool, though oddly sized, card for the player whose prize was being awarded that day. These cards measure 2” x 4” and are all set in a horizontal format.

On June 5, 2003, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays faced the Cubs at Wrigley Field for the rubber match of the three-game series. Paid attendance for the game was 28,713 and the Cubs were giving away 500 baseballs autographed by Ryne Sandberg that afternoon. Fans were given cards that featured a photo of Ryno superimposed on a sun swept Wrigley day; to the right was a shimmering golden scratch-off circle. The back of the card listed Sandberg’s career statistics and the sweepstakes’ entry rules. By my math, the chance of winning that day one was roughly 1.7%, without accounting for unused tickets and others who may have taken advantage of the “no purchase necessary” entry method, and assuming the game cards were distributed to all who attended. Not surprisingly, I was not a winner.

The Cubs ramped up the promotion in 2004, issuing a total of 21 cards and offering both autographed baseballs and Mitchell & Ness Cooperstown Authentic Collection jerseys of players such as Andy Pafko (1945), Ernie Banks (1958), Bill Buckner (1978) and Greg Maddux (2002). On September 29, the Cubs lost the Reds in twelve innings. I did not win a baseball autographed by Ron Santo.

In 2005, the Cubs issued the largest set yet, ballooning to 27 cards and peppering the giveaways with Wilson A2000 gloves, signed photos and Mitchell & Ness jerseys for Cubs legends Hack Wilson (1930), Gabby Hartnett (1938) and Bruce Sutter (1979).

The Cubs scaled back slightly in 2006 with 25 cards, but continued to offer fantastic prizes, which included catcher’s mitts signed by Michael Barrett, official bases signed by Ernie Banks and Ron Santo, and a helmet signed by Aramis Ramirez. They also offered jerseys of Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente. (Unfortunately, it appears as though the game cards for these non-Cub legends may have featured only a photo of the jersey, not the person.) Some of the game cards in 2006 went full postcard size at 4” x 6.” On May 27 the Braves beat the Cubs 2-1. I did not win a Derrick Lee autographed baseball.

The Cubs cut the giveaway promotion by over half in 2007, issuing only 12 cards and scaling back the prizes. They also did not bother providing any statistics on the flipside. On June 29 the Cubs beat the Brewers but, not shockingly, I did not leave with a photo signed by Alfonso Soriano.

The last hurrah for the promotion was in 2008, when the Cubs held just five giveaway dates. Perhaps the Cubs learned that giving away prizes to so few was not a great way to attract fans. Or maybe the players were simply fed up with having to sign so many things.

Through the years, it was not uncommon to see the losing cards folded on the ground or tossed in the garbage bins. Although there were presumably 30,000 to 35,000 of each of these cards manufactured, the number that survive at this point is appreciably thin, especially in good condition.

Overall, the Cubs issued 101 player cards, including one for the 1908 Cubs infield featuring the famous trio of Frank Chance, Johnny Evers and Joe Tinker, along with oft-forgotten third baseman Harry Steinfeldt. By my count, Derrick Lee and Ron Santo appeared on the most cards with eight. The winning cards were hole punched and returned to the winner with the prize. Accordingly, there are at least two versions (winner/loser) for each card, if you are into variations!

Completing the entire six-year run of these cards would be a daunting task. The cards are not numbered, apart from the serial number on the face of the card, and there is no hobby consensus as to what to call them. Some sellers label these card as a stadium giveaway (“SGA”), which is appropriate—though not fully accurate—in that these were not the giveaway, just a means to randomly distribute the giveaway. It does not appear that these cards are terribly plentiful—either scanned or for sale.

A full checklist can be found here, showing the date of each card giveaway and the prize offered. A second list shows the number of cards for each individual.

Cubs SGA Cards Checklist

Anyone have these cards in their collections? Ever win a prize? Did other teams do a similar promotion?

Sources:
retrosheet.org
Chicago Cubs magnet schedules 2003-2008

Author: John Racanelli

John is a Chicago lawyer with an insatiable interest in baseball-related litigation. When not rooting for his beloved Cubs (or working), he is probably reading a baseball book or blog, planning his next baseball trip, or enjoying downtime with his wife and family. He is probably the world’s foremost photographer of triple peanuts found at ballgames and likes to think he has one of the most complete collections of vintage handheld electronic baseball games known to exist. John is a member of the Emil Rothe (Chicago) SABR Chapter and Co-Chair of the SABR Baseball Landmarks Research Committee. View all posts by John Racanelli