1992 Club Pro Set

1992 Club Pro Set (and some 1993)

Updated On: September 13, 2016


Description:  In order to elevate childrens' interest in science, space, travel and zoology, 9-card cellophane packs were produced by Club Pro Set picturing and discussing various topics, including places, people, animals, sports, etc.  These cards were then used as rewards for scholastic excellence or for accomplishing a particular goal.  Students would get to choose one set from a catalog or pick from packs already on-hand.  In total, 27 different sets are confirmed to exist and are on the Master List further below.  This number does not include their supplementary counterparts.  You may copy/paste it to cross off whichever variations you find... and hopefully report back!

Additional Information:  The sets were comprised of 9 cards each.  The reasoning behind limiting the sets to 9 cards was simple (and used in their other products printed during this time): They would display nicely in the collector pages and binders specifically made for them.

The Cards:  On the front, each has the Club Pro Set logo towards the bottom left with a colored bar protruding horizontally to the right stating the set name and card title.  All the cards use 'full-bleed' photos.  In other words, the pictures are printed borderless like a photograph.  On the back, they are numbered 1 through 9 and share the same copyright information, "1992 Club Pro Set."  The supplementary sets are numbered 10-18, 19-27, etc.  These may be found in yellow or orange and 1992 or 1993 as their copyright year, but NOT necessarily respectively!

Variations:  In the initial printing year, 1992, all cards were printed with a yellow back.  Then, in 1993, the back color was changed to orange.  But not all the cards made the transition correctly.  At least 6 sets can be found with orange backs and the 1992 Club Pro Set copyright (Green in List).  To simplify matters, I have included the sets produced in 1992 below, as well as their supplementary sets, which may or may not have the same copyright and/or back color.

Retail packs with grade level explanation on packaging

New Discoveries:  I have just recently confirmed the existence of 4 more sets with orange backs and 1992 copyrights!  And 1 more with an orange back and 1993 copyright.  The shading of their corresponding boxes has been removed so we may keep a closer eye out for them!  They have also been bolded and italicized on the list for you to find.
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Cat. No
Category
# of Cards
Y
O
Y
O
Y
O
1
911 Emergency
9
9
9
9
2
Basketball
9
9
9
9
3
Bears
9
9
9
9
4
Cat Nips 1-9
9
9
E
9
9
E
9
5
Cat Nips 10-18
9
9
9
E
6
Cats of the Wild 1-9 (Promo Too)
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
7
Cats of the Wild 10-18
9
9
9
9
8
Columbus & Explorers
9
9
9
9
9
Cool Creatures
9
9
9
9
10
Creepy Creatures 1-9
9
9
9
9
E
9
11
Creepy Creatures 10-18
9
9
9
9
12
Creepy Creatures 19-27
9
9
9
9
13
Daring Dogs 1-9
9
9
9
E
9
14
Daring Dogs 10-18
9
9
9
9
15
Energy
9
9
9
9
16
Football Practice
9
9
9
9
17
Halloween
9
9
9
E
18
Heirs to the Animal Kingdom 1-9
9
9
9
9
19
Heirs to the Animal Kingdom 10-18
9
E
9
9
20
Horse Power 1-9
9
9
9
9
E
9
4
21
Horse Power 10-18
9
9
9
9
22
Native Americans
9
9
9
9
23
Natural Disasters
9
9
9
9
9
24
Operation Airborne
9
9
9
9
25
Save the Animals 1-9 (Promo Too)
9
9
E
9
9
26
Save the Animals 10-18
9
9
9
9
27
Science & Electricity 1-9
9
9
9
9
28
Science & Electricity 10-18
9
9
9
9
E
29
Science & Electricity 19-27
9
9
9
9
30
Shark Sense 1-9
9
9
9
9
31
Shark Sense 10-18
9
9
9
9
32
Sign Languages
9
9
9
9
33
Thanksgiving
9
9
9
9
34
These United States 1-9 (Promo Too)
9
9
E
E
9
35
These United States 10-18
9
9
9
9
36
Weather
9
9
9
9
37
What Am I
9
9
9
9
38
What's Cooking
9
9
9
9
39
Whirlybirds
9
9
9
9
* Binder also Produced to Hold Set
351
279
99
270
90
261
85
Note:  All the sets with a number listed are confirmed to exist and are in my possession.  The ones with an 'E' listed are confirmed to exist by another collector.  Those which lack a number have not been confirmed, but should exist.  The greyed out boxes do NOT exist. 
Green = 1992 Copyright with Orange Back
Burnt Red = Sealed Pack


*Horsepower card #11 in ALL the sets (GY, SY, & BY) have an orange back with a black “1992 Pro Set Inc.” copyright.  The rest of the cards in those sets have yellow backs and a "1992 Club Pro Set" copyright

Furthermore:  I believe the sets printed in both years should have all the variations.  Look at Creepy Creatures 1-9. The silver orange set is confirmed as 1993.  The gold orange is 1992.  This also occurs with Cats of the Wild 1-9.  I might have to add other rows to distinguish between 1992 and 1993 copyrights of the same orange backed sets (like in the Smithsonian Institution list).  Only time will tell as to whether this theory will hold up.

Printing Upside-Down and Right-Side-Up:  When you view a collectible card displayed in a binder sheet, the printing on the back (if printed as landscape) should be oriented towards the outer part of the binder.  You can then rotate the binder counter-clockwise and have the card close to you to read the printing.  All the prototypes are printed this way!  Well, all the rest of the cards are printed Upside-Down!  This change also affected the fronts.  If the picture on the front is printed landscape,  the orientation (in order to line up the back card numbers) displays them backwards.  You would have to turn the binder counter-clockwise to see it properly and the card would be far away from you.  This cannot be a coincidence.  Someone had a reason to do this.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to find out why.  I do have a theory, though.  Please see the Club Pro Set Timeline page to read more.

ToDo: Post picture depicting the front and back of the cards.

Note: Club Pro Set was a different entity from Pro Set Inc., according to information found when I did a trademark search.  It seems it was a subsidiary of Shelf, Inc.  But the address listed is the same as Pro Set Inc..  The correspondent is someone who worked at a law firm in Dallas, Texas (see Club Pro Set Timeline).  Most probably Pro Set's law firm.  If you have any new information, please post or email me.  A big thank you to another collector, Dan, for his help with the blog!  In just a few minutes, he confirmed 5 more sets, some with copyright variations!!

3 comments:

  1. I've got 2 sets of air and space and a set of robots you don't have listed

    ReplyDelete
  2. Are they worth any value?

    ReplyDelete