Sunkist Wacky Players, part 2

Back last May, we covered the first series of Sunkist Wacky Players trading cards. These cards were included as bonuses in the Wacky Players fruit snacks boxes, and featured character drawings by MAD Magazine artists Mort Drucker and Jack Davis. Mort Drucker's caricatures have been one of the mainstays of MAD over the years. Davis is a cartoonist whose work has shown up in a number of places: MAD Magazine, advertising, and he was the guy who created the bug that screams "RAID??!" in the Raid commercials.

This second series of Football Wacky Players was accompanied by a commercial done by the Will Vinton Studios (the California Raisins guys). A brief summation of the work behind one of the commercials, as well as some screenshots, is available here.

This series also included fruit snack pieces in the shape of half of a coach's whistle. The idea was that you could glom these together and be able to use the candy as a real whistle. I remember that these pieces were aquamarine and never, ever worked as a whistle.

The following artwork was done by Jack Davis. We believe that there were nine cards in this series. Date on cards is 1990 (possibly released in 1991).



Piled-on Pete

Ht.: Varies
Wgt.: Varies
Born: Friday the 13, 1960
College: University of Hard Knocks
Acquired: Out-Patient Draft '87

Piled-on Pete has seen better days... He is always found holding on to the ball at the bottom of a big tackle - when he is found... Once had so many players on him that he wasn't found until the artificial turf was replaced... Life insurance policy has been cancelled.





Bullet Ben

Ht.: 4'8"
Wgt.: 107 lbs
Born: Cape Canaveral, Fla.
College: Air Force
Acquired: Traded as a result of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty

Bullet Ben can't be stopped... Using every bit of his flight school training, he rockets off above the crowd and out of the stadium on each touchdown play... Has captured the power of jet engine design and stealth technology for his aerodynamic helmet... Once ran an end-around play and ended up in South America.



Hollywood

Ht.: 6'5"
Wgt.: 215 lbs
Born: Where else?
College: Long Beach
Acquired: Auditioned, Screen Tested, and Drafted through extensive negotiations

As Quarterback, Hollywood has set new football career records... most movie offers, most scripts turned down, most electric razor commercials, etc... Once pulled off a mind boggling TD pass in the last 3 seconds of a playoff game while smiling at a cameraman and signing an autograph.




Sky-high Sly

Ht.: 9'3"
Wgt.: 165 lbs
Born: Denver, Colo.
College: Empire State
Acquired: 1st Round Draft '88

Sky High Sly is a premier cornerback who can intercept any pass thrown... A superior athlete with particularly long arms and jumping ability... Once intercepted a long bomb at the line of scrimmage, intended for 40 yds. downfield... Also an effective punt/field-goal blocker, once blocked a field-goal while at home in bed with the flu.




Coach

Ht.: Yep
Wgt.: Yep
Born: Yep
College: Yep
Player Experience: Yep

Coach is one of the best strategy men in the game... Known for his very complex plays - like the Double Trouble Slot Right End Pass Flea Flicker Stand Up Get Down Spin Around Draw Play - that lasted the entire quarter... Paces up and down the sideline wearing out turf... Never speaks during the game and communicates only in sign language... Players usually make up the plays in the huddle because they don't know what he is trying to say.