This is a good one. Lyons Maid is an brand of ice cream that started in 1925 and was retired in 1998, only to be revived a decade later. During their heyday in the 70’s they used to have all kinds of collectable cards and wrappers, including the Junior Champs Supercards seen here. These are easy to find for sale at anywhere from about $10-$70 for this particular card, or $20 for the complete set of 10 differnt cards, so go figure. The interesting thing is that almost every listing dates these to 1983, which seems unlikely given the content of Tony Alva’s card, and the inclusion of Pele in the set (retired in 1977) as well as some other athletes who were also at their peak around 1976-77. One possible explanation is that these might be reissues of a Tonibel series from 1979, in which case, wow… super lazy. By 1983 the “Yellow Betty” was no longer brand new and was called just a plain old frontside air. Makes you wonder if Tony was actually interviewed about this, and if so was he pulling their leg or was it actually briefly called the Yellow Betty, or was it a prank by someone in the art department?
Is that Tony Alva? It says it is, but does look him very much. This illustration is probably referenced from a photo in Skateboarder that out to be easy enough to find…
The back.
Tony started skateboarding at eight and steadily rose to fame. Now he has a reputation as a ‘Mad Dog’ with his ultra aggressiveness. He skates mostly in pools, especially the Dog Bowl near his home in the most radical area of Santa Monica called Dog Town. ‘Yellow Betty’, which Tony invented is one of his favourite tricks. It involves flying beyond the pool lip, grabbing and turning the board and a freefall finish.
A NEW SERIES OF SUPERCARDS Presented by Lyons Maid
Here’s the rest of the set.
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