Weird Ball Trading Cards (1986)

In 1986, the Mel Appel Company released a gross-out/parody set of trading cards known as Weird Ball. Either way you look at it, they were definitely trying to take advantage of the popularity (or rip off) other trading card sets like Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages.

There were only 42 total cards in the set which feature a Weird Ball character on one side and a 16-piece puzzle on the opposite side.

Here's a look at the completed puzzle which is the character Humungaski which was featured on card box, trading card #19, and also one of three characters featured on the wrapper.

The card backs that did not feature a puzzle piece, had jokes and parody culture items that were typically seen in Wacky Packages sticker sets or even MAD magazine.

What's also "weird" about the Weird Ball knockoff franchise is that Mel Appel also released carded figures, small M.U.S.C.L.E.-like figures, and round Madball-like toys based on their characters. I had no idea these toys existed until doing research for this article. It's amazing (or lazy) that Mel Appel decided to take a little bit of everything that was popular and throw it all into one brand (and that it wasn't more successful!) 

I recently opened a couple packs of Weird Ball trading cards on Wax Pack Flashback. Watch the video below and if you want to watch more '80s trading card openings, subscribe to TRN TV. 

All pictures courtesy Trading Card Database