Non-Sport Trading Cards
Just like lunch and cereal boxes, the 80's brought the masses every conceivable trading card you can think of. The non-sport trading card's history can be traced back to the late 1800's, when cards inserted into paper packs of cigarettes began to be used for advertisements. Sports related trading cards, specifically baseball, predated even the cigarette cards. The idea for non-sport trading cards was not new to the 70's or 80's. the Topps Company began inserting trading cards into bubble gum packs in the 1950s, and some of these cards carried themes like Hopalong Cassidy and Frank Buck's Big Game Hunts.
By the time the 1970's rolled around, Topps, among others, were running their printing presses over time. They were churning out cards for Wacky Packs, Star Wars, the Gremlins, the Goonies, Garbage Pail Kids, Wrestling, Ghostbusters, E.T., Hair Bands (i.e. Ratt, Motley Crue, etc.), M*A*S*H, Michael Jackson, Alf, Rocky, Star Trek, Superman, Baseball, Football, Hockey, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Tron, Jaws, Dukes of Hazzard, the A-Team, Dallas, NASCAR, Knight Rider, and tons more.