Cardboard Cameos: A Brave, Beard, & Boa From a Single '84 Fleer Card
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Up until now, all of our Cardboard Cameos have featured other athletes or celebrities. This cameo doesn't even feature a human. The guest shot on the 1984 Fleer #182 Glenn Hubbard belongs to an eight-foot boa constrictor draped around the Braves second baseman's neck, and it might be one of the most beloved base cards in the hobby.
The backstory comprises pure baseball weirdness. In April 1983, the Phillies threw a fifth birthday party for their famed mascot at Veterans Stadium. The pregame celebration included costumed characters, balloons, and — because it was the '80s — exotic animals on the field. Hubbard, who'd grown up raising snakes, spotted a handler with a large boa and did what any reasonable person would do: he grabbed it, threw it around his neck, and found a photographer.
That photographer was Bob Bartosz, a freelancer who shot for Fleer at the time. Hubbard wanted a personal keepsake, so the shutterbug graciously sent him an 8x10 after that day's game. Hubbard thanked him and figured that was the end of it.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleIt wasn't.
Slippery Surprise
Jump ahead to spring training the following year. A kid walks up with a card to sign. It's the snake photo. Hubbard is blindsided, assuming the card company would need his permission to use something like that. Turns out anything shot on the field in uniform is fair game. Look at the card closely and you'll see the Phillie Phanatic lurking over his left shoulder, what appears to be Flintstones sidekick Barney Rubble over his right, and enough balloons to stock an aisle at Party City. Atlanta's scrappy infielder stands in the middle of it all in a powder blue road uniform, grinning under a beard that belongs on a ZZ Top album cover. The whole scene is magnificently chaotic.
Hubbard's subsequent reactions might be the best part of this tale. First, he was genuinely upset. For years, when fans mailed the card for an autograph, he'd confiscate it and send back a different signed card, trying single-handedly to pull them out of circulation. The plan failed. He's since come around completely, calling it one of the best cards out there and admitting the look is perfect. Hard to argue. The man had his only All-Star season in 1983 (.263, 14 HR, 70 RBI), got christened Glenn "Mother" Hubbard by Chris Berman, and was born for exactly this kind of cardboard immortality. In 2016, the Lexington Legends even created a bobblehead of him with the boa when he was their bench coach.
Snake for Sale
That said, cult status hasn't translated into wallet-busting prices. Raw copies run $15 to $20. A PSA 9 will cost you $50 and up, and a PSA 10 — which should be the grail for a card this fun — has been selling in the $120-$125 range of late. This isn't a card you chase for value. It's a card you buy because it makes you laugh, and because sometimes the hobby's best stories have nothing to do with the players they depict.
Scott Orgera is a sportswriter and statistician with more than three decades of experience. He has covered thousands of MLB and NFL games, along with most other major sports. A member of the BBWAA, his bylines appear in the Associated Press, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, and Forbes, among others. He also co‑authored 976‑1313: How Sports Phone Launched Careers and Broke New Ground. Having worked card shows with his family in the 1980s, Scott has remained active in the hobby ever since and now owns a card and memorabilia shop just outside New York City.