In 1976, an exciting collection of non-licensed stickers hit the market, featuring two distinct lines: Sportstix, which highlighted popular sports stars, and Rockstix, dedicated to rock n roll and other musical icons and bands. Although marketed under separate brands, both collections were clearly produced by the same company, capturing the essence of the era's legends. Sportstix celebrated icons like Willie Mays, Dick Butkus, Mickey Mantle, and Bernie Parent, while Rockstix brought to life the energy of rock stars such as Roger Daltrey, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, and David Bowie, among many others.
The collection features three distinct sticker shapes: square, round, and an uneven six-sided hexagon, each measuring 3 ½ inches at its widest points. These stickers were produced by Meyercord, one of the largest sticker manufacturers in the USA at the time. While the absence of official team logos clearly indicates their unlicensed status, the photos used were carefully chosen, with many sports stars still displaying partial team names and logos. However, some images do exhibit obvious airbrushing to remove identifiable trademarks.
These sports player stickers were exclusively distributed in a carded header rack-pack format, with each pack numbered 1B through 6B, and every sticker individually numbered. Each pack featured the same players, with stickers maintaining their specific die-cut shapes without variations. The packs showcased five stars from various sports, organized by a unique series number/letter code: 1B and 2B for Baseball, 3B and 4B for Football, 5B for Hockey, and 6B for a “Great Oldies” pack. The "Great Oldies" pack, a powerhouse multi-sport collection, included three baseball players, one football player, and the only basketball player in the entire set, Dave DeBusschere, completing the 30-sticker set
The Rockstix collection, in contrast, did not include any pack numbering, though the names of the featured artists are printed on each pack and sticker. This series chose to highlight vibrant caricature drawings of rock stars and bands. There were four distinct Rockstix packages, each containing the same sticker designs, just like the Sportstix collection, with no variations. These stickers are exceptionally rare, making them incredibly difficult to find, whether as singles or, even more so, in their original pack form. Only four packages of Rocksticks have been found to date thus making for a set of 20 stickers in total but due to their scarcity, maybe others could be found in the future.
Interestingly, while PSA currently grades the sports player stickers from the Sportstix collection, the Rockstix stickers, despite their rarity, remain ungraded. However, given their growing intrigue and scarcity, it seems only a matter of time before Rockstix stickers receive the same recognition, potentially adding another layer of value and interest to this unique collection.
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