Texaco Trophy Cricketers – When a Trip to the Petrol Station Was an Adventure
There was a time when a visit to the local petrol station offered far more than a full tank of fuel. During the early 1980s, Britain's petrol companies were locked in a battle for customers, and one of the best ways to win their loyalty was by giving something away.
For countless children, that something was the Texaco Trophy Cricketers cards.
While mum or dad filled the car, there was always the hope that another cricket card might be coming home. A small purchase of petrol could mean another player for the collection, and every duplicate meant another chance of swapping with friends to complete the set.
Texaco understood something that businesses still chase today. People love collecting.
The Trophy Cricketers cards were wonderfully simple. Twelve colourful caricatures of some of the biggest names in world cricket, each with information about the player on the reverse. There were no holograms, no limited editions, no autograph cards and certainly no grading companies. Every card had the same value. The excitement came from finding the one you didn't already have.
Looking back today, the names on the cards read like a roll call of cricket royalty. Ian Botham, Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Dennis Lillee, David Gower, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev, Allan Border, Joel Garner, Sunil Gavaskar and Javed Miandad were among the finest players of their generation. Between them they scored tens of thousands of international runs, captured World Cups, won Ashes series and broke records that still stand today.
One of the fascinating things about this little collection is just how much history was captured in only twelve cards. Viv Richards became one of the most feared batsmen ever to walk onto a cricket field and rarely wore a helmet despite facing the quickest bowlers in the world. Kapil Dev had only recently led India to their first ever Cricket World Cup victory. Richard Hadlee would become the first player to reach 400 Test wickets, while Imran Khan would later swap cricket for politics and eventually become Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Of course, the cards weren't the only reason children wanted to visit Texaco. Like many petrol companies at the time, Texaco regularly ran promotions where collecting tokens, stamps or vouchers could be exchanged for larger rewards. Whether it was glasses, sporting items, books or other collectables, there always seemed to be something worth saving for. Those loyalty promotions made every family journey feel that little bit more exciting.
Unlike today's collectables, nobody thought these cards would still be around more than forty years later. They were carried in pockets, swapped in playgrounds, stuffed into drawers and occasionally lost forever behind bedroom furniture. Completing the set was an achievement in itself, and keeping it together for decades was something very few people managed.
At Old's Cool we're lucky enough to have eight complete sets of the Texaco Trophy Cricketers cards, along with plenty of spare cards collected over the years. Seeing them all together is a reminder that what began as a simple petrol station giveaway has become a wonderful snapshot of Britain in the 1980s.
These cards were never meant to become valuable collectables.
They were designed to encourage families to choose one petrol station over another.
More than forty years later, they do something far more important.
They bring back memories of family car journeys, filling stations with the famous Texaco star, the excitement of opening another free card and the simple joy of trying to complete a collection.
Sometimes the best things in childhood really were free.
https://olds-cool.co.uk/products/texaco-trophy-cricketers-complete-set-of-12-cards-circa-1984