Perfection on cardboard

1978 topps steve garvey. in this case, it's an o-pee-chee. i think this card is perfect. not in a gem mint 10 kind of way, but in what it represents to me. as i mentioned in the initial post, i collect steve garvey cards, and this one is my favorite.

the balance of this card amazes me. the red, white and blue of the dodger uniform and the all star shield. the white borders, the team name in script and the red inner border. the spring training greenery. just fantastic.

i started collecting in 1978 so this was the set that pulled me in. living in southern california, i was a dodger fan and steve garvey was the all american boy, so to speak. he could be counted on to play everyday, get 200 hits, a .300 average, scoop some of bill russell's throws in the dirt, and create some clubhouse controversy along the way.

i will admit that i traded a double of this card 30 years ago for a mickey rivers card that i needed for my set. that was the first time that i realized book value was meaningless...