only about half of this set makes sense

you dodger fans out there are probably familiar with the 1979 dodger blue card set.  it is named as such because it was distributed in 1979, and the back says 'go dodger blue!' along with some other information.  i am wishing right about now that i had scanned one of the backs, but oh well (thanks comc!).  the other thing that strikes me about the set is that many (about half) of the cards feature a blue background.  i think this might just be a photographer's background, as it seems to be a different shade of blue than the outfield walls at dodger stadium. but then again, maybe the photos were taken in vero beach where there may or may be such a blue wall in existence.

there is one more thing that i noticed right away when i first picked up the set ten years ago or so.  here's dusty baker's card.  see if you notice what i noticed.

yup, dusty is sporting the 1976 national league centennial patch (thanks for the link jerry reuss) which was worn in, of course, 1976.  so, the set features photos that are three years old.  here's the penguin.

you can barely make out the red border of the patch on his left sleeve, as well as the back of the chair he is sitting in under his right armpit.
no problem seeing the patch on burt hooton's sleeve

but i can only guess that it's there on charlie hough's jersey.

davey lopes is sporting it

and this is where i became fairly convinced that the background was just a photographer's screen.
now, rick monday was not with the dodgers in 1976, yet he has the blue screen.

maybe the photographer brought it back to spring training in 1977?
here's manny mota with the patch

which is also nicely visible on his 1977 topps card
reggie smith joined the dodgers mid-way through the 1976 season

so maybe his photo is from the same time as monday's.  incidentally, why did reggie wear 'r. smith' on the back?  i don't think the dodgers had another smith at the time.  ponderous.

now, terry forster didn't join the dodgers until the 1978 season, and it looks like the blue screen was gone by then

the lighting in the dugout or wherever this photo was taken, combined with forster's grin, give the card a kind of creepy feel.
here's what i think is probably the worse card in the set, and it pains me to say that.  it's steve garvey's card.

i will go out on a limb here and say that this photo was taken on march 17, 1976.  he's got the green hat and the patch to prove it.
here's a patch-less tommy lasorda who was just a coach in 1976

the dodgers used this photo of lasorda in several publications if memory serves.  nice of him to wear his wedding ring, by the way.
don sutton's card is an oddity.

he's in the away grays for some reason.  not sure why he didn't get the blue screen treatment or at least a dodger stadium background like...
...bill russell

and steve yeager

or even doug rau, who has the lone action shot in the set

it looks like he's just warming up as the penguin is lurking in the background checking out his manicure.

don't get me wrong, i really like this set as it includes the core group of the dodger teams of my youth.  it's just fairly inconsistent.

still, go dodger blue!