puttin' on the ritz

you've likely seen this 2014 upper deck goodwin champions card of former dodger ron cey already

but it's new to my collection, and it features the third baseman of the infield of my youth in a tuxedo and top hat and needs to be shown off here.  cey famously posed in a tuxedo with some penguins for a poster back in the day, but i hadn't seen this image before.  it calls to mind another penguin - all that's missing is the monocle and cigarette…

meanwhile, steve garvey is left in his michigan state duds on his card in the set

garvey was inducted into the michigan state athletics hall of fame in 2010 (fellow spartan kirk gibson was inducted in 1994), and had his number 10 retired by the school earlier this year.  unfortunately, cards of davey lopes in his pajamas and bill russell in a gorilla costume were not included in the set.

i recently picked up another garvey card not licensed by mlb - a 2013 panini america's pastime auto

and i also 'picked up' another 2014 topps bunt 'card' of the garv.  it's another take on his 1974 topps card

at least they got the stats on the back right this time.

i have never heard of garvey being called 'hollywood'.

i failed to add this card from 2011 topps tier one to my collection, unfortunately.

that's a nice piece of the 1980 all-star game patch the dodgers wore in, of all seasons, 1980.  it went for $355 which was well above my limit.

let's cleanse the ron cey palette with a card of him in proper dodger attire - here's his 1975 hostess card

the batting helmet is an improvement over the tops hat, for sure.  and, the penguin is in dodger stadium where he belongs!

here's bill russell in chavez ravine, turning two on his 1980 dodgers police card

looks like opening day, given the banner on the outfield wall.

here's another card of the dodger shortstop - this is a silver parallel auto from 2014 topps archives

russell's inclusion in this year's archives set has probably been my favorite development of the collecting season.

of course, i am also pleased that davey lopes has an on-card auto of his own from 2014 panini golden age

with a blurb about the infield on the back

lopes also has a base card, which i'll show in a different post.

i also recently found a 1988 topps tiffany lopes card - i'm not sure if i had one already or not, so i bought it

even in astros' clothing, i covet davey lopes cards

i thought about picking up another 'set' of infield collectibles but ultimately passed on buying the 1978 slurpee cups of garvey, cey, russell, and lopes

i kept the images, though.

i believe this is the most recent infield reunion - a photo from the 2013 dodger old-timer game

looking good, infield - no need for formal wear!