now begins the yeager year

this is officially the first post of my 7th year running this blog.  7, the number that i associate with steve yeager, meaning that the garvey year has come to an end.  there are a number of things that i appreciate as a member of this loosely connected yet fast-friendly group, and there are a number of things that i am proud to have accomplished during my time as a member.  there are even some things that i am proud of not having done, if that makes sense.

most of all, i'm happy to have had this outlet to share my passion and my collection on my terms and no one else's.  with that said, here are some proper cards to kick off year number 7.

first up is a 1975 topps custom world series game 1 card that should have been.

i made it to commemorate the play at the plate brought to us by joe ferguson stepping in front of jimmy wynn and delivering a bullet to yeager in time to nail sal bando at home to end the top of the 8th and keep the score at 3-1 a's.  of course, ferguson led off the bottom of the inning but unfortunately flied out (he also made the final out of the game) and the dodgers went on to lose 3-2.  this particular copy was sent off to yeager ℅ hall of fame sports a couple of years ago.  both davey lopes (with his arm raised) and bill russell also appear on the card.  it's too bad the dodgers lost that game, otherwise i suspect this card may have been a reality!

here's another autographed yeager card from my collection, but new to the blog.  it's his 1979 topps card

this was not a ttm success, but rather a purchased card.  i still like it a lot.

i also like the fact that panini has been giving some love to the former dodger backstop in recent years.  i actually pulled this one out of the lone 2014 panini golden age pack that i purchased.

i think panini is most successful with catchers due to the fact that logos are often obscured by the mask, or the helmets are turned around.  here, however, panini went with a shot of yeager at the plate, so it becomes obvious that this is an unlicensed issue.  i'll still take it.

here's a link to my very first post, which was more of a mission statement.  i have stuck pretty true to what i laid out there, although many of the sets i was working on have been completed with different ones started, many of the limitations i had placed on my collection in terms of dodger team sets have been lifted, and i've added to the couple of mini collections i listed.  i don't really collect twins anymore, but i still have a bunch of cards to trade.

so thanks for what is now officially 6-plus years of reading my stuff, looking at my cards, and generally tolerating my existence among you.  i've got a few things planned over the next couple of months and maybe beyond that.  there won't be a reggie smith year, though; i promise you that.