continuing with the steve garvey binders - 1979 into 1981 with some error action and a story of a simpler time!

sheets 6 and 7 get us into the 1980's in the first of two main issue steve garvey binders.  here's sheet number 6.

containing:

1. 1979 dodger blue
2. 1979 hostess
3. 1979 o-pee-chee
4. 1979 topps dodger team
5. 1979 topps
6. 1980 kellogg's
7. 1980 o-pee-chee
8. 1980 topps
9. 1980 topps dodger team

here's the flip side of the sheet

the most interesting card here is the first one.  i am not completely sure how the dodger blue set was distributed - i don't recall seeing it for sale at dodger stadium in 1979, and i went to a few games that year, but i may not have noticed as we didn't typically check souvenir stands.  for us, it was straight to the program vendor, then the dodger dog line, and then our seats.  on our way out of the stadium is when we might check out the souvenirs, but we usually attended a giveaway game so i already had my helmet or poncho or batting glove or whatever.  i do know that the set was wrapped in cellophane, because i have a sealed set that mrmopar sent my way a while back. anyway, garvey's card features him wearing a green dodger hat.  i believe that the dodgers might have been one of the first teams to wear green on st. patrick's day during spring training.  it's a nice quirk to the photo, and the photo itself is a nice break from most of the other cards in the set.

here's sheet 7:

it features:

1. 1981 donruss (error)
2. 1981 donruss (corrected)
3. 1981 donruss (action)
4. 1981 drake's
5. 1981 fleer
6. 1981 fleer (most hits nl)
7. 1981 fleer star stickers
8. 1981 fleer stickers (back)
9. 1981 kellogg's

and the backs:

there is so much cool stuff on this sheet.  1981 was a watershed year for me as a garvey collector.  first, there were more cards to collect than ever, and both donruss and fleer had two different garvey cards on their checklists.  then there were the stickers! garvey was card number 1 in the fleer star sticker set, and his likeness also adorned the sticker back that celebrated the 1974 all-star game in which he was the mvp.  however, the best thing about this sheet at the time was that there was a garvey error card!

my neighborhood friends and i opened a lot of 1981 fleer cards looking for all of the errors in that set, and kind of ignored donruss a bit. we wanted 'craig' nettles and reversed negative tim flannery!  i had  opened only a few packs of donruss, but didn't have too many dodgers until one day, when one of my neighbors said he was going to meet another collector in town.  get this - he had seen a flyer posted on a light pole near the local grocery store that said 'do you collect baseball cards? i do, and i have doubles to trade or sell' and gave the guy's phone number.  this is not crazy, this was just what it was like in 1981.  anyway, we rode our bikes to the guy's apartment (no thoughts of stranger danger), and i bought a brick of '81 dodger cards from him for $3.  it had a couple of team sets, plus a ton of doubles of most of the players.  i got home and put my cards in my closet and went about my business. a few days later, my neighbor tells me that the other guy wants his cards back because he learned that there was an error version of one of the garvey cards in the set.  i was most certainly not going to give any cards back because caveat venditor and any garvey error surely was going to pay for my college education.

unfortunately, the error was nothing dramatic like a reversed negative or wrong player photo - it was related to the text on the back.  here are the two versions side by side.

in the 1980 text of garvey's 'career highlights', one card (the one on the left) notes that garvey 'surpassed 21 hr for the 4th straight year.' the other card (the one on the right) says that garvey 'surpassed 25 hr for the 4th straight year.'  so, which is correct?  well, this is a trick question because they are both wrong.  in the previous four seasons, garvey hit 33, 21, 28, and 26 home runs, respectively.  so to say that he 'surpassed' 21 homers is incorrect.  garvey reached 21 hr for the 4th straight year.  but, semantics.  the one on the left is considered to be the corrected version, and the one on the right is the error.  you can get either version on sportlots for 18 cents.

much more to come from the steve garvey binders. stay tuned!

a braves' black armband for a groundbreaking executive

bill lucas was a minor league player in the braves' system before joining the team's front office in the mid-1960's.  he worked his way up from public relations to player development, becoming the director of the braves' farm system in 1972.  in 1976, he became the club's vice president and director of player personnel and performed the duties of a general manager.  as such, he is widely considered to be the first african-american gm in baseball history, although bob watson was the first to have the actual gm title.

among lucas's moves were the signing and development of dale murphy and the hiring of bobby cox as the team's manager.  cox appears on the braves 1980 topps team card

that features the players and coaches wearing black armbands in honor of lucas who died on may 5, 1979.  shortly after watching the braves on tv on may 1, lucas suffered a brain hemorrhage resulting from an aneurysm.  he was taken to the hospital where he died of cardiac arrest.  the team wore the armbands for the remainder of the season.

one of lucas's first moves was to sign free agent outfielder gary matthews out of the 1976 free agent draft.  i have this 1980 o-pee-chee matthews card

in the memorials binder as a result.  it shows the black armband front and center, and provides a good link to lucas's work as a de facto general manager.  lucas was just 43 years old when he died.

opc ttm

this marks the last week of posts over at oh my o-pee-chee, and there are some decent variations lined up.  go and check out the fun.  speaking of o-pee-chee, i recently worked out a trade with reader trevor, who had come to own a nice stack of cards from north of the border.

we swapped late 70s/early 80s opc for late 70s topps.  oddly, there were no dodgers in the box of cards he sent me, but there were a few expos, as should be expected.

i was disappointed to find that there was no 1977 o-pee-chee card of andre dawson, especially since john scott - one of the players who shares space with the hawk on his 1977 topps rookie card - got a card of his own in the set.  instead, this 1978 card is dawson's first appearance in an o-pee-chee set

i'm not sure what changed between 1977 and 1978 that made o-pee-chee leave the rookie cups on the cards, but i'm glad they did.

i didn't show any checklists on the o-pee-chee blog for the simple reason that i don't consider them to be variations.  sure, most of the sets have different numbering and maybe 'o-pee-chee' shows up instead of 'topps', but the design is the same.  they are just different due to the nature of the set, not through a choice to alter a player's card.  anyway, here's a checklist from the 1978 o-pee-chee set

ron cey and ed ott - two of the shortest names in the game - together on one card.

here's the back of the expos' team checklist from 1978.

the card is horribly miscut, but it shows something that i didn't realize until i put my 1978 o-pee-chee set in a binder.  almost every 9th card is an expo.  72 was a giant (gary alexander), but 108 was joe kerrigan.  kerrigan was in expos gear, but got a team and text variation due to the fact that he was 'now with' baltimore.  the other two anomalies were cards 225 (mike schmidt) and 234 (buddy bell).  it's too bad chris speier wasn't moved to one of those two spots.

here's another back of a 1978 o-pee-chee card.  this one is the home run leaders card

topps had the record breakers at the front of their 1978 set, with the league leaders in the 201-210 range.  o-pee-chee moved the leaders to the front of the set and put the record breakers at the back.  anyway, the back of this card shows the four dodgers who each hit over 30 home runs in 1977, so i like it.  not enough to put it in my garvey binder or anything, but enough to point it out to you.

i've previously shown a few o-pee-chee multi-player rookie cards.  1973, 1974, and 1982 come to mind, but i haven't shown a 1980 card.  much of that has to do with the fact that only the expos and blue jays got these cards in the o-pee-chee sets of the early 80's while all the teams were represented in the topps sets.  so, here are the expos future stars from 1980

tony bernazard is the only one who panned out, i believe.  here's another expos card from 1980 - larry parrish

i'm showing it because of the velour jacket he is wearing.  nice.

there were also some 1981 o-pee-chee cards in the package, like this kirk gibson rookie card

he looks a lot more like a voltigeur than an outfielder.

there was some 1982 o-pee-chee as well.  i had to show this fred lynn 'in action' card

because of the o-pee-chee logo.  also, when i try to say 'in action' in french, it sounds like i am saying 'au jus' - with juice.  but that would be a jose canseco card.  zing!

finally, there were a couple of the completely forgettable 1993 opc premier cards sent along

i don't consider them to be 'real' o-pee-chee cards.

thanks for the trade trevor!  your cards will be sent along shortly!

truly disappointed

truly, truly, truly

so, what do harmon killebrew, justin morneau and i have in common?  none of us were at twinsfest last weekend.  killer is battling cancer, morneau is recovering from a concussion and was told to stay away, and i just plain didn't go.  with the metrodome roof being non-existent, the event got moved to a smaller venue in the northwest suburbs.  tickets were limited and i didn't purchase any before they sold out.  i didn't even think about it, really.  i didn't really miss it last year and the year before was kinda tough with the weather and what not.  no big deal.  i did live vicariously through droidtrader, and the pictures he posted with the low ceilings and people reinforced my decision not to bother.

he noted that rollie fingers was there along with fergie jenkins.  jenkins would have been nice (he was there a couple of years ago charging around $20), but i already have a rollie fingers auto on a 1978 topps card

(a hof through the mail success!) so, again, no big deal to have missed the festivities.

then, today on my way home, i am listening to the local espnradio affiliate give a quick rundown on twinsfest.  no killebrew, no morneau,  mauer only signing on friday, hrbek only there friday, etc.  and oh yeah - rollie fingers, fergie jenkins and steve garvey were there too. 

say what?!?!?  the garv?  in minny?  and i wasn't informed?  fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.

i have only one in person garvey auto, and it's not even on a card.  i do have a few ttm autos, but i would have loved the chance to maybe get a picture like ol' mrmopar.  dagnabbit.

i do have a few twinkie/dodger ttm successes from the past few months to share, so in lieu of twinsfest goodies, let's examine those.  first up, dave goltz.

1978 topps league leaders

a 50% hall of famer ratio on this card.  this card is why i was excited when goltz became a dodger.  i was also excited that his signing with the blue resulted in a fantastic 1980 o-pee-chee variation:

goltz also signed his 1981 fleer,

1981 topps

1982 donruss

and 1982 topps

cards for me.  he was at twinsfest and i think i have run out of cards for him to sign.  if he's at the summer auto party i don't know what i will put in front of him.

another dodger/twin - ron washington - signed a few cards for me ttm

1984 donruss

1985 fleer

1985 topps

it looks like ron had 'fly j' sign the cards.  if you haven't seen the video of wash in the twinkies legends game last season, i would recommend it.  he charges a pop fly but then forgets how to bend at the waist to field it once it hits the turf and the ball gets by him, much to the amusement of the rangers players who were watching from the dugout.

with harmon absent, the twin at twinsfest with the best signature was michael cuddyer.  love his auto. he signed a couple cards ttm for me, including a 2007 bowman heritage

and a 2007 topps allen & ginter

the pose may be cliche, but the auto is fantastic.  thanks to rollie, goltz, wash, and cuddy.  but alas, no garvey in person auto.

well, at least i didn't have to stress while trying to figure out what to have the garv sign.  now i'm off to cue up some smiths and wallow in my sorrows.  good night and thank you.

giving thanks for through the mail successes, part 2

my ttm cup runneth over.  there are a bunch of successes i've had over the past year that are sitting in my scanned folder.  here are some more to go with yesterday's post.  i'm thankful for them all.

1978 topps vida blue

i was a big vida blue fan for the latter half of his career, although it was mostly because i caught 'billy ball' fever around 1980 and started collecting a's cards from the early 70's and wound up learning a lot about blue.  that and fernando's 1981 season had a lot of people recalling blue's rookie season.  this auto cost me $5. well worth it - thanks vida!

1978 topps ivan dejesus

along with his 1979 topps card

i completely spaced on sending him the only dodger card i know of of his - the 1975 sspc card.  maybe next year.  thanks ivan!
1978 topps richie hebner

hebner obliged my request the second time around.  i love this card.  it is pure 1978 to me.  thanks richie!

1978 topps andy etchebarren

i was a fan of the angels' old haloed state logo.  the fact that etchebarren was only 34 when this photo was taken blows my mind.  it's like the 1976 topps gaylord perry card (he was 36 believe it or not).  thanks andy!

1978 topps tim foli

and a 1980 o-pee-chee tim foli

along with a 1984 donruss tim foli

i really wanted the 1980 card signed, as i think it is one of the most awkward photos you will ever see on a baseball card.  i still haven't looked up the bible quote tim is directing me to.  thanks tim!

1978 topps bobby winkles

gotta love the white hat look.  thanks bobby!

1978 topps jim thome woodie fryman

and a 1979 topps woodie fryman

i remeber fryman best as an expo since he pitched against the dodgers in the 1981 nlcs.  i recall being happy that he gave up a bases loaded single to dusty baker to break open a close game.  thanks woodie!

1978 topps darold knowles

this was the last card i needed to finish my 1978 topps set.  that's one reason why i sent copy to be signed. thanks darold!
1978 topps gene richards

i'm still not sure if he's leaning on a rake or what.  thanks gene!

1978 topps rob picciolo

1984 donruss rob picciolo

picciolo had only 25 career walks and had 34 gidp. that is not good. the things you learn from baseball reference. thanks rob!

1978 topps toby harrah

and 1984 donruss toby harrah

that '78 harrah is one of my faves.  thanks toby!

1978 topps floyd bannister

1979 topps floyd bannister

and a 1984 donruss floyd bannister

bannister was the first overall pick in the 1976 amatuer draft.  thanks floyd!

1978 topps don money

and 2004 upper deck legends don money

i was confused by don money in 1978.  his card listed him as an outfielder/dh yet he started at second base in the all star game.  then i find out he played mostly first base that season.  thanks don!

2004 upper deck legends bert campaneris

campy hit only .179 in the '72 series.  then he hit .373 against the dodgers in the 1974 fall classic.  thanks bert!

2004 upper deck legends bob boone

boone kept the 1978 topps card i also sent him to sign.  thanks bob!

1978 topps joe rudi

2004 upper deck legends joe rudi

rudi hit .333 with a home run against the dodgers in the 1974 world series.  his was one of the many stances i used to mimic in the front yard.  it was easy to do - you just need to slouch a bit.  thanks joe!

1978 topps art howe

and 1979 topps art howe

while indifferent to howe the player, i was never a fan of howe the manager.  that's because he managed the astros in 1991 when the dodgers finished 1 game behind the braves in the nl west.  howe's astros lost 5 of 6 to the braves in the last couple weeks of the season with andujar cedeno booting the ball all over the infield.  thanks art!

1978 topps danny walton

walton was a member of the 1976 dodgers.  he hit .133 in 18 games, all as a pinch hitter.  thanks danny!

1979 topps sal bando

and 2004 upper deck legends sal bando

bando took it easy on the dodgers in the 1974 world series, hitting only .063.  thanks sal!