still working my way through the steve garvey oddball binder

i haven't posted any pages from my steve garvey binders lately.  my goal is to post my entire garvey collection (at least what's in binders which really only leaves a couple of prints/posters) by the end of the year.  i'd better get moving if that's going to happen.

here are a few more sheets from the oddball binder.  i call it the oddball binder because it contains not only oddballs (duh), but also non-traditional sized cards, and other types of garvey stuff.  case in point - this circa 1971 dodger team issue photograph and a 1971 ticketron dodgers card

the photo is blank on the back, but the ticketron has the team's 1971 schedule on the back

i find it interesting to see that so few day games were played, and quaint that the lone weekday afternoon game was a special event. i guess 'getaway day' didn't matter as much back then.  more likely, the union hadn't addressed the issue of travel yet.

here are a couple of oversized cards that i've shown before from the 1977-79 sportscaster set

garvey got his own card, and then showed up on the all-star game card with joe morgan and carlton fisk.  here are the backs (they are flipped, so the one on the left is the all-star back)

i appreciate garvey showing up on another card, and it seems that the point of the photo was to show division rivals playing together for one night.  newer fans might not think much about it, but the dodger/red rivalry was a big deal when i was growing up. the big red machine and the big blue wrecking crew in the same division made for some good games and a healthy rivalry.

here are garvey's four dodger police cards.

issued beginning in 1980, garvey showed up in the inaugural set (upper left), the 1981 set, (upper right) and then appeared on two cards in 1982 - the world series celebration card and his solo card.

the backs are pretty interesting.  i appreciate the dodgers using garvey's throwing problems as an example of a tough situation that garvey had to work his way through.  if this card were published today, i would say that there are a few other tough situations he's had to deal with that would be better examples.

now we have reached the padres portion of the post.  here are, clockwise from the upper left, a 1983 topps foldout card, a 1984 donruss action all-stars card, a 1984 donruss champions card, and a 1986 donruss all-stars card

here are the backs (again, they are flipped)

bill madlock makes an appearance on the reverse side of the garvey foldout.  the mad dog's .316 average was tied with george brett for the second best career average among active players behind rod carew's .331.  garvey was down at 13, tied with fred lynn at .301.  not sure why carl hubbell is on the back of garvey's 1984 donruss champions card though.

i mentioned up above that my bindered garvey collection does not include posters.  well, it does include one - this 1984 sports illustrated poster that folds nicely to fit in a one-pocket ultra pro page.

i received it from another garvey collector - mrmopar - whose garvey collection is superior to mine.  i still have a bunch of oddballs to show, however, so stay tuned.

what's mine is mine

you may recall that i recently received the wrong steve garvey card in the mail.  that's all been taken care of, thanks to mrmopar and the ebay seller, and now i have my 2007 upper deck sweet spot steve garvey gold stich autograph card

complete with the bleeding pen.  at least dodger stadium is featured prominently.  i have another version of this card with a better auto.  i think it might be without the '6' though.

yes, it turned out that my one-time ebay nemesis had won the other card.  these days, i am no longer as active in the garvey ebay market, at least for the more 'rare' items, and mrmopar has become a valued 'lookout' at times.  he tipped me off to a 1978 topps glenn burke auto that i needed for my modest 1978 topps dodger autograph project (i now have two '78 topps cards signed by burke) and has sent me some cards from my want list, too.

still, i was surprised when i received the sweet spot auto and enclosed along with it were a few other cards.  such as this 1998 pinnacle paul konerko card that was on my nefarious 9!

he also included an almost complete set of the 1982 dodgers police sga set.  what i like most about that set (other than making sure to have my dad buy tickets to the game so i would be assured of getting a set) is that it included cards commemorating the 1981 postseason, like this one showing the jubilant dodgers after beating the astros in the nlds.

here's the garvey card from that set

a fitting way to end the post.

thanks curt!  sorry i didn't include any cards with your tribute card!

october

day 2 of the countdown means 12 days 'til u2 at the bank...

october was their second album, and it was essentially about god.  coincidentally, it was released in october of 1981, just as i was praying to the baseball gods for the dodgers to finally beat the yankees in the world series.  this is hands down my favorite u2 album.  'rejoice', 'october', 'i fall down' and 'tomorrow' are all good songs, but my favorite track is 'is that all?'  it's a pretty simple song, but then again, it's a pretty simple question.

i wasn't aware of u2 in october of 1981.  my focus was on the dodgers and their postseason quest that went through houston and into montreal for the nlcs.  i was at lunch recess in elementary school listening to the broadcast of game 5 on a coca-cola transistor radio when rick monday took steve rogers deep.  pandemonium ensued.  here is the moment captured beautifully (with a lurking pedro guerrero on deck) on a 1982 dodgers police card

then, nine days later, my prayers were answered when steve howe (in his fourth inning of work!) got bob watson to fly out to kenny landreaux, giving the dodgers their first title of my lifetime.  here is another card from that 1982 dodgers police set with howe, steve yeager, steve garvey and steve sax celebrating.

a world series championship.  that was all i wanted.  it was (and is) an october to remember.