andre 1997 - the hawk had some final tributes

i am finishing up the final tribute cards of three hall of famers who called it quits after the 1996 season.  well, two hall of famers who did that and one who didn't play in '96.  i previously featured the trio's upper deck final tributes, and then showcased ozzie smith's other cards from 1997 earlier today.  and, just like ozzie, andre dawson got a 'tribute' designation on his 1997 upper deck collector's choice card

and, just like ozzie, the stats on the back only go back to 1982.

fleer ultra

has all the stats

while pinnacle

and donruss

used similar photos.  here is the pinnacle back

and the donruss back, which again only goes back to 1979

dawson also got a card in donruss elite

and regular ol' fleer

which again wins the stats on the back prize

i always thought it was strange that dawson finished up with two years in miami rather than going back to the al as a dh.

once again, there is no topps card to serve as a dawson final tribute.

kirby puckett and his final tributes are up next...

the wizard of oz final tributes

not too long ago, i featured a post with some 1997 upper deck final tributes.  included in that set were andre dawson, kirby puckett, and ozzie smith.  today i will show some (most) of their other final tribute cards.  first up is the wizard of oz.

1997 upper deck collector's choice

i like the 'tribute' designation on the front, even though not all of the career stats are included on the back.

1997 fleer ultra

double play action, with rickey sliding in!  fleer gets ozzie's entire career stats on the back, too

1997 leaf

with what might be a dp turn on the back, but only one year of stats

1997 donruss

with all but one of ozzie's seasons on the back.  got something against 1978 donruss?

1997 donruss elite

probably my least fave of the final ozzie cards.  the back is pretty uninspired

same goes for 1997 pinnacle

although we get a bit of a write-up regarding ozzie's final season on the back

1997 fleer

has the best back of the bunch - every year is covered, and it is easier to read than the ultra card.

fleer also included ozzie in the 'golden memories' insert set

with a photo from his number retirement ceremony held on 9/26/96.  here's the back.

topps failed to issue an ozzie smith card in 1997 which was too bad.  i think they could have done better than these cards.  if pressed, i would say that fleer is the winner here, but all of these are in my final tribute binder so it doesn't matter.

next up, the hawk.