eight-pocket pages in the steve garvey binders hold some sweet cards from sweet spot

there are quite a few cards that are a bit too thick to fit into the standard 9-pocket pages in my steve garvey binders.  so, i've got them in 8-pocket pages where they fit pretty well.  here are the first two such pages:

those cards are:

1. 2002 upper deck sweet spot legendary signatures autograph - print run of 871
2. 2002 upper deck sweet spot legendary signatures autograph (with '6' inscription) - print run of 871
3. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics signatures autograph
4. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics signatures autograph (with '6' inscription)
5. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic classic greats autograph black ink /174
6. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch (los angeles dodgers)
7. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch (san diego padres) /350
8. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch relic /150 (red patch with white jersey)

sweet spot autos were pretty cool when they were first introduced.  heck, they are still cool today.  i'm glad that garvey or someone at upper deck had the good sense to use ballpoint pen on these cards back then instead of the disappearing ink that was used in 2007.  in 2003, upper deck brought us inserts that included manufactured patches along with game used patches.  you know i am a sucker for those red number patch cards!  so much so, we'll see another one in a bit.

here are the backs:

here's the next sheet:

those cards are:

1. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch relic /150 (red patch)
2. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch relic /150 (blue patch with white jersey)
3. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch relic /150 (blue and white patch with gray jersey)
4. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch 1977 world series /50
5. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch 1981 world series /50
6. 2004 upper deck sp game used patch legendary fabrics autograph dual relic/auto (blue patches) /25
7. 2004 upper deck sp game uesd patch legendary fabrics autograph dual relic/auto (blue patch with white jersey)
8. 2005 leaf century collection pennant patches signature relic/auto /25

more game worn patches (including a nothing-but-the-red-number patch) and manupatches.  and then there are sticker autos.  on the bright side, that leaf century collection card is great, but would be better if it celebrated the 1974, 1977, 1978, or 1981 pennants that garvey helped win instead of the 1984 pennant.

here are the backs:

still more to come...

a memorial patch for junior gilliam

it's been 36 years since jim gilliam passed away.  he died on october 8, 1978 following a stroke he suffered in mid-september.  he was, at the time of his death, the team's first base coach and hitting instructor, but he meant a lot more to the franchise than that.  here's my 1954 bowman card of gilliam

gilliam had just come off his rookie season when this card was published - a season that saw him take over at  second base for jackie robinson and the dodgers and win the 1953 rookie of the year award.  gilliam went on to play for the dodgers through the 1966 season, winning four world series rings and playing in three other fall classics.  he had actually retired as a player following the 1964 season to become a coach, but injuries led to the dodgers activating him in both 1965 and 1966.  beginning in 1967, however, gilliam served the dodgers solely as a coach.

gilliam was known as a mentor to the infielders, including the likes of ted sizemore and, of course, steve garvey, ron cey, bill russell, and davey lopes.  lopes held gilliam in high regard and delivered one of the eulogies at his funeral.  then, in game 1 of the world series, lopes hit two home runs and as he circled the bases, he raised his fingers to the sky in tribute - perhaps the first time that the now commonplace salute was made.

here's a postcard from 1979 showing lopes at bat during the 1978 world series, wearing gilliam's number '19' in a memorial patch that the team added to the uniforms for the fall classic.

i used that photo a while ago to create a card that should have been from 2001 upper deck decade the 1970's

in large part because there weren't any world series highlight cards in the 1979 topps set, nor were any photos from the series used for any other cards that year.  that meant i had to wait until the early 2000's to see the patch on an honest to goodness baseball card.

this 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics card of steve garvey

shows the patch as he records an out at first base.  thurman munson is the runner, i believe, as this photo (including munson approaching the bag) was featured in sports illustrated.  upper deck used the photo on garvey's jersey relic insert, too

although it is paired on that version with a padres' jersey swatch.

in 2001, i got my first glimpse of the patch on a card, again thanks to upper deck.  they inserted this don sutton all-star game salute relic card in the flagship release

and used the photo again on the back

a similar photo was used on this 2004 upper deck sp game used edition patch card of sutton

although that's clearly a patch from one of sutton's oakland a's jerseys.

i've also found a few photos from the series online that show the patch, including this pregame photo of garvey

 this photo of lopes, ron cey, and reggie smith,

 and this photo of tommy lasorda arguing about reggie jackson's interference

that's the dodgers' reggie on whose uniform the patch is visible, which leads me to the card that represents gilliam's memorial patch in my binder.  it's this 2007 upper deck sweet spot classic reggie smith card

it's pretty fantastic.

gilliam passed away on the same day that the dodgers won the pennant, and the team retired his number 19 prior to game 1 of the world series.  gilliam remains the only dodger to have his number retired without being enshrined in the hall of fame.  he was just a few days shy of his 50th birthday when he died.