60 years of topps in the garvey binders

the next sheet of cards from the steve garvey binders features some familiar images, along with some decent sized relic swatches.  here is sheet 68:

those cards are:

1. 2011 in the game heroes and prospects dual jerseys silver relics (with trayvon robinson) (print run of 49)
2. 2011 in the game heroes and prospects jersey autographs silver (print run of 9)
3. 2011 topps 60 relics
4. 2011 topps 60 years of topps 1982 in action reprint
5. 2011 topps 60 years of topps 1982 in action reprint original back
6. 2011 topps 60 years of topps 1985 reprint
7. 2011 topps 60 years of topps 1985 reprint original back
8. 2011 topps 60
9. 2011 topps marquee titanic threads relic /99

i've mentioned before that i think in the game should have serial numbered their cards, rather than just issue print run data, especially when there are only 9 of the auto/relic card.  the majority of the sheet belongs to topps, however, and i must say that i appreciated garvey being included in the 2011 topps flagship insert sets.  after using garvey's 1971 rookie card in the 2010 cards your mom threw out subset, topps came back with his 1982 in action card and his 1985 card.  the backs of those cards (the non-original backs, to be clear) have more to do with the topps set than the individual garvey card, although there is some garvey specific text.

speaking of which, here are the backs:

a few notes about those backs.  first, the topps 60 cards.  the relic card back notes that only ichiro, wade boggs, and derek jeter had more 200-hit seasons than garvey in the past 40 years.  garvey had more than tony gwynn! later, we see that garvey's highest hit total was 210, which places in a tie for 8th highest in dodger franchise history.  next, it is worth noting that the back of the 1982 in action reprint (non-original back) states that garvey had played in 8 straight all-star games heading into the 1982 season "a fact emphasized on the back".  however, thanks to the existence of the original back version of the insert right next to it, we see that there is no mention of his all-star streak.

here is sheet 69:

those cards are:

1. 2011 topps marquee titanic threads red relic /75
2. 2012 panini golden age
3. 2012 panini golden age mini broadleaf brown ink
4. 2012 panini national treasures treasure signature materials /25
5. 2012 topps golden moments
6. 2012 topps golden moments autograph
7. 2012 topps gypsy queen relic
8. 2012 topps gypsy queen framed mini relic
9. 2012 topps triple threads unity relic autograph /99

there are several other mini variations from the panini golden age set that i have avoided for some reason - the reason being i am no longer so enthusiastic about chasing all of the variations of garvey cards.  i am not entirely sure why there were two relics in the gypsy queen set and no regular base card, but again, i appreciate topps keeping garvey in mind when creating their checklists.

here are the backs:

you can see by the upside down panini treasures back that panini and i disagree on the proper orientation of the front of the card.  i learned from 1978 topps, thank you very much.

still more to come - stay tuned...

different kinds of birthday cards for steve garvey

i'm taking advantage of one last chance here in the central time zone to say happy birthday to steve garvey.  thanks to everyone who joined in today.  here are a few more garvey cards that have been hanging around in my scanned folder for various amounts of time.

2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph (1981 dodger team subset)

hey! a timeless teams card.  speaking of which, my timeless team blog will return to life after the first of the year.  i think all of the garvey autos in the set were short printed, and i only have two of them.  this one is pretty perfect - that same fielding pose that i discussed in an earlier post - plus it's actually a photo from 1981 on a card referencing the 1981 season!  here's the back, letting me know that it is, in fact, signed by garvey.

here's a much more recent garvey auto - from 2012 panini national treasures

he's shown as a padre complete with a cream looking uniform.  not sure if the padres ever wore such a thing, or if panini/donruss hasn't been taking care of their stockroom.  here's the back

panini recognizes the fact that garvey was an all-star in 1984 and 1985, even if topps flagship sets didn't.

here's another padre garvey card, this one from 2007 upper deck sweet spot classic

hail the brown and orange patch!  this patch comes from the padres' taco unis, as i think garvey used to call them.

sticking with the brown, here's a 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts 'historic swatch'

that's clearly some padres' laundry on a dodger card, as tricky dick mcwilliams says on the back

that's ok - he's not the only dodger to suffer such a fate.  here's don sutton's card from the same set

with what is clearly a piece of an oakland a's uniform, as confirmed by mcwilliams on the back

glad they were both dodger cards, though.  and, did you see who is lurking there behind sutton?  i recognize the left arm of steve 'popeye' garvey!

and with that, i say good day to garvey's 65th birthday.

thanks again to all who joined in to wish the first baseman of the team of my youth a happy birthday.  i will compile the contest entries in the morning and get a winner post up around noon or so.  and, just to be clear, i will randomize the list of blogs who posted birthday wishes (plus those who promoted the contest) on random.org 6 times.  i thought about doing 65 randomizations, but that seemed like a lot.

1/1 for 25/25

as many of you may have seen over at the chronicles of fuji, mark and i recently made a deal in which he acquired my 1/1 bert campaneris autograph from 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams.  here's what i wound up with after converting cash into cardboard.

it's a 2012 panini national treasures ron cey auto/patch card numbered 25/25, complete with a 'penguin' reference on the back.

and yes, while batman never had to deal with ron cey, he did have to fend off some of the penguin's teammates.  jim lefebvre and wes parker are two dodgers whom i know appeared on the batman tv series.  i believe they were henchmen of the riddler.

anyway, what this cey lacks in numbers when compared to the campy, it makes up for it with dodger awesomeness.

thanks mark - glad the campy is somewhere where it can be better appreciated!  and, yes, i do plan to finish the timeless teams set blog sometime before 2014 rolls around.