more from the garvey oddball binder - 1984 union oil dodgers most memorable moments sheets

here are some more sheets from my steve garvey oddball binder.  these come from the 1984 union oil dodgers most memorable moments set.  similar to the 1982 volpe portraits, these were available at your local southland 76 station (murph was the proprieter in the commercials, i believe).  there are some good moments captured in these sheets, including bob welch's strikeout of reggie jackson in game 2 of the 1978 world series and roy campanella night at the coliseum in 1959.  

garvey shows up on 5 of the 16 sheets in the set, and those are the ones in the binder.

30-home run quartet

in 1977, garvey, dusty baker, reggie smith, and ron cey became the first four teammates to hit 30 home runs in the same season.  topps didn't make a card (so i did), but seven years later, union oil came through with a sheet.

1977 nlcs

garvey shares space with teammates cey, baker, bill russell, davey lopes, vic davalillo, tommy john, manny mota, and don sutton.  cey is front and center on the sheet, but dusty baker was the series mvp with 2 homers and 8 rbi.  the majority of the text on the back pertains to game 3 of the series (black friday as it's known in philadelphia) wherein the dodgers used a bunt single by davalillo, a double by manny mota, and an infield single by davey lopes to tie the score, all with two outs.  an error and a bill russell single later, and the dodgers had taken a two games to one lead in the series.

the 10th player

this sheet is a tribute to dodger fans, with garvey, cey, sutton, mota, jerry reuss, and joe ferguson appearing on the front.  the fan tribute is centered around the end of the 1980 season when the dodgers were three games out of first with three to play.  as luck would have it, the astros were coming to town. the dodgers swept the series behind some big home runs by ferguson, garvey, and cey, but lost game 163 as the astros advanced to the postseason for the first time.

1981 world championship

garvey shows up on this one as part of the three-steves celebration - jumping in the air after the dodgers' game 6 win with steves howe and yeager.  also appearing on the sheet are series co-mvp's cey, yeager, and pedro guerrero.  tommy lasorda and nlcs hero rick monday round out the sheet commemorating the dodgers' first world championship since 1965, and first reached by beating the yankees since 1963.

record setting infield

this is, quite obviously, my favorite sheet.  it's all about the infield.

more garvey goodness to come; stay tuned.

sunday morning target dodgers

this week's sheet from the 1990 target dodgers giveaway set is a nice one.  two members of the 1978 topps dodger team, plus this guy - jackie robinson

what more can one say about robinson?  he is one of the best things about being a dodger fan, although he certainly does not only belong to the dodgers.

reggie smith

smith is the first of two players on the sheet who were members of the team of my youth.  he was one of four dodgers to hit at least 30 home runs in 1977, the same year that he led the league with a .427 on base percentage.  injuries slowed him down beginning in 1979, but he still was able to start in the 1980 all-star game held in los angeles.  that's the all-star game patch on his left shoulder, as a matter of fact.

lee lacy

lacy was a dodger double dipper, but i've already covered that.  i've also visited and re-visited his career a number of times, thanks to his status as a member of the 1978 topps dodgers, and he was also the former dodger who was signing in autograph alley the last time i was able to get back to chavez ravine. he was the utility player on the team of my youth, spending time everywhere on the diamond except for the mound, behind the plate, and at first base.

enos cabell

cabell finished his major league career with the dodgers in 1986.  he had been acquired from the astros during the 1985 season, and he hit .292 for the dodgers down the stretch.  initially, the dodgers moved him back to what i considered to be his 'normal' position of third base (he had been playing first for the astros since 1981 but spent the five seasons before that at third), but he wound up back at first after the dodgers picked up bill madlock.

doug camilli

camilli was a second generation dodger, as his dad dolph had played for brooklyn in the 1930's and 40's.  doug was the dodgers' back up catcher in the early 1960's, appearing in a total of 163 games over the course of five seasons.  he hit .204 with la and caught sandy koufax's third no-hitter before moving on to the senators prior to the 1965 season.

oris hockett

hockett broke into the big leagues with the dodgers in 1938, and hit .329 for them in 21 games.  he followed that up in 1939 with a .231 average in only 9 games, however, and never played for brooklyn again.  he resurfaced with the indians in 1941, and even made the all-star team in 1944 as a member of the tribe.  he finished his big league career with the white sox in 1945, which must be when the photo used on his card was taken.

steve howe

howe was the second of four consecutive dodgers to win the rookie of the year award from 1979 through 1982.  he followed rick sutcliffe to receive the award in 1980, and preceded fernando valenzuela and steve sax, the winners in 1981 and 1982, respectively.  he spent 4-plus seasons over 6 years with the dodgers from 1980 - 1985 (he was suspended for the entire 1984 season), and also pitched for the twins, rangers, and yankees.  during his career, howe was suspended from baseball 7 times due to various drug related offenses, including a permanent ban in 1992.  that ban was overturned, however, and he returned to pitch for the yankees until they released him during the 1996 season after he was arrested at jfk with a loaded gun in his suitcase.  ten years later, in 2006, howe was killed in a single vehicle auto accident when his truck rolled in the california desert.  i best remember steve as the guy who was on the mound when the dodgers won the 1981 world series.

bill joyce

joyce was a third baseman and hit .245 in 97 games for the brooklyn grooms in 1892, one of eight seasons he spent playing in the major leagues.  the last three of those seasons, 1896-98, he was the player-manager for the new york giants.  his .435 career on base percentage ranks 7th all-time, although in his lone season with brooklyn, his obp was 'just' .392.

doug mcweeny

mcweeny pitched for the robins for four seasons, from 1926-29, amassing a record of 33-45.  his 4 shutouts led the league in 1928, but so did his 114 walks.

rip repulski

repulski was one of the players the dodgers received prior to the 1959 season from the phillies in exchange for george 'sparky' anderson.  rip's real name was eldon, by the way, and this native minnesotan appeared in 53 games and won a world series ring with the dodgers in 1959.  he returned to la for the 1960 season, but was dealt to the red sox after just a few games.

ferdie schupp

schupp was acquired by the robins in march of 1921 by way of a trade with the cardinals.  he appeared in 20 games for brooklyn, and was 3-4 with a 4.57 era in them.  he is best remembered for his time spent with the new york giants, including 1917, when he was 21-7 with a 1.95 era.

billy sullivan

the dodgers purchased sullivan's contract from the tigers early in the 1942 season.  he wound up playing in 43 games for brooklyn, hitting .267 and serving as a backup catcher.  sullivan was out of the majors from 1943-46 while serving in the navy, but returned to the big leagues with the pirates in 1947.

tom sunkel

sunkel had pitched for the cardinals and giants before joining the dodgers for one season in 1944.  he was 1-3 for brooklyn in 12 appearances.

stan williams

williams began his big league career with the dodgers in 1958.  he threw a 2-hit shutout in his first major league start (second big league appearance), and later was named to the 1960 national league all-star team.  he was a part of the dodgers' 1959 world championship club (he appeared in relief in one game of the world series that year), but missed out on their 1963 title as he was traded to the yankees for bill skowron prior to the start of that season.

clarence wright

clarence here actually went by his middle name of eugene, or at least by a shortened version of it.  big gene wright broke into the major leagues with the superbas in 1901.  he made one start, and threw a complete game, allowing only 1 run.  he also went 1 for 3 at the plate.  that game would be his only start and appearance for the brooklyn franchise, as he somehow wound up with his hometown cleveland bronchos for the 1902 season.

the 1981 postseason, as it should have been in 1982

who can tell me when topps started putting postseason summary cards in their sets?  there was the mickey mantle/hank aaron world series combo card in the 1958 set, highlighting 'world series batting foes' from the 1957 fall classic, but it wasn't until 1960 that there were cards that recapped the previous season's championship (the dodgers over the white sox, of course).  then, topps ran this subset - sometimes one card for each game, and sometimes one card for each series after the start of divisional play - all the way through the 1978 set, except for 1966.  and guess who played in (and won) the 1965 world series?  the los angeles dodgers, that's right.

the dodgers (and twins) were for some reason denied by topps an appearance on seven or maybe eight glorious cards.  cards that might have featured koufax, drysdale, killebrew, jim kaat, and lou johnson.  topps skipped the subset in 1979 (again penalizing the dodgers) and 1980, before bringing it back for a last hurrah in 1981.  after that, we would wait until 1998 for the return of postseason cards.  that, of course, means that topps ignored two more dodger world championship teams - the 1988 dodgers (who were recognized by fleer and, oddly enough, o-pee-chee) and the 1981 dodgers.

this post is here to right that wrong, so here are the 1982 topps postseason cards that should have been.  first, the world series recap card

there we have the three steves - garvey, yeager, and howe - in the aftermath of the final out in game 6 at yankee stadium.  kenny landreaux has just caught bob watson's fly ball in center field, and a 10-year old kid in california could not have been happier.

but, before we get to the world series, we must revisit the dodgers' triumph in the first divisional series, made possible by the players' strike.  the divisional champs in each 'half' of the season squared off, with the dodgers facing the houston astros.  the dodgers lost the first two games of the five game series, but came back to beat the astros thanks to strong pitching performances by burt hooton, fernando valenzuela, and jerry reuss.  here, reuss celebrates following his game 5 shutout to advance the dodgers to the nlcs against the expos.

that photo comes from the 1982 dodgers police set, and it's a bit frantic.  i found a better photo online, from jerry reuss's flickr account (thank you mr. reuss), but it's in black and white and there was too much to colorize for me to bother.

still, it does include steve garvey, as well as the astros' dave roberts who struck out to end the game (the out was recorded at first base as mike scioscia did not catch the final pitch cleanly).

and so, it was on to montreal to face the expos who had dispatched the phillies, also in five games.  actually, the dodgers and expos split the first two games of the series, played in los angeles.  then, the expos took the first game at home.  the dodgers rallied to win game 4 and force the decisive game 5.  i think we all know what happened next - rick monday took steve rogers deep to break a 1-1 tie in the top of the 9th, and fernando and bobby welch shut down montreal in the bottom of the inning.  welch, in fact, makes an appearance in the first photo i used for the nlcs recap card

but, after a quick reconsideration, i went with a different photo

that's pedro guerrero standing on deck.  i don't think he is employing steve garvey's advice, either.

i had mo sign a copy of this card through hall of fame sports' dodger days in 2010.

i like it very much.

as for the world series, the dodgers dropped the first game against the yankees, who had defeated the brewers and the a's (cards for those series are not shown).  graig nettles made some big plays at third base for the bronx bombers, so he gets the card.

in game 2 then following night, the dodgers were shut out, and goose gossage earned his second save of the series.

the series shifted to los angeles, and in the bottom of the first inning of game 3, ron cey hit a 3-run homer to put the dodgers on top, and he later scored their 5th run of the game as well.  it was his defensive play in the 8th inning, however, that is commemorated on the game 2 card that should have been.

with the dodgers up 5-4, fernando allowed the first two yankee batters to reach on singles.  bobby murcer pinch hit for rudy may, but his sacrifice attempt was popped up, and the penguin dove to record the out.  he then threw to first base to double up larry milbourne.  the next batter grounded out, and the yankee threat was eliminated.

looking to tie the series at two games apiece, the dodgers were down in game 4 6-3 when tommy lasorda sent jay johnstone to the plate in the bottom of the 6th inning.  pinch hitting for tom niedenfuer, johnstone hit a two-run home run to bring the dodgers to within a run of the yankees.  his curtain call makes the front of the game 4 card.

the dodgers tied the score later in the inning and went on to win the game 8-7.  many consider johnstone's home run to have been the turning point of the series.

in game 5, the dodgers turned to jerry reuss, and he did not disappoint.

he allowed only a second inning run and pitched a complete game, 5-hitter.  losing pitcher ron guidry allowed only 4 hits over 7 innings, but two of those hits were the back-to-back home runs that pedro guerrero and steve yeager hit in the bottom of the 7th to give the dodgers the lead.

it was all over but the shouting as the teams returned to new york for game 6.  the score was tied 1-1 until the 5th inning, when cey drove in davey lopes with a two-out single.

the dodgers went on to score two more runs in the inning, and the game was pretty much over, and the three steve party shown up top was an inevitability.

because of the oddity of it all, i also made a card featuring the co-mvp's of the series - guerrero, yeager, and cey.

it's a nice photo - in fact, it's used on yeager's 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams 1981 card.  the world series photos all came from sports illustrated, and the mvp photo was found online.  as was this last one.  

i'll end the post by noting (again) that steve garvey was originally told that he - not yeager - was one of the mvp's.  here's a screen capture of garvey with petey and the penguin (as well as commissioner bowie kuhn and announcer bob uecker) before someone told him of the mistake.

as for the cards, i didn't bother with backs - i think i would have gone with the game box scores and composite stats like the topps subsets did prevously - but i might get around to it someday.  until then, i'm just glad that these cards that should have been are finally seeing the light of day.

here's to the team of my youth, even if topps, donruss and fleer all ignored their 1981 triumph in 1982.

o-pee-chee on parade

here are a few dodger o-pee-chee cards, celebrating the occasion of the final variation being posted over at oh my o-pee-chee! today.

the back of wes parker's 1971 card is somewhat inexplicably included in the blog's header.

his card is not a variation (here's the front)

but i wanted to show the cool 'sunburst' photo on the backs of (most of) the 1971 cards, and i chose parker's mug for some reason.

here's ron fairly from the years before variations, 1969 to be exact

a bunch of rick monday's former teammates wanted to show their support for his 1977 o-pee-chee variation, and here they are.  from 1981, we have burt hooton

who had a variation of his own in 1985;

steve howe

who did not have any variations even though he bounced around in the mid 1980's.  he either switched teams during the season (1985), or signed as a free agent after missing the previous season(s) due to suspensions (1987, 1991);

bill russell

and reggie smith

sporting their 'vedette' banners;

don stanhouse

sporting don sutton's hair and phil garner's mustache;

steve yeager

looking forward to his shameful 1986 o-pee-chee variation (i really wanted yeager to remain a dodger for life);

and here's a 1982 ron cey in action card (with the man of the hour, rick monday, lurking in the background)

one year before receiving a team variation of his own (one of three appearances the penguin made on the blog);

while dave lopes' 1983 card

is one year past his trio of variations, although i think his 1985 variation is the best of lopes' five o-pee-chee variants.

it's been fun (and sometimes tedious) covering the wonder of o-pee-chee cards through the years.  i will miss writing about minute changes in photo cropping and cool team variations and wacky airbrushing and odd text variations and even cards that weren't variations.  i hope you all enjoyed it.

now, back to timeless teams!