my favorite cards of the year - 1981 edition

i recently introduced my mini collection focusing on my favorite cards from each year that i've been a collector. the basic gist is that i wanted to create a space for the cards that i most appreciated having in my collection in the year that they were released. these were cards that i acquired in the year that they were issued, and that i considered to be my favorites at the time. i have disallowed (most) cards that are already in other mini collections in order to avoid having a mini collection consisting of more steve garvey, double plays, and dodger stadium cards.

1981 was a big year for card collectors everywhere. the addition of donruss and fleer to the landscape added a variety of cards to chase and collect. but that wasn't all that i was excited about that year.

favorite non-dodger card: topps traded fred lynn

after all of the excitement of having three card sets to build, i was floored by the unexpected arrival of a second topps set in 1981. my dad gave me the traded set for christmas and it was the highlight of my gift pile. i quickly went through the set looking for a dodger card of ken landreaux and then landed on this card of fred lynn. growing up where i did, i was exposed to both angel and dodger broadcasts. as a result, i developed a level of fandom for the halos, with don baylor being my first favorite non-dodger player. i began to drift away from the angels a bit when billy martin landed in oakland, but i was still pretty excited when the angels acquired lynn from the red sox in a big trade prior to the 1981 season. and, even though 1981 was kind of a lost season for him, i was pretty sure that lynn, along with don baylor, bobby grich, and rod carew, would deliver a championship for gene autry. when the angels picked up reggie jackson for the 1982 season, i was even more certain. they came close that year, but never did get it done for the singing cowboy.

favorite dodger card: fleer fernand(o) valenzuela

the craig/graig nettles fleer error was a big chase card in 1981, but on my street, we were all looking for the fernando valenzuela rookie card that left off the "o" in fernando. sure, he was on a multi-player rookie card in topps, but fleer gave fernando his own card, and it was an error card at that. of course, there was never a corrected version, so it didn't create the same buzz as the nettles card (note - i did create a corrected card that should have been a long time ago). fernandomania began on opening day of the 1981 season as he took the mound in place of jerry reuss and shut out the astros. it continued for weeks as he went 8-0 in his first 8 starts, throwing five shutouts and seven complete games in that stretch. by then, i felt like the king of the neighborhood with this card in my collection.

up next, 1993. stay tuned.

roberto alomar is in my hall of famer collection

for as long as i've been a baseball fan, i've had a soft spot for second basemen. it started with davey lopes and paul molitor (and even bobby grich), followed by steve sax (who for a time was my favorite dodger), and then came robbie alomar. he's in my hall of famer collection with this card as his entry:

that is a 2015 topps high tek autograph pattern 1 grass/waves gold rainbow parallel numbered 50/50 (ebay 1/1!). here's the back:

it seemed like every night on sportscenter there was an alomar fielding highlight - especially from 1999 through 2001 when he was on the indians and paired with omar vizquel. alomar was fun to watch in the field for sure - he won 10 gold gloves in the span of 11 seasons - but he could also hit and steal bases, too.

i saw alomar play in person three times, all as a blue jay, so i definitely wanted to have a card of him for this collection that showed him during his days in toronto. the most memorable game i saw in person that featured alomar came on june 2, 1993 in anaheim. the blue jays were the reigning world series champions (and would repeat later that season) with alomar having been named the mvp of the alcs in 1992. he was batting second for the blue jays, and, following a leadoff walk by former angel devon white in the top of the 1st, hit a two-run home run. later in the game, alomar hit another 2-run home run and then drove in a fifth run with a single. he wound up 4 for 4 with those two homers and 5 rbi, plus 2 runs scored, and a stolen base. he also made a great play in the field. it was a great display of his talent, and i was happy to have been there.

the game was also memorable because of a on-field brawl that almost moved in to the stands. alomar was hit by a pitch and the blue jays retaliated later on. as i recall, the off duty cops doing security at the game had to break up the players.

another vivid memory i have of roberto alomar comes from the 1997 alcs. i have a friend who is a huge fan of the cleveland indians, and they were taking on the orioles with a trip to the world series on the line. alomar was now playing for baltimore, and in game 6 he came to bat in the bottom of the 11th inning representing the orioles' final hope as they were trailing 1-0 with 2 out. i had just recently arrived home after work, and i called my friend who was still stuck in his office. i gave him a play-by-play of the at bat and was happy to share the moment with him when alomar struck out and gave cleveland the pennant for only the second time in my friend's lifetime, although it was the second time in three years.  he's still waiting for that world championship, however.

here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:

babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425

honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relic

nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75

eddie collins - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

rogers hornsby - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

jimmie foxx - 2013 topps tribute retired remnants relic 91/99

mel ott - 2011 topps tribute quad relic 15/99

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic

hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relic

ted williams - 1992 upper deck baseball heroes autograph 1067/2000

roy campanella - 2001 topps tribute relic

stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legends autograph

yogi berra - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1640/2000

sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000

roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic

warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic

ernie banks - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

eddie mathews - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph

willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph

al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250

bob gibson - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autograph

brooks robinson - 2001 topps golden anniversary great autograph

don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic

lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61

willie mccovey - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 46/50

ray dandridge - 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts a place in history cut autograph 31/43

jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

johnny bench - 2019 topps definitive collection legendary autograph 09/25

red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549

carl yastrzemski - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

joe morgan - 2001 upper deck hall of famers cooperstown collection signature jersey

jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

rod carew - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333

gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

hal newhouser - 1993 front row premium all-time greats autograph

tom seaver - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 44/50

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 19/60

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autograph 43/45

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback 048/147

phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

george brett - 2001 topps finest finest moments autograph

robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150

carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

tony perez - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats authentic autograph buyback 30/59

kirby puckett - 1998 upper deck retro sign of the times autograph

dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350

ozzie smith - 2019 topps finest finest origins autograph

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

eddie murray - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 45/50 

dennis eckersley - 2017 topps archives signature series 1984 topps buyback 47/99

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49

ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites certified autograph

tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000

cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75

goose gossage - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

roberto alomar - 2015 topps high tek pattern 1 grass/waves gold rainbow autograph 50/50

bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph

ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

tom glavine - 2019 topps tribute autograph 18/90

greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15

frank thomas - 2019 topps tier one autographs 42/70

pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60

ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph

mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50

tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95

vladimir guerrero - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

jim thome - 2020 topps archives signature series 2012 topps mini 1/1

jack morris - 2004 donruss timelines recollection collection 1986 buyback autograph 23/45

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23

larry walker - 1997 donruss signature series authentic signature

pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph

 

alex rodriguez* - 1998 upper deck sp authentic chirography autograph

*not currently in the national baseball hall of fame

you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.