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.

turn back the clock to cards that didn't exist

i posted about a month ago about the cards that were my favorite back in 1987. they were both 'turn back the clock' cards from the topps set that year, which is reflective of both the lack of diversity in collecting options and the reduced amount of cards i was buying then.

anyway, one of the cards was the maury wills card that featured his 1962 style card.

of course, that card did not exist in 1962 thanks to wills' refusal to sign with topps.  i first learned that it wasn't an actual card sometime in 1982 after buying the kmart mvp box set while on a big box retail visit with my grandma.  thanks to it being a 20th anniversary set, the 1962 mvps were included, and that meant maury wills got a card:

meanwhile, my dad was collecting dodger team sets of the 1960's and we eventually discovered that wills was not part of the 1962 topps set. this was later confirmed with our local card and comic shop owner who knew more about these things.  

as a result, i realized that the 1975 topps 1962 mvp card that was still on my team collection want list at the time also featured a card that should have been or never was or however you want to name it

i believe that was the first time that topps used that card image, and it may be one of the first such cards they created i suppose.

it wasn't the first, however, because in that same subset there was a 1951 topps roy campanella card created

as well as a 1955 topps campanella card

complete with an erroneously placed la dodger hat instead of a brooklyn dodger one.

this discovery gave me hope that there might one day be a 1978 topps brooks robinson or 1977 hank aaron or 1975 al kaline card created to fill the final tribute holes left behind.  and, even though the all-time fan favorites sets of the early 2000s and the current archives releases gave and continue to give me hope, i'm still waiting on brooks and aaron cards.

a few years after learning about the maury wills card in 1982, i found another one.

when i first saw the fernando valenzuela turn back the clock card in a 1986 topps pack, i was happy as he and the dodgers certainly defined the 1981 season for me. good job topps! when i went to put it in my dodger topps team set binder, however, i was reminded that his 1981 topps traded card featured a slightly different photo.

it's from the same photo shoot, so you can see how i assumed it was the same image at first.  at the time, i thought that topps did this on purpose for some reason, but these days i wonder if they erroneously used a mockup from 1981 without checking to confirm it was the actual card produced.

last year, i was happy to see topps bring back the 'turn back the clock' cards even though they weren't done in a 'card within a card' style that had been the norm for these sets when they appeared post-1977. i actually preferred the use of new photographs that tied to the event on the card, and besides, there weren't topps card designs that would have fit such events that took place prior to 1951.  still, i would like to see more of the 'lost cards' from topps, like the '62 wills and the two campy cards. maybe 2021 archives will afford topps an opportunity to create a card that should have been.

bruce sutter is a mood (and a look)

i've been working from home since the afternoon of march 16. i recognize that this fact makes me more fortunate than many, and i don't take the impact that this pandemic is having on our society lightly. there have been some times in the past couple of months that i've felt and looked like bruce sutter on his 1983 donruss card

a little anxious? worried? uncertain? hairy? yes, i've been there.  i didn't shave for the first six weeks and things got a little out of hand. i've corrected that issue, but still haven't had a haircut. i am happy to wait for that until such things are deemed appropriate. i'm not one of those jackasses out protesting about it. if you happen to be one, i politely ask that you find a constructive way to deal if that particular service is not currently available in your area.

sutter had a habit of looking to the horizon, perhaps for inspiration, on his cardinal cards.  one of the first (which is when we first get a look at the hirsute version of the closer) was his 1981 topps traded card

but there are similar photos used for all three of his 1985 topps cards

with many other examples from this timeframe. it's weird to me that someone at topps didn't try to get some variety in there.

at any rate, i'm glad to have this outlet which has always been an escape of sorts for me. thanks to all who read and write about the hobby!

i'll let 1981 topps coke bruce sutter take us out with my current mood (and look):

stay safe!

let's bat around with the reminiscence bump

night owl's recent post hit on a topic that i would imagine is common among adult card collectors. i know that it was a familiar topic for me.

for the record, i also enjoy the musical stylings of maria mckee and lone justice, and i saw them in concert in los angeles in 1987.  good show.

i also enjoyed the style of night owl's writing in that post. it reminded me of dr. manhattan's reminiscing in alan moore's "watchmen". i'll write this post the same way.

on to the cards.

1977: i am six years old. i am sitting in the back seat of our light blue volvo station wagon. i can tell you the license plate number if you'd like. my uncle, for reasons unknown, hands me a pack of baseball cards.  i get my first look at cards, and mike schmidt's is one of them.

that same year, my mom takes my brother and i to a barbershop for haircuts. the barber is telling me a story about a boy who squirmed and had his ear cut. i do not squirm. my mom sends my restless brother, who had his hair cut first, to the store next door. it is a comic book and baseball card store. when my mom and i walk in after my haircut, i am awestruck. it smells like old paper and there are comics and cards on display everywhere, along with still photos from movie shoots (not sure why, but our lcs had a ton of these set photos).  i look at my brother and his eyes are as big as saucers.  we see a 1971 topps brooks robinson card

in the display case, and we note that it looks like the guy is looking for droids on tatooine.

1978: i am seven years old and baseball card collecting has captured the attention of the six neighborhood boys, myself included, along with some other nearby kids.  we spend hours trading and discussing cards, and make frequent weekend runs to the 7-11 to buy packs. one day, while waiting for the oldest of the group to return from a pack run, i ask the question of one of the other kids: "what if i get a steve yeager card?!"

the answer to that question is that i would then have a steve yeager card, which is exactly what happened when i opened my packs later that day.  i have also morphed in to a set collector after initially storing my cards by team in a card locker my dad gave me.

that same summer, we are visiting family in canada and i am discovering the bright backs and variations of o-pee-chee cards.  i get home and pin ron cey's o-pee-chee card

on my wall.  it is one of the first cards that i scanned for my first blog.

1979: i am eight years old, standing on the doorstep of a man's house on the other side of my block.  one of my friends at school found out that he was a giants fan and that he had some cards. i ask his wife if he wants to trade with me, and she smiles and calls him over.  he looks at what i have, and takes my gary lavelle card and a couple of others.

one of the cards he gives to me in exchange is a 1955 bowman don hoak card.

true story.

1980: i am nine years old in the fall of 1980, and my dad has taken my brother and i to los angeles. we had a day off from school, and he has a business meeting. my brother and i sit in the lobby of an office building waiting for his meeting to end.  we note that we are not far from the westin bonaventure hotel, which my brother recognized from his buck rogers card collection (he had switched to non-sports cards when our local card store started carrying star wars cards).  during a break in the meeting, my dad walks my brother and i around a couple of blocks of downtown la. we go in to a convenience store to get something to drink, and i notice packs of cards at the register. my dad buys me a pack and i am excited to find reggie smith's card inside.

later that day, we meet up with my uncle, and the four of us go to a japanese restaurant. i order a hamburger.

1981: i am now eleven years old (just barely), and my dad has given to me for christmas the 1981 topps traded set.  i make him take my picture holding cards of fernando valenzuela, ken landreaux, and fred lynn.

this was the year that i really started to collect dodger team sets back to 1970, and began adding fleer and donruss to my set completing ways - although we bought a 1981 donruss set through the mail.

1982: the first year that we (my dad is now a co-collector) bought boxes of cards. we open packs together, and he makes me put the cards in numerical order as we go which irritates me. we are somewhat repulsed at 1982 fleer and the blurry photos, although i am excited that the dodgers are at the front of the set with dusty baker

sitting at number 1.

moving forward, we continued to buy cards and put together sets through 1987.  none of my friends kept up with collecting past 1983 or so, but i persevered. in 1988, i bought mainly packs (exclusively topps) before heading to college in the fall.  i did buy a box of topps in 1989, but again ignored other card manufacturers.  in 1990 i began buying hockey cards as well as baseball (still just topps) as it seemed like every strip mall had a card shop.

my dad had taken me to a few card shows in la and anaheim earlier in the decade (including the first national in 1980 where i sold my 1978 and 1979 dupes - including multiple eddie murray rookies - for $10), but now i was able to go on my own.  i went to a bunch of different shows during the late 80's and into the 90's, including the national in anaheim in 1991. that year, i bought some upper deck and thought that i would retire on my chipper jones cards. i was also all-in on topps that year, buying a ridiculous amount of cards.

1993: i have graduated from college and secured a real job. a liquor store near my office sells cards at the register. it is the first time i see something called "flair". i can't believe i am spending $3.99 on a pack of cards.  one of the cards i get is a jim edmonds wave of the future insert.

i would have preferred the mike piazza card.

this post is getting way too long, but there are so many memories.  i know i am falling short of the intent of the topic, having skipped a bunch of years within that 10-30 year-old period, but i'll finish up by saying that since 1977, there has never been a year when i did not buy cards, nor a year in which i did not follow the game, and i could point out specific cards that hold specific memories for me from each year.

as for my post-bump years, i started reading and commenting on jon weisman's 'dodger thoughts' site in 2005, which gave me a sense of an online baseball community.  then in 2006, i was made aware of ben henry's baseball card blog, and after that found more and more card blogs to read. with all of the excitement going on surrounding the second half of the dodgers' 2008 season, i decided to add my voice to the blogs. in my second post, i showed off this card

it takes me back to the summer of 1978, a candy store in southern saskatchewan that sold cards, a transistor radio on the table at home, and a collection just beginning.