subsets of shields and banners

even though i have complete sets of topps flagship sets that include the 1978 through 1981 releases, i've also pulled together subset collections of the all-star cards. i toyed with the idea of going back to 1975, which was the first year that the all-star designation was added to the players' base card rather than being a separate card in the set. but i decided to start with the first set that i collected, which was 1978. it was easy to end the subset collection with 1981, as that was the last year that topps used the players' base card to designate them as all-stars, as they reverted to a second card for all-stars beginning in 1982.

here are your national league all-stars from the 1978 topps set:

p - don sutton
c - johnny bench
1b - steve garvey
2b - joe morgan
3b - ron cey
ss - dave concepcion
lf - greg luzinski
cf - george foster
rf - dave parker

4 reds, 3 dodgers, and a phillie and a pirate.  this group matches up with the players who actually started the 1977 all-star game, which was played in yankee stadium. 

here are the american league all-stars:

p - jim palmer
c - carlton fisk
1b - rod carew
2b - willie randolph
3b - george brett
ss - rick burleson
lf - (richie zisk)
cf - carl yastrzemski
rf - reggie jackson

3 red sox, 2 yankees, an oriole, twin, and royal. this group also matches the starters for the 1977 game, with the left fielder richie zisk for some reason not getting the all-star shield on his card.  the missing zisk card has been confounding collectors since 1978. i am one of many who have written about it and created a custom card that should have been. gio went so far as to put zisk back on the white sox for whom he was playing in 1977.  i'm not sure if i will ever print one of those customs out and add them to my subset. for now, the 7 spot remains empty.

let's take a look at the 1979 topps national league all-stars:

p - vida blue

c - johnny bench

1b - steve garvey

2b - joe morgan

3b - pete rose

ss - larry bowa

lf - greg luzinski

cf - george foster

rf - rick monday

once again, there are 4 reds, but only 2 dodgers this time, with 2 phillies, and a giant. those are the players (position players, anyway) who were selected by the fans to start the game in san diego, but johnny bench was hurt and was replaced in the starting lineup by ted simmons. five of the nine players were repeats from the 1977 game/1978 set.

here are the american league all-stars:

p - jim palmer

c - carlton fisk

1b - rod carew

2b - don money

3b - george brett

ss - (fred patek)

lf - jim rice

cf - richie zisk

rf - reggie jackson

a little more team diversity here with 2 red sox, but then one player each from the orioles, twins, brewers, royals, rangers, and yankees. there should have bee 2 royals, as fred patek got the richie zisk treatment, although zisk himself was thankfully recognized. again, these players match the fan vote, and all started the game except for jackson. he was ill, and was replaced by fred lynn.

i don't think i ever made a card for patek, but i know gio did, in a post that includes a 1978 zisk card like mine as well as a 1975 reggie jackson card.

now for the 1980 national league all-stars: 

p - steve carlton

c - ted simmons

1b - steve garvey

2b - dave lopes

3b - mike schmidt

ss - larry bowa

lf - george foster

cf - dave winfield

rf - dave parker

some new blood here, with 3 phillies, 2 dodgers, and one each from the cardinals, reds, padres, and pirates. topps got it right again, with each of these players representing the starters, or at least the starters as chosen by the fans (and manager in carlton's case). unfortunately, ted simmons was injured and unable to start. bob boone got the call in his place.

the 1979 all-star game was such a highlight for me as a young fan. dave parker's cannon was on full display on a couple of plays, and i can still see brian downing getting nailed at the plate in the 8th to preserve the tie.

here are the american league all-stars:

p - nolan ryan

c - darrell porter

1b - rod carew

2b - frank white

3b - george brett

ss - roy smalley

lf - carl yastrzemski

cf - fred lynn

rf - jim rice

no yankees! the 1979 game saw these 3 royals, 3 red sox, 2 angels, and twin selected for the starting lineup by the fans and, in ryan's case, the manager. unfortunately, rod carew was hurt, so yaz moved to 1st base and don baylor was added to the starting lineup in left field. this was the first time in my collecting experience that all american league all-stars were present and accounted for.

topps changed things up in 1981. here are the national league all-stars for that year:

rhp - jim bibby

lhp - steve carlton

rp - bruce sutter

c - johnny bench

1b - steve garvey

2b - dave lopes

3b - mike schmidt

ss - bill russell

lf - dave kingman

cf - reggie smith

rf - dave parker

the 1980 game was played in dodger stadium, which somewhat explains 4 dodgers here. the other representatives include 2 pirates, 2 cubs, 2 phillies, and a red. i was confused when i started collecting cards in 1981 by the multiple all-star pitchers. i was further confused as jr richard had started the game for the national league, not bibby. bibby did pitch in the game, as did sutter, but carlton did not (he was on the roster, however). it would have meant adding another dodger, but jerry reuss did appear in the game, and could have fit the lhp starter slot in the set. as for the position players, they do match the fan vote, but schmidt was hurt and replaced in the starting lineup by ken reitz.

here's what topps pulled together for the american league:

rhp - steve stone

lhp - larry gura

rp - rich gossage

c - carlton fisk

1b - rod carew

2b - paul molitor

3b - george brett

ss - bucky dent

lf - (jim rice)

cf - fred lynn

rf - reggie jackson

3 yankees, 2 royals, 2 red sox, an oriole, an angel, and a brewer, with one position (left field) missing. jim rice had been voted in to start, but he was hurt and was replaced by ben oglivie of the brewers. strange that rice did not get an all-star banner on his card, as molitor and brett were both also hurt but still got the all-star designation. willie randolph replaced molitor, and graig nettles started in place of brett. still, the position players identified by topps match the players that were voted to start, and steve stone was the american league's starting pitcher. rich gossage finished the game, so that works, but larry gura was in the same boat as steve carlton. losing pitcher tommy john could have been a better choice for the all-star banner than gura.

the shield on the 1978 topps cards remains my favorite all-star designation. the 1979 ribbon works well with the design of that year's card, and i was ok with the 1980 banners. i didn't really card for the 1981 banners, however, although the green and red colors were a nice nod to the green and red books put out for each league which i had only learned about a year or so prior to that set being released.

final count for each team, in case you are curious:

national league:

11 dodgers

10 reds

8 phillies

4 pirates

2 cubs

1 giant

1 cardinal

1 pirate

braves, expos, mets, astros were shut out.

american league:

10 red sox

7 royals

6 yankees

3 orioles

3 angels

3 twins

2 brewers

1 ranger

a's, blue jays, mariners, white sox were shut out.

the players with most appearances over these 4 years were rod carew, george brett, and steve garvey who appeared as all-stars in all four sets. had i gone back to 1975, both carew and garvey would have appeared in all years.  it is worth noting that, in 1981, i was actually stressed about steve garvey's card not having the all-star designation the following year as he was supplanted by pete rose in the fan balloting. turns out, i didn't have to worry, as the 1982 set separated out all-stars from the base cards.  

i'm happy to have all of these cards in a mini-collection where i can see them in one place, as they do look nice together.