I have quite a few Dodger yearbooks but the 1980 yearbook is by far my favorite.  Once I can get confirmation I can scan the whole thing, I will.  The insides are littered with baseball cards.  Even something of a short handed apology about the forgettable 1979 season is in this yearbook.  In1980, the Dodgers would turn it around, tied with Houston for the lead in the NL West going into the last game … in which they were blown out by the Astros.  Also included is a memoriam to Walter and Kay O’Malley, Ross Porter with a lot more hair than he has now, and list of Dodger rookies that include Scioscia, Dave Stewart, and Kelly “Little Duke” Snider.

While I do not have the program from the All Star game that year, I do have a couple patches.

Found another card store in the area. This shop is much smaller than the other I previously visited and has mostly newer stuff. I found this owner to be more friendly and not gimmicky. Anyways, I bought some top loaders and a pack of 2007 Bowman.  I am not sure why I picked this over the other available packs.  I was ready to gamble as I was on my way to poker game anyways.

Shawn O’Malley (chrome)
Aaron Cunnigham (chrome)
Dan Dement (1st Card)
Brandon Roberts (1st Card)
Matt Kemp
Gary Sheffield
Manny Ramirez
Melvin Mora
A-Rod Road To 500 (#166)
Conor Jackson (Gold)

I am very happy to pull a Matt Kemp card even though it’s been rumored he’s on his way out for Johan Santana. BAD MOVE. HUGE MISTAKE. But I digress. I actually like this set of cards. The border design is a bit ugly, but the quality of the cards and the photographs stick out as a high point. Granted, most of the players on in the 1st Card series will end up being duds, but I like the premise. I have no intention of building this set so if anyone reading this needs any of these cards for set fillers, contact me via my website. I will be more than happy to trade for any of your Dodger extras new and old.

As I was leaving the store, the dealer gave me a free pack of cards from National Baseball Card Day in 2006. I didn’t know this day existed. Does this happen every year? The pack of cards was pretty good as well. These were probably massed produced, but who cares. A Nomar was in the pack it was all worth the while.

I found this pack for just the right price at $1.50. I always loved this set from Topps for some reason.  I am not sure if it was the subpar gloss on the cards or the horrible photography.  The blockteam lettering on the top sure made it easy to sort the cards by teams.

Orel Hershiser (nice! right off the bat with a damn great player from the mid to late 80s)
Larry Parrish
Donnie Moore
Thad Bosley
Tim Teufel
Butch Wynegar
Mark Salas
Lou Thornton
Mike Schmidt (I really think a pack is a good one if you get at least one HOF’er)
Giants Leaders
Steve Mura
Mike Jeffcoat
George Brett (two HOF’ers!)
Mark Clear
Alejandro Pena (with gum stuck to it)

I needed a pack like this after that damn Fleer cello pack. The first card was Hershiser, who I think needs to be in the HOF, but never will. It is wasn’t for the Dodger’s blatent over use of him from 85 to 89, he’d had a long career like Glavine and Smoltz. I also sadly think his 59 consecutive scoreless inning record will someday soon be broken. I met Hershiser back in the late 80s and we talked about baseball and hockey cards, school, and other Dodgers. He was a genuinely nice guy who seemed to care about his fans. I hope he takes Grittle’s job as a Dodger manager, or at least comes in as a coach.

I think paid too much for this pack. Even before I tore this open, I had buyer’s remorse.

Don Robinson
Dave Stewart
Randy O’Neal
Jeff Stone
Jeff Dedmon
Instant Offense (Raines & Strawberry)
Jackie Gutierrez
Dave Von Ohlen
LaMarr Hoyt
Ron Kittle
Larry Sorensen
Don Aase
Richard Dotson
Joe Uribe
Famous Feats Jimmy Foxx / Padres Sticker
Famous Fats Fred Toney and Hippo Vaughn / Expos Sticker
Craig Nettles
Harold Baines
Bobby Castillo
John Shelby
Gerald Perry
Bob Brenly
Gary Gaetti
Tom Hume
Lee Mazzili
Floyd Rayford
Bob Dernier
Alvin Davis
Steve Shields

Man, this pack is a Who’s Who of 1986’s most forgettable players. Aside from pulling Raines (even that is bummer because he shares the card with Strawberry), I should have been paid to open this one up. How brutal!  This pack is like Chevy Chase getting to Walley World but finding out it was closed.  Right Tom Hume?

1940 Play Ball is a hard set to come by in any kind of condition. That’s why I jumped on these two cards way back when. Even now, I doubt I’d ever purchase a vintage card online. I’d want to see it before I bought it. That said, though, if you are reading this, and have some more Brooklyn Dodgers from 1940 Play Ball, comment here. I am interested if you can assure me they are not fakes.

A recurring theme here will be “From the Collection”. Most of the time, it will be Dodger memorabilia.

The first card featured is Maury Wills from a Baseball Card News (#14). I loved Baseball Card News back in the day. If I remember correctly, my father and I did some mail order via that publication back when we really started collecting. I have no idea who else is in this set. Doing research on this post, I found the Official Maury Wills website. He is selling some memorabilia via his site which I might snag once I move and start shopping around for decor for my card room. He’s one of my favorite all-time greats and I see his spunk in some of the younger Dodger players that many fans wanted to see on the field more through out 2007.

I strolled into a recently moved card store, which I never gave money to before. The owner seems a bit ok, but having been in the business, I am naturally skeptical. But that’s another post for another day. They had first year 1981 Donruss for $1.50 a pack, which is not so bad so I decided to give it a bite … but not the gum.

Dennis Leonard (with a slab of gum stuck to it)
Renie Martin (with some gum seepage)
Tommy Hutton
Cecil Cooper
Joe Strain
Dave Frost
Leo Sutherland
Al Woods
Rollie Fingers
Ozzie Smith (but a tad off center)
Manny Trillo
Jackson Todd
Ross Baumgarten
Johnny Bench
Rennie Stennett
Joe Charboneau
Fred Norman
Bill Gullickson

This is a great pack just for Rollie Fingers, Ozzie Smith, and Johnny Bench alone! Three Hall of Famers! Hot damn. I was instantly reminded how the 1981 Donruss set was notorious for being off center. And just how do you get gum and gum juices off a card anyways? Even though this set has crappy photography and the gum situation, I loved opening this pack up. I was six in 1981 and had just started getting into card collecting with my father. The nostalgia factor along with the idea I got 18 cards for $1.50 makes me want to go back and buy the rest of the packs the store had available.

This post would have been some what monumental if only I could have bought a pack of the 1981 Donruss golf set.

Gorman Thomas 1982 Donruss Diamond King

Diamond Kings were one of the best reasons to collect in the 80s. Each team had a king and the Brewers’ king this particular year was Gorman Thomas. Thomas was one of those players you’ve probably forgotten about. This card makes Gordon look like an aged and retired slow pitch softball beer league Wolverine, which is probably a good thing because in this picture, he looks like Charlie Manson. Just like Wolverine, Thomas did have some power during this playing days. His low average, though, kept him from being a star. That, my friends, is a typical American Leaguer in the 70s and 80s.

I really did not what to expect when I purchased these.  I was hoping for something along the lines of Allen & Ginter or Turkey Red.  I was wrong.  These cards reminds me of a mix between Allen & Ginter and those Studio sets from the early 90s.  I only opened one pack.

Jimmy Rollins
Mark Teahen
Manny Ramirez
Roy Oswalt
Philip Humber

Nice to get a probable Hall of Famer in Ramirez.  Oswalt and Rollins are “stars” now.  Humber, the lone rookie, probably wont amount to much of anything.  My question is why are some cards action profile shots while others look like they went to the local photography studio?  I am not impressed with the look of these cards.  I really miss the functionality sports cards like we saw in the 80s.  Some of the stats on the backs just mentioned the stats listed below.  The Artifacts line seems something of a misnomer.  They do not feel or look like artifacts.

My first hurrah back into card collecting. Three packs of 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter. It’s been over a decade since I analyzed a pack of cards, let alone three at one time so bare with me.

Pack #1
Fyodor Dostoevsky (parallel)
Lastings Milledge
Dan Uggla
Checklist
Carlos Guillen
Milton Bradley
Greg Louganis

Pack #2
Gary Matthews (black parallel)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Grady Sizemore
Adrian Beltre
Noah Lowry
Lance Berkman

Pack #3
Morocco (mini flag)
Aramis Ramirez
Frank Catalanotto
Josh Bard
Checklist
Andre Ethier
Phil Hughes

Well, that was pretty uneventful. Even pulling Ethier, the lone Dodger (my favorite team), was quite underwhelming. All potentially exciting players for years to come, Matthews, Uggla, Bard, Sizemore, I believe are all short prints. What that means, I am not so sure. I have Beckett’s and oversized Tuff Stuffs but they are wickedly out of date. I saw Hughes at my first ever Yankee game at Yankee Stadium back in August. I was unimpressed, but hey, the Yankees are in the playoffs and the Dodgers are not. Saltalamacchia has the longest last name is baseball and Bradley’s ACL tore after an ump swore at him.

All in all, I love these cards.  They are definitely over priced though.  But they give that certain tingle of excitement like I got when I first started collecting.  As you will soon find out, not all popular cards with collectors do that to me.  But this set does.  Perhaps it is the fact that it goes beyond baseball players.  For instance, I want to try to find a Jason McElwain card.  He lives in my area and his story is certainly remarkable.

I am guessing that my next pack will take me back into the 80s. There’s a couple card shops in my area and some have mid-80s rack and cello packs as well as mid-80s Topps, Fleer, and Donruss wax packs.