Fun with Plastic!

Today's post shows off a recent Ebay win.  Due to my ongoing scanner issues, you will have to make do with some mediocre pics with some glare.

Perma-Graphics!  Doesn't have the name recognition that Topps, Fleer or Donruss have, does it.  But for anyone who likes 80's oddballs, this seems like a must have set! I found 2 or 3 of these cards in my collection and they prompted me to take a look at collecting the whole set.  I think that Perma-Graphics made 3 sets of these from 1981-83, so this set would be the last one they made. 

Here is what I won.  Unfortunately, I didn't get the whole set (yet).  I now have 25 of the 36 cards in the 1983 set.  Oh yeah, one more card that didn't make it in the pic above:

The set is wonderful, little plastic 'credit cards' with rounded edges.  They feel sturdy and have a smooth, almost glossy finish.  The checklist is pretty refreshing too.  Back then it would have probably been considered all superstars, but now it is a mixture of the greatest HOFers of the early 80s and a bunch of fan favorites that kids today might not recognize.  I'm talking about guys like George Hendricks, Al Oliver, Darrell Porter, Doug DeCinces and Hal McRae.  Who is in there that you liked?

Here are a few closeups of some of the cards I especially liked this morning:

Dawson in an Expos uni has always been something that catches my eye.  Not sure why.

There were 6 Cardinals in the lot I bought!  Seems like overrepresentation in a 36 card set, but I can't argue with any of the inclusions.  The Cardinals were one of my favorite teams in the 80s.  And really, for someone who doesn't team collect, they are still one of my favorites.

A couple of Angels!  Carew is one of my all time faves.  Since Batting Average is on the outs these days, I wonder if he would be appreciated as much if he played today.  Decinces always seemed underrated to me.  He was a steady fielder with a good bat and was a glue guy on the teams he played for.  Unfortunately, in recent years, he has had some trouble with the law over financial issues like insider trading.  To tie it all together, Carew testified at Decinces' trial, as a character witness.  Strange.

Another Angel.  Hmm, I focused on only 2 teams here, sorry!  I love the sunglasses on Reggie in this pic.

And here is the back of the cards.  Career stats, a decent blurb for each player and the highlight, right there at the bottom.  Zoom in and take a look.  It says 'The bearer of this card is a certified fan and is entitled to all ensuing rights and privileges'.  That's hilarious!!  Based on that line alone, I would guess that these were targeted directly at kids.  But when I think about it, all cards back then were directly targeted at kids.  How the world has changed...

I still need 3 Gary Carter, 9 Dale Murphy, 14 Mike Schmidt, 19 George Brett, 21 Cecil Cooper, 23 Rollie Fingers, 24 Damaso Garcia, 26 Rickey Henderson, 31 Jim Rice, 32 Gorman Thomas, 36 Robin Yount.  A few HOFers, but no insanely priced guys in that list, so it seems doable.  If you have any of them for trade, hit me up!  I also wouldn't mind cards from the 81 or 82 sets.