A Deuce of Nine Spots

I found an old 800 count box of 80s cards in a corner of my garage, where they had probably been sitting for 10 years or more.  Jackpot!!  Of course they were all commons or close to it, but that only meant that there were some cool cards that I hadn't seen in years!  I pulled 18 that made me smile, giggle or reminisce!

The top three cards are box bottoms!  I love the feel of the thicker stock.  Oddibe sighting #1!

For Oddibe sighting #2, we only have to go as far as the second row, where McDowell is joined by his 84 USA teammate Cory Snyder.  Obviously, the most famous card from this subset is the McGwire RC, but back in 85, these two were right up there on the Hot List.

Then we have a sad record breaker card.  Sad you say?  Well, the record that Samuel broke only lasted one year.  The next year the great-ish Vince Coleman swiped 110 bags to demolish the record.  Might be why Juan looks a little befuddled.

LaMarr Hoyt!  Lots could be said about Hoyt, something of a sad story.  But he was a pretty impressive pitcher for his 8 year, drug ended career.  Ended up with a career .590 winning percentage despite a couple of horrible years at he end, the same as Bob Gibson.  He captured my attention as a kid when he was traded to the Padres in 1985.  I always wondered how someone so obviously out of shape and grungy looking could pitch so well.  And an O-Pee-Chee to boot!

The Eric Show just screams MUSTACHE at me.  His perm isn't bad either.  USA Network and Budweiser ads in the background too.  Cool card.

The Maury Wills card is just jarring to my senses.  Maury a Mariner??  So strange, but cool to have any Maury Wills card.

1978 Topps Billy Martin - I'm thinking about starting to collect Martin.  He actually has a lot of great cards out there.  And the 'As Player/As Manager' subset was a good one!

1981 Topps Berenguer, Brooks, Wilson RC - Three decent players on one RC.  Not bad.

1982 Topps Kent Hrbek RC - I was intrigued by Hrbek.  He seemed to have some talent, but on most of his cards, he always looked like he had just come back from a party and wasn't quite ready to play ball to me.

1981 Topps Joe Charboneau RC - There are a lot of great stories about "Super Joe", but you will have to go google those yourself.  Tough career with the injuries, he holds the record for fewest career games played by a Rookie of the Year, with just 201.

1981 Fleer Harold Baines RC - RC of a HOFer!!  OK, in the real universe, he is not a Hall of Famer.  I was just reading about that on someone's blog recently.  And I agree, he isn't, but he was a quality player.  

1983 Donruss Julio Franco RC - Franco is a guy I respect.  He loved the game.  Wasn't a star for the last 10 years or so of his career, but stuck around and contributed everywhere he went.  23 year career is nothing to scoff at!

Three Tony Penas - You gotta sing that to the tune of The Macarena.  Threeeeee Tony Penas!  The Topps RC is a good card, but those Fleers are just sweet!  Love the way he carries his catchers gear on his bats in the 84, and the grungy, minor league feel of the 82 is great too.

Go find a box of old cards to look through!