VJ Lovero was a talented sports photographer from Los Angeles. He shot 39 photos that appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in his career. He was also the team photographer for the Angels, and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in NHL.
Besides working for Sports Illustrated, his agency of sports photographers became the sole provider of images for Upper Deck. Lovero was actually the photographer who took the seminal photo of Ken Griffey Jr, which was the very first card in the very first Upper Deck set. So it's not surprising that he had his own insert series in Upper Deck's flagship product one year. The photos are quirky, capturing unexpected angles of baseball stars on and off the field.
At the age of 40, Lovero was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer and a prognosis of six months to live. He continued working, including covering the Angel's victory in the World Series in 2002. In January 2004 he died, aged 44.
Card Number 729: Upper Deck VJ Lovero Collection, 1996; #VJ19
I almost think they had 19 cards in this insert set just so they could give Tony the #19 card. 19 bonus points for the numbering !
As he is an educator, I expect this card might be one of Fuji's favourites!
Tony often went to schools and other places of education as guest speaker. According to the cardback this was a high school in San Diego. The writing on the chalkboard behind him is about verb tenses, so I think this would be an English classroom.
On the back, Lovero explains why he has chosen this photo. He seemed to have a very high regard for Tony. They were about the same age and it's possible they may have played baseball against each other as kids. I presume Lovero played - he has an award named after him in the Tustin Western Little League, which is given annually to the player that "exemplifies the high standards of play at TWLL through sportsmanship, citizenship, and hard work".
Although, having said all that, the photo of Tony throwing on the back has caught him in a very awkward-looking moment!
Total: 729 cards
Ahh the mid 90s. The era where card companies made inserts about everything. Chances are though, had Upper Deck not made this set, most collectors would have no idea who VJ Lovero was.
ReplyDeleteLove this card! Used it in a post back in February:
ReplyDeletehttps://sanjosefuji.blogspot.com/2021/02/back-to-school.html
I had a strong feeling you would like that card - probably because I read it on your blog
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