One card only - headless Tony and #53

The previous three posts have all featured cards I received from Jason, who I initially chatted to when he showed off his collection of all 20 Tony Gwynn cards from Topps' Project 2020 endeavour. After he had sent me those three cards, Jason asked if I wanted to buy a spare Project 2020 card he had available. 

As I only had one Project 2020 card already, I quite happily said yes, and it arrived in the post yesterday. I haven't bothered including the outer sleeve as it's the same as the one I scanned previously. And this time I went straight to careful sticker-peeling and popped open the mag holder so I could put the card directly on the scanner.

Card Number 584: Topps Project 2020, 2020; #161

The card designs of all the Project 2020 cards took Tony's 1983 rookie card as it's base. Card #161 in the project was designed by Ermsy, and his take on the rookie card design was to remove Tony's head. I'm not really bothered by that because one of my frequent complaints about Tony's rookie card is that you can't see his face and his most prominent feature in the photo is his backside. I know other people love it, and that's fine. But I just don't.

The back of the card is plain, and has a blurb about the Project and about the artist. This isn't really a 'card' as it's printed on 3mm foamboard. I think it would be quite fun if Topps introduced these designs as insert series in future sets printed on actual cardboard.

This card had a print run of 5,543, which is quite a lot lower than the print run for the other card I own, which was designed by Efdot. That was #94 in the series at the absolute apex of the interest in Project 2020. If sales were plotted on a bell curve, this card by Ermsy was on the way back down! It's also the 33rd card released in 2020 in my collection.

Seeing this reworked image of Tony's rookie card reminded me of another thing that has bugged me about the card, and that is Tony's uniform number in the photo.

It has always been a mystery to me why he was shown wearing a number in the 50s, which looked like number 53. I have seen pictures from Tony's debut where he is quite clearly wearing number 19 - he was given that number and wore it consistently for his entire career. So that really made me wonder when this photo was taken.

I didn't find an easy answer on Google, and I went through a number of options. Maybe Topps had a photo of the wrong player - that has been known to happen. Except nobody wore 53 in 1982, and that's clearly a 1982 uniform, and none of Tony's team-mates looked like him. Another possibility was that it was a minor league picture, especially given the background. There was no way that was Jack Murphy Stadium; I've seen enough pictures to know it wasn't taken there.

I did read a story somewhere that Tony was involved in a Padres photoshoot while he was still a student at San Diego State, but I doubt he would have been running the bases in a random photoshoot and it seemed very unlikely Topps would use that. Plus that would have been in 1980 or 1981 and the uniform would have been slightly different.

Jason runs Dugout Classics in Scotland, billed as "The largest collection of vintage and throwback jerseys this side of the Atlantic", so I thought he might be the chap to ask about the number. He quickly sent me a link to a fascinating story about the restoration of this very jersey, which reveals the truth about this photo.

Tony was allocated #53 in Padres Spring Training in 1982 held at the Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma, Arizona. The guide for the Spring Training has Tony listed in a footnote - there is a picture here. This would be after Tony's successful 1981 season with Walla Walla and Amarillo, and before he went out to Hawaii to play for the Islanders. 

When he was brought up to the Major Leagues in July 1982, Tony was given the number 19 jersey. At some point Topps compiled their checklist for the 1983 season and would have noted San Diego's hot rookie and allocated him card #482. Then they needed a photo, and presumably the only one they had on file would have been this one from Spring Training.

I really want to thank Jason for offering me this card and also for helping me discover why Tony isn't wearing #19 on his rookie card. I had been pondering it for ages and now the mystery is solved!

Total: 584 cards

There are three packages in transit from North America as I write this. But unless one or more of them arrives tomorrow, there's going to be a little break in blogging!

Scraping the bottom of the box

This is the third card that was in the envelope from Jason. When I saw it in the photos of cards he sent me I knew I didn't have it, but I also had no idea how I hadn't seen it before. When it arrived it suddenly became clear!

Card Number 583: Topps Display Box Bottom, 1988; #F

(That's right, this card is number F!)

Just like I knew straightaway that the mini card I blogged about a couple of days ago was from 1989, I could tell this was a card from 1988 immediately. But I knew it was a different picture and the turquoise border threw me slightly. 

When it arrived and I saw the back, and the slightly squiffy edge, I realised what it was.

Topps, and other companies, used to print additional cards on the display boxes. It's actually something Topps revived a couple of years ago with their Big League range which had an extra card printed on the side of blaster boxes that could be cut out. In 1988 these 'box bottom' cards were printed in panels of 4, and there were 4 different panels to collect, with the cards 'numbered' A-P.

Tony was one of three Padres featured on the box bottoms, the other two being Marvell Wynne and John Kruk. The write up on the cardback explains why those three players featured. In a game against the San Francisco Giants on 13 April 1987, Marvell, Tony and John all hit a home run in consecutive at bats off pitcher Roger Mason - they were the first three at bats in the Padres first inning.

And you thought Slam Diego was a new thing for 2020!

Sadly, despite this feat, the Padres lost the game 13-6. Tony had 3 hits, picking up a couple more singles, and had a walk as well. It was one of the first of many defeats in a losing season for the Padres. They finished with 65 wins and 97 defeats, and in sixth place in the division. Tony's batting title was one of the few bright spots of the year.

Although this card is a little bit damaged, with a slight crease on the front and a mark on the back, I really like it. Of course it won't be pristine. It was cut from a counter-top display box after all the packs had been sold. But that makes it authentic, a genuine artifact from the 1980s baseball card hobby explosion.

Plus, there's a batting doughnut in the photo, so I know Fuji will appreciate this. In fact, if you look at his blogpost with a "dozen doughnuts", you'll see this card is the very first one. (And his card has an even more visible crease on it!)

I'd like to finish with a big thank you to Jason for sending me the cards I've blogged over the last couple of days. 

Total: 583 cards

Fleer's baffling photo choices

A second card from Jason, and a second card within a few blog posts from one of Fleer's limited edition 44-card glossy sets that were sold in complete sets, in packs like decks of playing cards. At the end of January I posted about an All Star card that started off a new binder page devoted to these cards. I'm glad to say it didn't take long for that card to have some company.

Card Number 582: Fleer Award Winners, 1988; #16

I like the bold frames that most of these card sets feature.

However, I have to question the use of the photo, particularly if you juxtapose this with the other Fleer Award Winner card I have, which was printed in 1987.

So, on the 'slugger award' card from 1988, Tony isn't shown holding a bat. But on the 'fielding award' card from 1987, he is holding a bat! (And rather nonchalantly too!) 

It feels like Fleer are trolling us here. I find it very hard to believe they couldn't have found a photo of Tony holding a bat to illustrate him slugging.

Anyway, the back of the Award Winners card from 1988 isn't very interesting. There's a bit of space under the candy-striped stats box that Fleer could have filled with a little note about what Tony did to win the award. But they didn't write anything there. (He was the batting champion with an average of .370.)

The second page of these special edition cards is coming along nicely, though!

Total: 582 cards

League Leader with a swoosh

I got chatting to Jason after he posted a picture of his set of Project 2020 Tony Gwynn cards in the UK Facebook Group. They looked really nice together and I have a tinge of envy. The envy is mixed with gratitude, though, because Jason sent me a picture of some of his duplicate Tony Gwynn cards and asked if I needed any. I did, and shortly afterwards an envelope arrived with some cards in. (It actually arrived the day after the cards from Dean arrived so I had consecutive days with baseball cards in the post. Happy days!)

Back in the 1980s Topps had other ranges besides their flagship, including smaller sized cards depicting 'league leaders'. I've already blogged about Tony's card in their range from 1986. 

Card Number 581: Topps Major League Leaders,1989; #39

The front of the card is recognisably from 1989 because it has that 'swoosh' effect for Tony's name, the same as his base card that year, which looks like this: 

The swoosh is also on the 'accidental appearance' Tony made in the 1989 set when he was almost taking out Al Pedrique on the Pirates Leaders card.

I'm a fan of the swoosh effect and the 1989 Topps lay-out generally. When it comes to late 80s Topps designs, I'm definitely keener on the card sets released in odd numbered years - 85, 87, 89.

The card is a bit smaller than a regular flagship card, though. Here they are next-to-next to show what I mean.

The back is a lovely bright yellow, with a colour headshot photo of Tony. This is a much better cardback than Topps normally produced. 

While he was the batting champion in 1988, he ranked lower in on base percentage and didn't record as many hits as might be expected. He was ranked joint tenth overall. Partly that was down to injury during the 1988 season.

In 1989 these cards were sold in packs of 7 for 30 cents a pack. There were 77 cards in the set, with a few players from each team. Although it doesn't seem the cards are particularly rare, they don't turn up as often as might be expected in sale lots so I was very pleased to have the opportunity to obtain this card.

Total: 581 cards

All Time Diamond King

Dean sent me this card alongside the Gypsy Queen card I blogged about yesterday. My wife, Cathy, remarked that the combination of green background and Tony's pose made him look more like a golfer.

Card Number 580: Panini All-Time Diamond Kings, 2020; #ATDK-1

Tony was given the first card in this 25-card insert series.

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It's a very green card, but I like green so I'm not complaining. I can't find any reference to an actual artist on this card, or online, so I'm guessing the 'art' has been done by a Panini staffer.

The back is understated. But it's also turquoise, which is a happy colour and reminiscent of the early 90s. I'm going to add the description of Tony as a "sweet-swinging lefty" to my selection of cardback descriptions. There's a bonus phrase as well - "the San Diego standout".

I know Panini cards aren't to everybody's taste, given they don't carry team logos, but this card isn't bad at all. I now have 3 Diamond Kings cards from 2020 in my collection, and the overall total of cards from 2020 is now 32!

Here are the 3 Diamond Kings cards from 2020 together. They are all regular versions of the insert cards. Parallels exist, but I don't have any. (Yet!)

A big thank you to Dean for sending me this and completing my triptych of Diamond Kings cards.

Total: 580 cards

Gypsy Queen Short Print

After I had blogged yesterday about collection drift I had an envelope containing a couple of cards arrive in the post. The mail was from Dean in the UK Facebook group. He had responded after I asked if anyone had a copy of this card they would like to rehome.

Card Number 579: Topps Gypsy Queen, 2020; #305

Cards numbered 301-320 in this set were short prints of retired players, legends of the game and Hall of Famers.

The illustrated front captures Tony in the act of watching the batter at the plate ahead of him. This was one of the prime pieces of advice he gave to aspiring hitters - watch the pitcher as much as possible. I think tje picture works well in the old timey frame.

The back is old timey as well. I don't think this is based off an actual Gypsy Queen cigarette card design. The write-up is one of those oddball statistics that Topps like to put on baseball cards because it's highly unlikely anyone will ever check them. I don't take anything on trust any more with Topps but I'm not going to look it up.

I don't know how short the print run of the 'short print' cards were, but they weren't easy pulls based on how many I've seen so I'm quite pleased to add this to my collection.

Total: 579 cards

Collection Drift part 1 - Tiny Gwynns

My wife came up with the Tiny Gwynn joke about a mini card, but it works well for today's blog content. 

A couple of months ago some Tony Gwynn figures came up on eBay from a UK seller so I nabbed them. They aren't the first Tony Gwynn figures I've bought. I also have an Ojo figure that I bought in Cooperstown. (I will dig that out and blog about it one day.)

The figure on the left is a Corinthian Headliner. I'd only ever seen soccer figures produced by Corinthian, but it makes sense that they did other sports as well. This figure is from 1998 - as can be seen by the yellow band on the top left of the card. That's the year the Padres reached the World Series.

The smaller figure is a Micro Star made a couple of years earlier by Creative Images International. It was from a range of 50 players and was released in 1995. It's in a snapcase so the card hasn't warped like the Corinthian figure. The back has a little write up about Tony's record-setting season in 1994. Unlike the Corinthian the Micro Star doesn't show him holding the bat ready for a left-handed swing, even though the information on the cardback includes him being a lefty.

I know these aren't baseball cards, but I like having them in my collection, and it's OK for collections to drift slightly, isn't it? (Please say yes!)