My '83s and me

I think I've stated several times already that my favorite set of all-time is the 1975 Topps set. There is lots of love for that set on this blog and lots more to come. Still, there are several sets from the '70s that are favorites, too. I've already discussed the '71 set. I also like the '72 set very much. The '74 set holds a special place in my heart, and the '76 and '78 sets have meaning, also.

But when it comes to the '80s, there is absolutely no competition. My favorite by a landslide is the 1983 Topps set. I do like other sets from the '80s, but the '83 set is the one I'm saving if the house is burning down.

You see, 1983 is a year I'll always remember. I graduated from high school that year. I started college that year. I received my first steady job. I had my first steady girlfriend. (She was a looker and a riot). My social life skyrocketed. And who can't love a year that gave us Dexys Midnight Runners, Kajagoogoo and Der Kommisar? (Actually, I was preferring U2's War at the time).

All of the good stuff eased the pain of the Dodgers' exit in the NLCS that year (freakin' Gary Matthews). And part of the good stuff was the 1983 Topps set. When I first saw it, I knew it was a vast improvement over the previous two years, especially '82. The design was a take-off on the 1963 set, but much more modern. I loved the complementary team colors they used on the design (although Oakland got stuck with pink).

But the best part was that for the first time, the majority of the photos were action photos. We spent years as kids valuing the action shots, partly because they were so few and far between. Now we had a set in which two-thirds of the photos were action! Sweet! And if you still wanted the posed head shot, well, Topps included it there for you, right at the bottom.

Even though I've completed other sets from the '80s, I'm still lacking about 65 cards from the 1983 set. But that total is smaller than it was a couple weeks ago after a package from Jim of gcrl arrived. In it were 18 cards from '83 that I needed, along with some other good stuff that I'll get to here, too. Jim's one of those guys who I suspect has an endless supply of cards. It's a good thing he's willing to share them with all of us!

So, from gcrl, I received several key '83s, including:

Stormin' Gorman: My brothers and I would look at his stats and laugh when Thomas first came up in the late '70s. Then Stormin' started annihilating everything he saw, and we became fans. Yeah, we climbed aboard the bandwagon.

King Kong: The impetus for Tommy Lasorda's most famous tirade (and he's had a bunch of them) ever.

The Bull: His kid didn't work out with the Dodgers. Oh well, maybe Mattingly's kid will.

The Ryan Express: Another great aspect of the 1983 set, the super veteran card (although Dave LaRoche as a super veteran is pushing it).

Sweet Lou: Helmet's on crooked, Lou. Maybe a future Hall of Famer?

The most famous chin ever: Well, this side of Jay Leno, anyway.

Lee Arthur: He should be in the Hall of Fame. Maybe in a year or three?

The Major: He's still kicking. He turned 89 in August.

I also received some more 1986 cards from gcrl. Thirty-eight in total.

(That Tettleton card is about as hazy a photo as you'll find). With the number of wonderful people sending '86s my way, I should have this set completed very soon.

And speaking of completing sets, I received the last four Dodgers I needed to complete the team set for the spectacularly colorful 1988 Score.

As well as the last card I needed to complete the 1992 Topps Dodger set. It figures Lasorda would be the last card. What a great photo. This was at the peak of the "look, Tommy is exercising" phenomenon. Slim-Fast and all that. I can identify Gary Carter, Kevin Gross, John Candeleria and Orel Hershiser running with Tommy, but I'm not sure who the guy on the right is.

I also received three cards of Dodgers who wore No. 16, including Lo Duca above (Rick Monday and Andre Ethier were the two others. All of them went to Arizona State, but I wouldn't have known that without gcrl. Blogs are educational, kids).

Also, gcrl completed a third set for me with what he sent, even though I didn't possess a single card from the set until I received the package.

Yup, it was the complete 33-card "super gloss" Kmart set from 1990. I didn't even know this set existed. I was familiar with the 1982 (I think it was '82) set from Kmart, which featured all of the past baseball MVPs. That set was issued in such large quantities that during the early 1990s, when every set's value was going through the roof, the Kmart set was actually decreasing.

When I opened the box, this fell out:

Yes! 18-year-old gum! Nope, I haven't eaten it yet. I'm saving it for when all the banks go under and there's a run on groceries.

Sadly, this is the only Dodger card in the set.

But look at all the stars! I didn't even include Boggs, Gwynn, Eckersley, Mattingly and Ozzie Smith in the scan. It is very cool getting an entire set in one tidy box. Quite unexpected, gcrl!

I've penciled you in to receive a few goodies. If you still need some A&G, let me know which ones, as I've likely got some for you. Thanks a bunch!