My '87s and me

I've mentioned before that I don't care for the 1987 Topps set that much. I seem to be in the minority because a lot of folks kicked off their hobby careers with this set, so it naturally means a great deal to them.

But the 1987 Topps set, for me, is the only '80s Topps flagship set that does not have its own binder. It's also one of only three '80s Topps sets that I have not completed (the '81 set is about 10 cards short. The '82 set has some work to do, but I'm far enough into it that I may complete it one day). It just doesn't interest me enough to make the effort. The look of the set is just meh. I know the Captain is with me on this.

But the other reason is I was at a weird time in my life with baseball in 1987. Collecting was only a sporadic thing. I was in college and it just wasn't something to do. College is all about -- well, you know what college is all about. I was doing that.

Also, my baseball world was turning upside down. The Dodgers sucked in 1987. After finishing fifth in 1986, they placed fourth in '87. I actually was starting to lose interest (good thing 1988 came along). And all of a sudden teams like the Twins and the Blue Jays were good. What?

I did collect some. I would stop by the drug store on my way back from class and on my way to my grandmother's and grab a rack pack or two. I collected maybe between 200 and 300 cards from the set. And that's the way it has stayed since then.

Sometimes I'll pull them out and remember where I was with baseball during that time:

I was just getting over a devastating World Series. Maybe that was the reason why I just couldn't buy that many cards the following spring.

The Indians were advertised as the next great up-and-coming team. That seemed bizarre. The Twins? The Blue Jays? OK, I could get my head around that eventually. But the Indians? That was just too weird to actually happen.

I noticed that some of the cards had an interesting back story ...

... as in no back story.

Of course, the Twins did end up winning the World Series, spawning the ideas that world titles could be won in a Dome, and homer hankies were cool to wave in the air, as long as you hadn't blown your nose in them.

Later, in 2004, Topps Fan Favorites put out a new version of the Gary Gaetti card with its '87 design. Just in case you didn't like the original.

And then the following year, Topps Fan Favorites put out another version of the Gary Gaetti card. Just in case you didn't like the 2004 version.

And, yes, I really did scan the Greg Gagne card by accident because everyone always got Greg Gagne and Gary Gaetti confused. Unless you were a die-hard Twinkie fan.

The '87 set displayed the end of an era, with Topps' final flagship card of Reggie Jackson. Sad.

Meanwhile, two youngsters had come along that would eventually change baseball forever. And not for the good. The steroid era had begun. Yes, it was a strange, new time in '87.

But the real reason for me displaying all these '87 cards is because this weekend is the 22nd anniversary of when my wife and I began dating.

I wrote about it once before. We started dating in St. Louis on a college class road trip. I took a tour of old Busch Stadium. It was a week or two after the Cardinals lost to the Twins in the World Series. The stadium was desolate, after being packed and so loud not long before. I bought a Cardinals World Series sweatshirt because I rooted for the Cardinals in that series.

So, that's mostly what I think of when I see Cardinals cards from the '87 set, that wonderful trip to St. Louis. It was definitely a year of change in '87, for baseball and for me. And I wouldn't mind collecting all the '87 Cardinals cards to remember all that.

Of course, I already have the one that counts the most. Did you know they wore pink uniforms in 1987? Me neither.