Awesome night card, pt. 252: waiting for the new night cards

I can't really say I'm ready for 2016 Topps. I'm still having too much fun with 2015.

But this is the week that 2016 Topps is released, and I've heard through the twittervine that it's already on store shelves somewhere, so I can't help but be intrigued. In fact, dammit, I'll be at a big box store tomorrow, whether I have the time or not, in hopes of opening the first cards of the season. Got to celebrate the holiday properly, you know.

One of the things I look forward to when the new cards arrive are the night cards. What will they look like? Will there be any special ones? Will they look as good as this Jarrod Dyson card here from last year?

So, while I bide my time, I thought I'd look back.

I tried to find a Topps night card for each year that Topps has issued cards.

OK, I knew I was going to fail right away. There are precious few night cards during the first two decades of Topps issuing cards. And there are some sets, even long after night games became commonplace, that are plain anti-night card. Not naming any names, but 1989 Topps.

So I didn't find night cards for every set. But I did do my valiant best, with a little cheating on the side, and this is what I came up with:

1953

1969

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1991

1992

1993

1994

1996

1999

2000

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

So, you can see several years were skipped there. That doesn't mean years like 1997 and 2001 didn't have any night cards. It's just that my collection is lacking in certain years and I didn't have time to search for every missing card on the internet.

Perhaps I'll update this when I come across night cards from other years. But you know how that goes.

As for the cards pictured, most are iconic night cards that have been shown here before. Then there are ones like the 1985 Ron Kittle that I don't even know if it's a night card -- that has been debated by night card scholars for decades.

These days, the doubts whether a set will contain a night card are a distant memory. I'm almost 100 percent certain there will be dozens and dozens of night cards in 2016 Topps.

Perhaps I'll get to find out as soon as this week.

I love this holiday.

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Night Card Binder candidate: Jarrod Dyson, 2015 Topps, #570
Does it make the binder?: It does.