Awesome night card, pt. 282: no-hitter recognition, plus contest results

This is my favorite card recognizing a Dodger no-hitter. Donruss also put one out of Kevin Gross in its 1993 set, but it scans like crap, and the Score one lays it all out for you. Who, what, when, where. It's there.

With the first no-hitter of the season pitched last night (yes, I was working and thank goodness for earlier Saturday start times on the west coast), I looked back on which cards I have that recognize Dodgers no-hitters.

There aren't a lot of them. If you pitched a no-hitter before the 1990s, good luck, unless you're Sandy Koufax.

Really, the boom in no-hitter cards, recognizing personal achievement on the field, was in the '90s.

Score, again, brought it to the forefront with its marvelous no-hitter subset, acknowledging the surge in no-hitters during the 1990 season.

The Kevin Gross card followed two years later.

The next Dodgers no-hitter happened in July of 1995 when Ramon Martinez pitched one against the Marlins. This is what I have to recognize that no-hitter:

 
The Fleer card mentions nothing on the front about the no-hitter. We have to guess what the "golden memories" are. If you flip over the card, the write-up is on the no-hitter.

Another Dodgers no-hitter came along the following year as Hideo Nomo no-hit the Rockies in Colorado in 1996.

With Nomo fever in full effect, you know that card companies wouldn't be able to resist a card mentioning the no-hitter.

This is one of a few I have from 1997 that focuses on Nomo's no-no. It's very foily, of course, but it's a nice card in person.

That was the last no-hitter by the Dodgers in 18 years, the longest break in their history. But the Dodgers ended that drought with a pair of no-hitters in 2014.

Stadium Club recognized both no-hitters in its 2015 set:

The Kershaw card is outstanding simply because of the "no-hitter" scoreboard mention included in the shot.

Stadium Club has also resurrected some of Sandy Koufax's past no-hitters, and the following card actually shows Koufax in the process of throwing a no-hitter:

There is nothing in the photo that tells you he's throwing a no-hitter. Unfortunately, the scoreboard tip-off was cropped out of the picture. If the image was pulled back just a bit, up in the top right corner you would be able to see "0 0 1" for the Phillies in the linescore.

This is the full Getty image.

And those are all the cards I own recognizing a Dodger no-hitter.

It's too bad there weren't no-hit cards around in 1980, because Jerry Reuss' no-hitter of the Giants is probably my favorite no-hitter memory. Also, it's a shame that Carl Erskine pitched a pair of no-hitters yet there's no card that showcases that.

Today, Topps wouldn't even think of ignoring a feat like Erskine's. There is a ToppsNow card for Sean Manaea's no-hitter and any other one thrown this year. It's about time, although it's too bad you have to pay so much for it.

And it won't be able to beat pulling a no-hit card out of a pack, as I did with the Kevin Gross Score and Donruss cards. That was fun.

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Awesome Night Card binder candidate: Kevin Gross, 1992 No-Hitter, 1993 Score, #519
Does it make the binder?: It does.

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All right let's get to announcing the contest winner for my 4,000 posts celebration.

I'm still in the process of assembling some dupes from my collection for the winner. There's nothing spectacular in the assortment, but I think the winner will enjoy going through it.

I hope to get the prize envelope out by the end of the week or next week at the latest.

There were 69 contestants who mentioned the number 4,000 in their comment to enter the contest (plus one guy who made me dig around the history of Chicago, like I care. But he's in the contest, too).

As usual, I used the randomizer to conduct my dirty work. Three spins of the randomizer decided the winner. And here is the final spin:

Congrats to Brett Alan, another reader, who is the 4,000 posts winner!

Brett, I believe I need your address, so send me an email when you can.

Thanks for entering and especially for reading.

I think I'm done with contests for awhile.