A significant part of the charm of night cards from the mid-1980s and earlier is that there simply aren't many of them.
Every night card from back then was and is a discovery. It's why I gravitated to them in the first place. While collecting them as a youngster, they stood out as a novelty. And through my love for everything dark and neon, a collection was born.
For instance, this 1984 Topps Traded card of Tim Stoddard is one of the few night cards in all of '84 Topps. There are just a handful. Andre Robertson and Rick Cerone from the flagship set spring to mind. There can't be many more than that.
But today? You can't turn around without falling over a night card in a current set.
Whatever your collecting desire, there is a night card for that occasion:
Home plate celebrations? Check.
Return to home plate celebrations? Check.
Return to the dugout celebrations? Check.
Pitchers bunting? Check.
Pitchers blasting off? Check.
Bat flips? Check.
Double play turns? Check.
Rundowns? Check.
Plays at the plate? Check.
Mob scenes at the mound? Check.
You can even get your favorite player in whatever uniform you desire:
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| love the ladies chilling at top left. |
Padres
Red Sox
And Dodgers
There are also plenty of night cards for all the other occasions that I didn't mention.
In some ways, it's sad, because the novelty aspect of the night card is gone. It makes them a little less special.
But at the same time, you can fill up a binder full of them a lot more quickly.
So let's fill that binder up some more.
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Night card binder candidate: Tim Stoddard, 1984 Topps Traded, #112
Does it make the binder?: No. (Need it for the set).
Night card binder candidate: Jay Bruce, 2011 Topps, #191
Does it make the binder?: Yes
Night card binder candidate: David Freese, World Series Game 6, 2012 Topps, #291
Does it make the binder?: Yes
Night card binder candidate: Lucas Duda, 2012 Topps, #128
Does it make the binder?: Yes
Night card binder candidate: Ian Snell, 2009 Upper Deck, #304
Does it make the binder?: Yes
Night card binder candidate: Tim Hudson, 2012 Topps, #58
Does it make the binder?: Yes
Night card binder candidate: Akinori Iwamura, 2010 Topps, #256
Does it make the binder?: No
Night card binder candidate: Erick Aybar, 2012 Topps Opening Day, #140
Does it make the binder?: Yes
Night card binder candidate: Sean Casey/Placido Polanco, 2007 Topps, #653
Does it make the binder?: It's already in as a previous ANC topic.
Night card binder candidate: Ryan Doumit, 2010 Topps, #317
Does it make the binder?: No. It can't top this double-sided night card.
Night card binder candidate: St. Louis Cardinals, World Series Game 6, 2012 Topps, #233
Does it make the binder?: Yes
Night card binder candidate: Adrian Gonzalez, All-Star, 2010 Topps Update, #240
Does it make the binder?: Yes.
Night card binder candidate: Adrian Gonzalez, 2011 Topps Marquee, #68
Does it make the binder?: Yes
Night card binder candidate: Adrian Gonzalez, 2014 Topps, #204
Does it make the binder?: Nope. Pokey Reese's Heritage card from 2002 is too cool.
Well, I got nine more entries into the night card binder. Commonplace has its advantages.
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