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Back to the '80s

 
Just a quick post tonight, because work is playing its evil tricks.

I received an email a few weeks ago from a reader who sometimes comments on this blog as "Pennsylvania Tiger". He said he had some cards for me as a thank you for writing.

The cards he mentioned are actually stickers -- the 1981 Fleer Star Stickers set. But they might as well be cards because I will never stick those ever.

This set is huge -- it took me a long time to figure that out -- but thanks to some recent work on it, and this particular mailing, I'm down to under 30 needed. Still seems like a lot, but hey, I have some new arrivals to distract me!


That's some good fun right there. Not only are all those guys players I grew up following but as I've probably said before, lots of the photos I've never seen -- they're not necessarily the same as the ones in the 1981 Fleer set and I probably should do a comparison post one of these days, maybe when I finish the whole thing.

Some of the photos are run-of-the-mill but a few are  great fun, I especially enjoy the action shots when that same player's regular '81 Fleer card is a standard pose.


Michael also targeted my wants for two other '80s Fleer sets, which I really appreciate. The above six  were needs for 1985 Fleer. Nobody really of note but all well-known to me (George Wright was one of those guys I wanted to be a star).


Here are four needs from the always forgotten 1986 Fleer set. Check out that Dodger Stadium background in the SuperStar Special.
 
I am now down to needing less than 40 cards for both 1985 and 1986 Fleer. I'm a little further ahead of the game for 1985, just because I've collected some of it myself, so I've been able to snag some of the stars, while with '86 I've been depending on others -- so there's still lots of stars to go there!
 
It's crazy to me how I'm still collecting cards from the '80s. I figured I'd be done with that decade by now, considering how available some of the sets are and how much I collected then. But there's also SO MUCH in that decade.
 
That's cool. It's my favorite decade (not for cards, but for everything else). So I'll be happy to go back to the '80s for as long as I can.

Comments

bryan was here said…
Always liked the '81 Fleer Star Stickers. I'm pretty sure all the photos are different from the base set. The '82 stamps had some neat pics as well, especially the Yastrzemski.

That Bob Long from the '86 Fleer was my white whale from that set. For some reason couldn't find it for two years until I came across it at a card show in the summer of '88.
Nick said…
I'm always surprised at how many of those Fleer Stickers I've never seen before - that Bibby in particular is fantastic, mostly because it's an excellent Wrigley Field shot.
Old Cards said…
Those 86 Fleer look nice. Not only did I forget about the set, but I also forgot Tommy John was still playing in 86.
GCA said…
Those '81 stickers were probably one of the first five sets I ever built. Love those to this day. I could almost do them again.

I stopped building 80's sets after the '84s and have had to go back and fill in the rest after the mid 2000's. I haven't bothered with a lot of the Donruss or Fleers from that period. Have '85 Fleer and that's about it. Have all the Topps of course...
Fuji said…
Those 1981 Fleer Star Stickers are in nice condition. I opened a couple of boxes years ago and a lot of the cards were damaged by the gum (collation was poor too). I ended up keeping one (maybe even two) box unopened.
gregory said…
Gorman Thomas, Dave Kingman, and Ken Landreaux win the best hair and mustache combo award in that group of '81 Fleer stickers.
Jason said…
Very fun set. Regarding comparisons of photos to the card set SABR Baseball Cards has you covered! https://sabrbaseballcards.blog/2022/06/17/cardboard-crosswalk-1981-fleer-cards-and-stickers/
Bo said…
So many great photos in early 80's Fleer. Easy to forget about this set but it's a great one, and that Bibby might be the best one.

Jason's link was an interesting read too.
Matt said…
I wish Lee Mazilli was winking in his photo to go along with whatever he's pointing at...
Jon said…
I'm not overly familiar with this sticker set, but I do see a few that I now have to add to my want list, thanks!