I have written about the year 1987 a lot on this blog. Veteran readers know that I wasn't collecting in 1987. I was in college and no longer interested. In '86 I didn't buy a single pack. I'm not as clear on '87, but I think the same was true that year.
So, knowing where I am now with cards, why would I consider 1987 "great"?
Well, I've written about that, too. My social life was never better. I had found my people, I was settling on a new direction as far as my career, and getting comfortable in it, and I also found my life partner, though I probably didn't know it at the time.
I think about that year a lot, particularly in October, which was the month that year that me and several members of the school newspaper went halfway across the country to a 4-day journalism seminar for college students in St. Louis and tore up the town.
It's insane that it's getting close to 40 years since that year. Forty years since Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over"? 40 years since "With Or Without You"? 40 years since "Heart and Soul"? (T'Pau, not Huey Lewis). It's also insane that I've basically dismissed the cards issued that year.
It just may be possible that the better your life is, the less meaningful cards are. But I didn't say that!!
To forget about that ugly business, I'll show off some 1987 cards that I received recently. I finally took care of that 1987 Topps set and now it's time to get 1987 Fleer done.
Bo of Baseball Cards Come to Life! recently found some 1987 Fleer off my want list. They are rather Yankee-centric, which makes sense.
A few more. Even though I feel zero nostalgia for cards from this year, I want to complete the set because the cards still feature players from my younger years when I really cared for every single game. I mean I was there for the MLB beginnings of Willie McGee, Dave Righetti, Bob Tewksbury and others. The other reason is '87 Fleer is the only '80s Fleer set I haven't completed. I can't keep it hanging.
Bo also had a couple of 1985 Donruss wants for me, too. Been treading water on this set build for awhile.
But 1987 Fleer has made a lot of progress, not only because of the cards that Bo sent, but also a big stash from The Chronicles of Fuji:
That's about 120 cards checked off the want list right there, including several biggies as you can see.
The packages from Bo and Fuji arrived within a few days of each other, so there are some duplicates. But that's OK. 1980s set chases should be full of duplicates!
I haven't updated my TCDB wants yet for '87 Fleer so I'm not sure how close I am, but I'm guessing it's under 100 cards now.
I have always liked the look of 1987 Fleer -- the blue icee set -- even if it's otherwise lacked the usual nostalgic meaning. But for everything great that happened in '87 -- Tawny Kitaen on the car hood and all that -- and for all those great bars in St. Louis -- this set should be complete, just so I have another example of "remember when?"
But I have my limits. I hope my life will always be better than trying to complete 1987 Donruss.
Comments
Congrats on knocking out the Phillies.
And for some inexplicable reason, Fleer scaled back production on wax packs in 1987, but not factory sets. It was also the first year Fleer would release their “tin” set with glossy cards inside.
Not to mention, both the factory sets and the tin sets had World Series cards for the first time. Let’s just say Fleer was like your goofy uncle you saw once a year at Thanksgiving.