C.A.: Topps 1982 Home Run League Leaders Reggie Jackson & Gorman Thomas

(If I was still on Twitter I would have witnessed approximately 78 pack rips of 2026 Topps by now. HAVE YOU RIPPED ANY 2026 TOPPS YET?!?!?!?!? Ignorance is bliss. I don't even feel like checking out the local big-boxes. Time for Cardboard Appreciation, this is the 364th in a series):

 

I was reminded of this card recently by The Writer's Journey as he displayed it over on Bluesky. It's a fascinating card for anyone who collected the 1983 Topps set as I did in the year of Michael Jackson.

 

I completed the set way back in the first year of this blog. But I wasn't actually finished because I didn't have this card. which arrived today.

 

In 1982, the Angels' Reggie Jackson and the Brewers' Gorman Thomas tied for the American League in home runs with 39 each. That led to the following uncomfortable card in 1983 Topps:

 

I really don't like three-person league leaders cards (see all of the Topps league leader cards for the last couple of decades), unless they're going to be shown pyramid style like 1976 Topps or in the 1960s.

 

This one isn't even fair. Jackson and Thomas both hit more home runs in 1982 than Dave Kingman did (39-37), yet Kingman gets more real estate.

 

 

This is more charming, mostly because it's a mash-up of each individual player's 1983 base card.

 

So how did the mash-up card come to be and how did I realize it existed originally?

 

Well, I don't remember the second part, but I think the card -- which is blank-backed -- comes from a sheet of 1982 league leaders that was available via mail order from Topps.

 

Each league leader shown is featured on his 1983 Topps card but with a small label in the upper corner that describes their league-leading stat.

 

These sheets are readily available, I'm not sure why I didn't get one in 1983, my guess is I was not beyond buying baseball cards my senior year in high school but I was beyond ordering stuff off the wrappers.

 

The confusing part for me is why the copy I received is so sharp, like it's an actual card and not cut off a sheet. Were these issued some other way? Or is it just a case of people having expert cutting tools?

 

Anyway, I'm very glad I have this card now and it continues to prove to me that I will never be done with collecting the '80s.