Elusive '80s cards ... really? Part 3

  

I watched a half-a-box break of 2026 Topps Heritage last night. Yikes.

 

I was really glad afterward that I had already made the decision not to chase the set, as I had for 2023, 2024 and 2025 Heritage. It does not look great. Even the replication of the design -- which is not difficult for 1977 Topps -- is not good, which was mostly all I had to keep me dedicated to Heritage the last couple of years.

 

A lot of the photos do not represent 1977 photography and there were those ridiculous blue-sparkle parallels in every third pack and chromes in the rest of them (I also hear the collation is not good). This set is so far away from what it has been and what I was counting on it to be once Heritage reached the mid-1970s set. Very disappointing.

 

So I'm not building any modern sets for the first time in a few years and don't have any large vintage chases either. This is the perfect window to gather those random Dodgers needs, and so with that in mind ... 

 

Here is the latest post in a series in which I track down what I need for Dodgers during the decade of supposedly plentiful cards, the 1980s.

 

I last did one of these last May and I use the posts to help track down some pesky '80s items, but I haven't exactly done too well in the last 10 months. This is what I've gathered from those previous two "Elusive '80s" posts since the last one:

 

Started off well by immediately landing this TCMA Home Run Champions Duke Snider card.

 

 

These three TCMA "What If" Play Ball cards arrived when I bundled some cards with one dealer. My original goal has been to land all of the What If Play Ball Dodgers at once but I still haven't been able to pull the trigger on that price, so it's just the 1944 PB Galan and the 1945 PB Basinski and Rosen for now. These are all from the 1983 TCMA sets.

 

 

This 1983 Perma Graphics Steve Sax fulfills all my team set needs for the Perma Graphics years. This glossy card looks yellowed. I don't know if that's what happened to these plastic cards over time or if that's the general look. I don't think I'll buy another one to find out.

 

 

Here is something that didn't even make my initial Elusive '80s post that covered cards from 1980-83. I don't know if I dismissed it or plain missed it. It's something called 1983 KG Graphics Glossy, which is a set of 24 cards.

 

They look a lot like the 1983 Topps Glossy Send-In cards that I love so much. They're thinner card stock and not quite as glossy, and the backs are blank. 

 

And that's about all I've added. But there are a couple of other cards in various online carts and another card will be sent to me by a fellow trader. So all of that is enough incentive to step into 1986 and see what I need for that year. Yup, just one year this time. I do have the 1987 inventory ready to go, but don't have the time to get into all of that. You'll see it soon.

 

Most of these images are from TCDB, which reminds me of another benefit of this series: I've discovered listings for cards that I have in my collection for which I didn't know there were listings. The 1987 Smokey Bear-Steve Sax item at the top of the post was one such recent TCDB discovery.

 

Also, yes, some of these aren't exactly cards. I'll pursue on a case-by-case basis:

 

1986

 

1986 Big Apple Rookies (unlicensed)

 

The era of unlicensed cards was ramping up in 1986. The Big Apple name appears on several unlicensed sets in 1986. This looks like a charcoal sketch of Orel Hershiser. Nothing that appeals to me much.

 

 

1986 Big Apple California All-Stars (unlicensed)

 

Another Big Apple set with slightly more appeal. There is also a Pedro Guerrero in this set. I have neither. Probably won't ever get one.

 

 

1986 Broder (unlicensed)

 

Broder cards (kind of a catch-all for various unlicensed sets from the late 1980s) first emerged in 1986. Although some of the photos are charmingly unflattering, these are not cards I chase, although I do welcome them into my collection. I need the Steve Sax here.

 

 

1986 Card Collectors 1950 Bowman reprint

 

Reprint sets really rounding into form in the late '80s, too. I am not opposed to adding these to my collection, although the original early '50s Bowman cards aren't super-elusive. But I have nothing from the 1950 Bowman reprint set. This set is super-large and I'm not going to put my energy into gathering that many reprints.

 

That said, I have several Dodgers from the Card Collectors 1951 Bowman reprint set that was issued the same year.

 

 

1986 Conlon World Wide Sports, Series 1

 

Appreciate anything with the Conlon name. Need the Casey Stengel here.

 

 

 

1986 Meadow Gold Super Star Series

 

This set, not licensed by MLB, comes with blank backs or stat backs. I don't distinguish between the two. I have the Fernando Valenzuela, I need the Pedro Guerrero.

 

 

1986 O-Pee-Chee Stickers

 

I've gone through this in previous Elusive '80s posts. The sticker sets from the 1980s don't inspire me to collect them with the mix of single player and two-players to a "card". There are Topps and OPC versions, and I have zero '86 OPC stickers.

 

 

1986 O-Pee-Chee Tattoos

 

Another oddball that comes in OPC and Topps varieties. These are clumsy for team collectors, because, at least for me, I just want the Dodgers, which means a tiny, flimsy square of an item. No chance I'll be chasing the OPC tattoo Dodgers if I can't excited about the Topps ones.

 

 

1986 Scott Cunningham (unlicensed)

 

Another Broder-type set. The images are pretty nice. Scott Cunningham is a well-known photographer. Still not much interested in adding this card, but I'll accept it, of course.

 

 

1986 7-Eleven Triple Stars Coins

 

Between these being issued in multiple years and some coins featuring one player and others featuring three, I get confused as hell about what I still need. The 1986 7-Eleven Coins were issued in several regions of the country, making it even more difficult to pin down. There are Dodgers that I need from the Central Region, Southeast Region and West Region.

 

But I do have this Pedro Guerrero (and Harold Baines and Dave Parker), which is from the East Region.

 

 

1986 TCMA Simon's Super Stars

 

These weirdly shaped cards (2 13/16-by-3 1/2) display paintings by Stephen Simon. There is an overabundance of Dodgers in the 50-card set, including a card of Ebbets Field. I had never heard of these before doing this post, and the odd shape will probably scare me away.

 

 

1986 1940 Play Ball reprint

 

I mistakenly thought this was TCMA-related when I was putting the images in order, but it's a straight reprint set. I own 10 of the Dodgers in the set, but there's nine more to get.

 

 

 1986 Topps Stickers

 

Same format as the O-Pee-Chee ones. I own more of the Dodgers stickers than ones I don't have, but I still need five of them, including Pedro here.

 

 

1986 Topps Super

 

I just mentioned this set in my last post. I've had the Valenzuela for a long time, I just landed the Hershiser and the Guerrero is in my cart. What more do you want from me?

 

 

1986 Topps Tattoos

 

I have a pitiful one tattoo from this set, the Guerrero. There are five more to grab, maybe someday.

 

 

1986 General Mills Booklets

 

OK, I somehow got out of alphabetical order here. There are just too many sets and life is too chaotic. I've seen the 1987 version of these booklets. I don't think I have the heart to cut these up -- especially since they're not all that sturdy. But you see the Fernando and Pedro that I need down in the lower corner and the Sax up in the top row.

 

 

1986 Jiffy Pop Discs

 

This Fernando Valenzuela has sat in my ebay cart probably for a couple of months at least. It's time to press ship.

 

 

1986 Meadow Gold Super Star Series Carton Drawings

 

These standard-size cards were printed on milk cartoons and feature rather crude drawings of the ballplayers featured. I wasn't able to find an image of the Fernando Valenzuela card, which is the Dodger in the set.

 

And that's what I need for 1986!

 

I think this will help me get off my butt for a couple of these cards real soon. And this didn't take as long as I thought it would so I'll probably get to the 1987 one in the next few weeks.

 

And, as always, so much for having everything in the 1980s already!