1983 Galasso 1969 Seattle Pilots Set

 

Renata Galasso of  Brooklyn, New York owned one of the largest sportscard mail order companies of the 1970s and early 1980s. In addition to selling massive quantities of cards from just about any manufacturer, the Galasso family also produced several oddball baseball sets themselves. The most notable release by the Galassos is probably a black and white set of 270 retired baseball stars, released in six series of 45 cards each from 1977 through 1984. Smaller sets highlighting the '62 Mets, Reggie Jackson, Dwight Gooden and the '61 Yankees were a few other examples released during the early to mid-1980s.

Another small Galasso set, released in 1983, was a 43-card effort detailing the 1969 Seattle Pilots. Most baseball fans know that the Pilots only lasted one MLB season, but interestingly enough, the team existed for two spring trainings. Everyone from Manager Joe Schultz to pitcher Bill Edgerton (who pitched a mere four innings for the club) can be found in the set, pictured in living color and wearing a Pilots uniform. 

The cards are the standard size of 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches, and are numbered from 1 to 43. Backs feature a short biography paragraph and a stat line for the 1969 season. Similar to other Galasso releases, the cards were sold through the mail in complete set form only. For a few extra dollars, collectors could obtain a set featuring an authentic signature from pitcher Jim Bouton. The set in our collection has the Bouton autograph, as well as the certificate of authenticity that shipped with the set. 

As should be expected, the Pilots didn't fare very well as an expansion team. Winning 64 games while dropping 98, the club lacked any semblance of a major star. Third baseman Tommy Harper was probably the best player on the roster, leading the team in games played (148), plate appearances (639), at bats (537), hits (126), walks (95) and stolen bases (73). Though he appeared in just 123 games, outfielder Tommy Davis led the club with 29 doubles and 80 RBIs. Workhorse pitcher Gene Brabender led the Pilots with 13 wins, 202.1 innings pitched, 139 strikeouts and 7 complete games, but also suffered a team-leading 14 losses. 

Not everyone cares about collecting sets issued years after the fact (fourteen years, in this case). In all fairness, these cards have a beautiful design, feature rare color photos and just kinda have that "cool factor" about them. An unsigned set today should set you back around ten dollars, while one with a signed Bouton should cost around $20 to $25.

Random Fact: There's a bar just outside the campus of Eastern Illinois University named "Marty's", in honor of Pilots pitcher Marty Pattin.

1. Jim Bouton, Pitcher

2. Joe Schultz, Manager

3. Bill Edgerton, Pitcher

4. Gary Timberlake, Pitcher

5. Dick Baney, Pitcher

6. Mike Marshall, Pitcher

7. Jim Gosger, Outfield

8. Mike Hegan, First Base

9. Steve Hovley, Outfield

10. Don Mincher, First Base

 11. Miguel Fuentes, Pitcher

12. Charlie Bates, Pitcher

13. John O'Donoghoe, Pitcher

14. Tommy Davis, Outfield

15. Jerry McNertney, Catcher

16. Rich Rollins, Third Base

17. Fred Talbot, Pitcher

18. John Gelnar, Pitcher

19. Bob Locker, Pitcher

20. Frank Crosetti, Coach

21. Sal Maglie, Coach

22. Sibby Sisti, Coach

23. Ron Plaza, Coach

24. Federico Valazquez, Catcher

25. Diego Segui, Pitcher

26. Steve Barber, Pitcher

27. Jack Aker, Pitcher

28. Marty Pattin, Pitcher

29. Ray Oyler, Infield

30. Danny Walton, Outfield

31. Merritt Ranew, Catcher

32. John Donaldson, Infield

33. Greg Goosen, First Base

34. Gary Bell, Pitcher

35. Jim Pagliaroni, Catcher

36. Mike Ferraro, Third Base

37. Tommy Harper, Outfield

38. John Morris, Pitcher

39. Larry Haney, Catcher

40. Ron Clark, Infield

41. Steve Whitaker, Outfield

42. Wayne Comer, Outfield

43. Gene Barbender, Pitcher

1983 Minnesota Vikings Police Set

The Minnesota Vikings, in conjunction with several local Twin Cities area law enforcement agencies, released their first "police" card set during the 1983 NFL season. 

Consisting of 17 cards total, the set follows the general format used by other NFL police sets since 1979; e.g., large color action photos on the fronts and a taller card size than the standard national issues. These police cards measure approx. 4 1/8 inches tall by 2 5/8 inches wide, and were printed on soft white cardstock. 

The cards were distributed throughout the '83 football season by local Minnesota police officers and sheriff's deputies. According to the card backs, the set was sponsored by the state Neighborhood Watch (M.C.P.O.A.), Pillsbury and Burger King. Their respective logos are found on the backs, along with player biographies and a crime prevention tip. Each card is also numbered on the back.

Let's compare this police set to the Topps football set released during the same season. In their 1983 football release, which contains a total of 396 cards, The Topps Company featured just 12 Vikings cards within the set. To make matters worse, each of these cards featured the typical 1980s Topps "bench shot" photos that were unappealing to young collectors. An action packed Vikings police set was just what the doctor ordered, and several notable names emerged as an added bonus. Hall of Fame head coach Bud Grant, who had never been featured on a mainstream card, makes an overdue appearance at the end of his career with the club (he would coach the Vikings one final season in 1985). Guard Jim Hough played nine seasons with Minnesota and was never featured on a Topps card.

Topps really dropped the ball with two other Vikings legends. Defensive back Joey Browner was drafted by Minnesota in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft, and went on to play in six Pro Bowls; in addition, he was named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. While he appears in the '83 Vikings police set (in an early training camp photo), Topps would not issue Browner's true rookie card until the release of their 1986 set. Perhaps even worse was Topps' treatment of linebacker Scott Studwell, who was drafted by the Vikings back in 1977 and became a starter in 1980. Incredibly, Studwell would not be given a Topps rookie card until 1988, his twelfth season in the league! His '83 police card pays him his due respect by showing him in action against Eagles lineman Petey Perot, and even mentions his winning the NFL arm wrestling championship on the back of the card. Both Browner and Studwell are members of the Vikings Ring of Honor, as well as the 50 Greatest Vikings team chosen in 2010.

The club continued to release yearly police sets into the new millennium, though the old method of police officers giving away a couple of cards at a time eventually fell by the wayside. The inaugural 1983 set isn't too awfully hard to find and has a current value in the $7 to $10 range.

For a comparison, here's a peek at how the Dallas Cowboys police card set looked in 1983.

Random Fact: The last card of every Vikings police set released from 1983 through 1989 features an "All Time Great" player. Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton occupies the slot in the 1983 issue, and at the time held the NFL all-time records for attempts, completions, career passing yards and touchdown throws.

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1. Minnesota Vikings Art Card/Checklist

2. Tommy Kramer, QB

3. Ted Brown, RB

4. Joe Senser, TE

5. Sammy White, WR

6. Doug Martin, DE

7. Matt Blair, LB

8. Bud Grant, Head Coach

9. Scott Studwell, LB

10. Greg Coleman, P

11. John Turner, CB

12. Jim Hough, G

13. Joey Browner, DB

14. Dennis Swilley, C

15. Darrin Nelson, RB

16. Mark Mullaney, DE

17. Fran Tarkenton, QB (All Time Great)

1983 Donruss Action All-Stars Set

Donruss released a yearly oddball baseball "All-Star" set from 1983 through 1989. These cards were separate from Donruss' regular yearly baseball sets and were issued in their own packs. The inaugural issue, featured here, consists of 60 oversized cards that measure 3 1/2" by 5". Fifty-nine players and a checklist card comprise this gem of a set, which has a horizontal, two-photo format on the fronts. Backs are printed in black and red, and feature player statistics and biographies. The cards are numbered.

The focus of the set happens to fall upon a host of seasoned veterans, though a young Cal Ripken makes an appearance one year after the release of his rookie card (Donruss didn't choose the most flattering action photo for young Cal... He's pictured hitting the ball about as far as my daughter did when she was five). Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski are represented in their final All-Star Game, with Yaz first suiting up for the Red Sox back in 1961. A good twenty Hall of Fame players have cards in the set, with Pete Rose, Dale Murphy, Dave Concepcion and Keith Hernandez following right behind. 

There has been very little collector interest in the set since the day these cards first hit the shelves over 30 years ago; larger-sized cards like these are typically shunned by the average hobbyist. Donruss later went on to produce their 1988 and 1989 All-Star sets in the standard 2 1/2" by 3 1/2" size, but a lack of hot rookies and prospects all but insured the cold reception that those cards also received.

The '83 Donruss Action All-Stars set isn't hard to find today, and an unopened box of packs should only cost around ten bucks or so. A complete set is valued in the $3 to $5 range.

Random Fact: Detroit Tigers left fielder Larry Herndon appears in the set on card number five... And we have no idea why. Herndon enjoyed a solid fourteen-year Major League career with the Cardinals, Giants and Tigers, but was never an All-Star according to Baseball-Reference.com and Baseball-Almanac.com.

Click here to find cheap Donruss All Star Boxes on eBay

1. Eddie Murray, Orioles

2. Dwight Evans, Red Sox

3. Reggie Jackson, Angels

4. Greg Luzinski, White Sox

5. Larry Herndon, Tigers

6. Al Oliver, Expos

7. Bill Buckner, Cubs

8. Jason Thompson, Pirates

9. Andre Dawson, Expos

10. Greg Minton, Giants

11. Terry Kennedy, Padres

12. Phil Niekro, Braves

13. Willie Wilson, Royals

14. Johnny Bench, Reds

15. Ron Guidry, Yankees

16. Hal McRae, Royals

17. Damaso Garcia, Blue Jays

18. Gary Ward, Twins

19. Cecil Cooper, Brewers

20. Keith Hernandez, Cardinals

21. Ron Cey, Dodgers

22. Rickey Henderson, A's

23. Nolan Ryan, Astros

24. Steve Carlton, Phillies

25. John Stearns, Mets

26. Jim Sundberg, Rangers

27. Joaquin Andujar, Cardinals

28. Gaylord Perry, Mariners

29. Jack Clark, Giants

30. Bill Madlock, Pirates

31. Pete Rose, Phillies

32. Mookie Wilson, Mets

33. Rollie Fingers, Brewers

34. Lonnie Smith, Cardinals

35. Tony Pena, Pirates

36. Dave Winfield, Yankees

37. Tim Lollar, Padres

38. Rod Carew, Angels

39. Toby Harrah, Indians

40. Buddy Bell, Rangers

41. Bruce Sutter, Cardinals

42. George Brett, Royals

43. Carlton Fisk, White Sox

44. Carl Yastrzemski, Red Sox

45. Dale Murphy, Braves

46. Bob Horner, Braves

47. Dave Concepcion, Reds

48. Dave Stieb, Blue Jays

49. Kent Hrbek, Twins

50. Lance Parrish, Tigers

51. Joe Niekro, Astros

52. Cal Ripken Jr.

53. Fernando Valenzuela, Dodgers

54. Richie Zisk, Mariners

55. Leon Durham, Cubs

56. Robin Yount, Brewers

57. Mike Schmidt, Phillies

58. Gary Carter, Mets

59. Fred Lynn, Angels

60. Checklist

1982 and 1983 Mother's Cookies Baseball Retailer Sheets

Mother's Cookies produced arguably the nicest baseball card team sets of the 1980s, and found a niche by distributing the cards only in the regions from which the teams were based. The company's first set of the decade featured the San Francisco Giants in 1983, then expanded to feature sets for the A's, Astros, Giants, Mariners and Padres in 1984.

1984 Mother's Cookies A's Bill Caudill

Mother's tried cross-promotions with Major League Baseball before issuing the cards. Of note are their "ticket promotions" which were conducted at MLB local-market retailers. Displays were set up in the stores to promote 1/2 priced reserved seat tickets for specific games. A while back we added a few promo sheets to our collection. These sheets were distributed to retailers to give details on the campaign, as well as a look at how the in-store displays would appear. Here's the 1982 Astros sheet, which explains the 1/2 ticket promotion for the Astros vs. Pirates game on July 18, 1982 (Bob Knepper pitched a complete game for a 4-2 hometown victory):

Here's the Dodgers version of the sheet, which detailed the 1/2 priced reserved seat tickets for the Dodgers vs. Phillies, played on July 25, 1982. Fans watched Phillies ace Steve Carlton pitch a complete game shutout against Dodgers hurler Jerry Reuss, who surrendered just a single run on a Manny Trillo RBI:

Seattle Mariners' fans were the beneficiaries of 1/2 priced reserved loge tickets for the contest versus the Royals on June 20, 1982. The aging Gaylord Perry could not hold off a bat-happy Royals club, with Willie Wilson, George Brett, U.L. Washington and Hal McRae each clubbing multiple hits (Quisenberry earned the save by pitching 2 2/3 innings):

Both the A's and Giants were featured on one promo sheet. Note that this promotion also included team poster giveaways, as well as multiple game dates. For the Giants, the game featured on the sheet was versus the Pirates on Aug. 28, 1982. Attendees were treated to a 4-2 Atlee Hammaker win and Greg Minton's 23rd save of the year (he would save 30 games by the end of the season). The game highlighted on this sheet for A's fan was the Aug. 22, 1982 contest that saw A's workhorse Rick Langford take a loss versus unknown hurler Brian Denman:

We also own two sheets for the 1983 season. Of special interest is the A's/Giants sheet, because it mentions the Giants baseball cards that were given out on August 7, 1983 (A's fans were once again given a team poster). The Giants hosted the Astros that day, with none other than Nolan Ryan pitching the complete-game 2-1 win over the Giants, snagging eight strikeouts along the way. The A's game was played on Aug. 14, 1983 against the Twins, with Davey Lopes, Mike Davis and Dwayne Murphy each smacking two RBIs for a 6-0 hometown win:

The last sheet in our collection is for the Dodgers' 1/2 price ticket promotion for the July 17, 1983 game versus the Cubs. The event was an unfortunate one for Dodgers fans, as Cubs hurler Dickie Noles pitched a complete-game shutout and enjoyed a 7-0 win:

These sheets may be of interest only to the die-hard Mother's collector, or perhaps the advanced team collector. With that being said, someone has to waste their day off updating their overdue blog, right?

Click here to find Oakland Mother's Sets on eBay

1983 Dallas Cowboys Police

 The 1983 Cowboys police set consists of 28 cards; twenty-three players, Hall of Fame head coach Tom Landry and four cheerleaders. Fronts have game-day photos, with a Cowboys helmet and Kiwanis Club logo located at the bottom left and right. Card backs feature "Cowboys Tips" and a listing of the sponsors (Kiwanis Club, local law enforcement agency and the Dallas Cowboys Weekly). 

Notable cards include Hall of Famers Landry, running back Tony Dorsett and defensive tackle Randy White. The cards are not numbered except for the player's uniform numbers, and the year "1983" is not mentioned anywhere on the cards. Twenty-three of the photos were taken by photographer Ron Scribner.

 Die-hard 'Boys fans will be interested in four cards featuring players that never appeared on a regular Topps card, but played for Dallas multiple seasons -- safety Dextor Clinkscale (1980-85), guard Kurt Petersen (1980-85), guard Howard Richards (1981-86) and wide receiver Doug Donley (1981-84).

The 1983 set was apparently released in modest quantities, but anyone interested in finding the cards should find a steady trickle of them on eBay. A fair price for a NRMT complete set is in the $20 to $25 range.

Click here to hunt for Cowboys Police Sets Sets on eBay

(1) Rafael Septien, K

(11) Danny White, QB

(20) Ron Springs, FB

(24) Everson Walls, CB

(26) Michael Downs, S

(30) Timmy Newsome, RB

(32) Dennis Thurman, CB

(33) Tony Dorsett, RB

(47) Dextor Clinksdale, S

(53) Bob Breunig, LB

(54) Randy White, DT

(65) Kurt Petersen, G

(67) Pat Donovan, T

(70) Howard Richards, G/T

(72) Ed Jones, DE

(78) John Dutton, DT

(79) Harvey Martin, DE

(80) Tony Hill, WR

(83) Doug Donley, WR

(84) Doug Cosbie, TE

(86) Butch Johnson, WR

(88) Drew Pearson, WR

(89) Billy Joe DuPree, TE

Tom Landry, Head Coach

Melinda May, Cheerleader

Dana Presley, Chherleader

Judy Trammell, Cheerleader

Toni Washington, Cheerleader

1983 Minnesota Twins Postcard Set

The Twins released a 36-card postcard set in 1983 featuring players, coaches, the Metrodome, and combo cards. Park Press Inc. of Waite Park, Minnesota produced both the postcard set and a regular card-sized team issue for the Twins. Both of these sets contain the same exact lineup of players, coaches, combo cards and Metrodome card -- but the biggest difference (apart from the obvious large versus small size) is that different photos were used for most of cards. Most single player and coach cards in the postcard set have a facsimile autograph on the front, with the two exceptions being Tom Brunansky and Pete Filson. These postcards are not numbered.

Dodgers legend Johnny Podres, who is featured in the set, was the pitching coach for the Twins from 1981-85. He was the World Series MVP in 1955, the only year the Brooklyn Dodgers won the Series.

Sets originally retailed for $5 at the Metrodome and through the Twins mail order catalog, and came shrink-wrapped in clear plastic. Today, the set can usually be found in the $4 to $7 range.

Click here to find Twins Postcard Sets on eBay

(1) Tom Brunansky

(2) Randy Bush

(3) Bobby Castillo

(4) John Castino

(5) Ron Davis

(6) Jim Eisenreich

(7) Dave Engle

(8) Lenny Faedo

(9) Pete Filson

(10) Gary Gaetti

(11) Billy Gardner (Manager)

(12) Mickey Hatcher

(13) Brad Havens

(14) Kent Hrbek

(15) Tom Kelly (Coach)

(16) Tim Laudner

(17) Jim Lemon (Coach)

(18) Rick Lysander

(19) Bobby Mitchell

(20) Jack O'Connor

(21) Bryan Oelkers

(22) Johnny Podres (Coach)

(23) Ray Smith

(24) Rick Stelmaszek (Coach)

(25) Scott Ullger

(26) Frank Viola

(27) Gary Ward

(28) Ron Washington

(29) Len Whitehouse

(30) Al Williams

(31) Metrodome

(32) Twins Team Photo

(33) Twins Manager and Coaches

(Kelly, Stelmaszek, Gardner, Lemon, Podres)

(34) Twins Catchers

(Smith, Engle, Laudner)

(35) The Lumber Company

(Brunansky, Gaetti, Ward, Hrbek)

(36) Minnesota's Native Sons

(Laudner, Eisenreich, Hrbek)