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

1986 Leaf Baseball

 

Donruss, everyone's favorite card company during the mid-1980s, licensed the release of four baseball card sets to the Canadian market from 1985 through 1988. Cards measure the standard size of 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches. 

Falling under the "Leaf" brand, the cards from all four sets look just like their Donruss counterparts at first glance. The 1986 Leaf cards, which we are focusing on in this post, feature just one minor difference on the fronts - a small red box near the top that reads "LEAF '86" instead of "Donruss '86". Card backs are also generally similar, with the biggest difference on the Leafs being the inclusion of two languages - English and French Canadian (we're not sure if this strange jibber-jabber is a real language, so we're trusting Google's opinion on this one).

The four Leaf sets are complete at 264 cards each, while the Donruss sets of the day each featured 660. The theory behind the smaller Leaf sets was to include the star and starting players from each team, while trimming the reserve players and unproven rookies. Unfortunately for Leaf, unproven rookies were the hobby darlings of 1986. Speculators bought Donruss cards by the case hoping to find the likes of young prospects such as Jose Canseco, Kal Daniels, Cory Snyder, Paul O'Neill, Harold Reynolds and Lenny Dykstra... None of which were included in the Leaf set. 

While the Donruss set featured a twenty-card "Rated Rookies" subset, the Leaf set featured just three. Two of Leaf's three Rated Rookies were from Canadian teams, and both went on to become bona-fide Major League stars... Fred McGriff of the Blue Jays retired as a five-time All-Star with 493 career dingers, while Expo Andres Galarraga also collected five All-Star appearances and a couple Gold Glove awards. The third and final Rated Rookie to be included in the '86 Leaf set, for reasons that cannot be explained, was Phillies relief pitcher Dave Shipanoff. The back of Shipanoff's card found it difficult to be excited, stating he "...figures strongly in Phillies' bullpen plans for '86." Even though we know today that Shipanoff would never pitch in the Majors again, it still boggles the mind that Leaf chose to include a relief pitcher over one of the hot prospects mentioned above. In addition to McGriff and Galarraga, Leaf did manage to snag a few notable rookies in their 1986 issue, to include Ozzie Guillen, Vince Coleman and Mariano Duncan.

Leaf added two unique cards that were not a part of the Donruss set at all. Titled "Canadian Greats", and featuring portraits painted by artist Dick Perez, the two cardboard bonuses featured Expos pitcher Jeff Reardon and Blue Jays outfielder Jesse Barfield. Perez is also the artist who painted the 26 "Diamond Kings" portraits, a Pete Rose "King of Kings" card and Hank Aaron Hall of Fame card, all of which are included in both the '86 Donruss and Leaf sets.

I love all four Leaf sets released during the 1980s, and would recommend them to anyone looking to add star-filled, inexpensive sets to their collection. Though the Leaf cards were printed in smaller quantities than their Donruss equivalents, there's no monetary premium attached these days. Expect to pay ten to fifteen dollars for a set in nice condition.

Random Fact: Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek participates in a yearly Northern Minnesota snowmobiling excursion called the "Black Woods Blizzard Tour."