One of the major collecting goals that I have laid out for myself in 2012 is to get to 1,000 unique Andre Dawson baseball cards.  I have more than 60 holes to fill to reach that point, so I have some work to do.

And in order to get to that 1,000-mark, I would really like to add a few more certified autographs to my collection.

The latest score is a beauty!!  Coming from the 2005 Upper Deck brand, this card comes from their ‘Signature Decades’ set and pays homage to the stars of the 1980s.  I am thrilled that Andre was chosen as a player to represent that decade by Upper Deck.

And I am even more thrilled to be able to call this card mine.

Here it is:

Awesome, huh??  Another perfectly signed baseball card by ‘The Hawk’!!

The colors of this card are spectacular.  Andre’s autograph really pops too against that White background.  And I am really digging the horizontal look too!!!

Enjoy.

Kind of a fun little oddball sticker here….

Stickers were all the rage in the 1980s – from Garbage Pail Kids to Scratch & Sniff.  I had my share, but being a big baseball fan, my favorites were the Fleer team logo stickers.  Those sweet stickers adorned every single one of my notebooks during my time in elementary and middle school!!

And I had a bunch of these too – just cannot recall if I had the Palmer back then.

But I do now!!!  Have a look:

Gaylord Perry pitched for 22 major league seasons, with ten of them being played in San Francisco.

During his time in San Fran, Perry established himself as one of the National League’s solid starting pitchers.  In ten years, he amassed a 134-109 record while making 283 starts.  And once he became a full-time starter with the club, he pitched more than 200 innings in each campaign, including leading the league in 1969 with 325.1 innings and in 1970 with 328.2 innings pitched.

During that ten year span with the Giants, Perry was named an All-Star twice, while also being  a runner-up for the Cy Young Award in 1970.

The 1984 Fleer baseball card design may very well be the most boring of all issues during the 1980s.  With just two horizontal stripes of Royal Blue  running at both the top and bottom of the card, there was very little time or thought put into this one.

But, every once in a while, a simple graphic design works.  And if you happened to be a Chicago Cubs player during the 1984 baseball season, then you had the best looking cards in the ’84 Fleer set.

Proof of that is in this card of newly acquired Cubs’ pitcher, Dennis Eckersley.

Take a peek:

Ah, perfection!!

I am expanding a bit with my Andre Dawson autograph collection this year.  I have a few new tricks up my sleeve, and I am ready to get down to it!!!

This is the first of what I hope will be many shipments that I send Andre’s way this year.  And when returned, I am hoping that I have some great stuff to show off to the ’30-YOC’ faithful.

Here is the package:

A flat bubble mailer, there are no hints this time around.  Just wait with me and as soon as the items inside are returned to me, they will be shared with you.

I promise.

Wish me luck!

That’s right folks, another player collection from the ’30-YOC’ roster is complete and in the books.   Not a bad way to start off the collecting year, huh??

This collection of Bo Jackson really brings back some great memories from my youth.  I spent a good amount of time collecting Bo as a kid, and still have some very vivid memories of watching him at the plate, in the field, and on the base paths.

Bo Jackson was a player unlike any other – he truly helped take excitement about baseball to another level.  And his effect on sports marketing and advertising should be noted as well.

So, here is it.  A full collection of every major brand release of Bo Jackson baseball cards from his time with the Kansas City Royals:

And remember, as I do with all of my newly completed player collections, next week I will unveil my ‘Fab Five’ cards from the set.  The fun begins next Monday.

Thanks for reading!

Topps did it right with this baseball card of Reggie Jackson!!!  As part of their ‘Legends of the Game’ series issued in 2009, this set contained all of the great stars, so naturally Reggie was a solid choice for them.

And I am very excited to see him in his Angels uniform too.  While he was much more successful during his tenure in Oakland and New York, his career with the Angels should not be forgotten, and I happy that Topps awarded us with a card to honor that time of Reggie’s career.

Here is the card:

Now all we need is some more card featuring Reggie in his Orioles uniform.  The time spent in Baltimore was brief – but still worthy of some cardboard in this collector’s opinion.

It’s quite simple really, in 1992 Kirby Puckett had three cards in the Topps set: base, ‘Award Winners’, and Gold.

And as a player collector with a slight pattern of obsessive compulsive disorder when it comes to collecting, I figured that I should have all three versions in my collection that honors Puckett.

Well, now that goal is complete.  You see, I already owned the base and Gold versions of the card.   And now I have obtained the ‘Award Winners’ version too.

Have a look:

On this day in 1982, Ryne Sandberg became a Chicago Cub.

The Cubs sent Ivan DeJesus to the Phillies for Sandberg and Larry Bowa.  Prior to the trade, Sandberg played in 21 games for the Phillies and made 6 plate appearances.  For the record he has 1 hit as a Phillie and a batting average of .167.

What the Cubs got over the next 15 major league seasons was brilliance.  Sandberg immediately filled a void at second base and quickly became the star and leader of the team.  With excellent defense, superb base running, and skill at the plate, Sandberg’s talents made #23 a fan favorite very quickly.

During his time in Chicago Ryne Sandberg was a 10-time All-star, 9-time Gold Glove winner, and a 7-time winner of the Silver Slugger trophy.  He also won the National League MVP award in 1984 due to his .314 batting average, 200 hits, 114 runs scored, 19 triples, 19 home runs, 84 RBI, and 32 stolen bases. 

Sandberg was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.  His #23 waves proudly in the air above Wrigley Field!!!

Thank you Philadelphia!!!