Rickey Henderson 1987 O-Pee-Chee

Rickey Henderson 1987 O-Pee-Chee

A few weeks ago I showed off my Wade Boggs card from the 1987 O-Pee-Chee baseball card set.

Well, I have scored another card from that same set for another PC that I am working on.

This time around, the featured payer is Rickey Henderson of the New York Yankees.

 

And just like that Boggs card from a few weeks ago, the lone difference on the front of the card is that the Topps logo in the lower-left corner has been replaced by the logo of O-Pee-Chee.

Great action image of Rickey here.  He definitely connected on this one!

Reggie Jackson 1976 SSPC Baseball Card

Reggie Jackson 1976 SSPC Baseball Card

I don’t have a lot of cards from these SSPC baseball card sets, but the ones that I have been able to grab are pretty neat.  And perfect for my most favorite player collections, too.

This card of Reggie Jackson comes courtesy of the 1976 SSPC set.

Take a look:

 

These cards are very basic in nature offering no graphic elements on the front while also missing team names, player names, player positions, and brand logo.  Instead, the card showcases a large image.

These cards remind of a the more current Topps Glossy All-Star Send-In cards.  But since those did not debut until the mid-80’s, I will say that this is one of the earlier ‘blank’ front cards that I know of…

You like?

Dave Winfield 1990 Score

Dave Winfield 1990 Score

Dave Winfield was a monster.  And when he swung the bat and connected, there was always a chance that the ball was going to sail over the outfield wall.

But, there was never any doubt that it would be hit hard.

After all, Dave Winfield is 6 feet, 6 inches tall and weighed 220 pounds during his playing days.

This card of ‘Big Dave’ from the 1990 Score baseball card set captures that powerful swing very nicely.

Rickey Henderson 1987 Donruss Pop-Up All-Star

Rickey Henderson 1987 Donruss Pop-Up All-Star

As a kid that was an avid baseball card collector in 1987, I don’t recall ever knowing about these Donruss Pop-Up cards.

I now know that these Pop-Ups were part of a larger All-Star set that Donruss issued in 1987 that followed the design of the base product from the same year.

These Pop-Ups are actually fold-out style cards that are pretty neat.

But, I would never pop mine out or stand mine up.  At least I wouldn’t do that if I only had one…

Here is the card of Rickey Henderson from that set:

 

That’s the Metrodome in the backdrop, right?

1975 Topps Set Card 314/660 – #242 – Jay Johnstone, Phillies

1975 Topps Set Card 314/660 – #242 – Jay Johnstone, Phillies

Progress: 314/660

Card Number:  242

Player Name:  Jay Johnstone

Team:  Philadelphia Phillies

Position:  Outfield

Image Style:  Posed Portrait

Years In The Major Leagues: 20 seasons, 1966-85

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Jay Johnstone played in 122 games for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1975.  He connected for 115 hits in 350 at-bats en route to a .329 batting average.  Of his 115 hits, Johnstone connected for 19 doubles, 3 triples, 7 home runs, and 86 singles.  He also scored 50 runs for the team while driving in 54.

Notes From Career:  Jay Johnstone played for eight different major league clubs during his 20-season big league career.  He is a lifetime .267 hitter with 1,254 hits in 1,748 games played.  Johnstone has 215 doubles, 38 triples, and 102 home runs on his resume.  He is a member of two World Series championship squads – the 1978 New York Yankees and the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers.

1996 HEADLINE: Derek Jeters Wins Rookie Of The Year Award With Unanimous Vote!

1996 HEADLINE: Derek Jeters Wins Rookie Of The Year Award With Unanimous Vote!

On this day in 1996, Derek Jeter won the American League’s Rookie of the Year award in a unanimous vote!

Capturing all 28 first-place votes, Jeter set himself apart from the rest of the 1996 rookie class.  And he did it all with the enormous pressure that comes with wearing Yankee pinstripes.

During that season, Jeter collected 183 hits en route to a .314 batting average.  He scored 104 runs for the team while also driving in 78.  And while fielding the toughest infield position, he compiled an 96.9% fielding percentage.

Oh, and he also helped the Yankees capture the 1996 World Series championship too!

Happy Anniversary to Derek Jeter!!!

Happy Birthday Johnny Damon!!!

Happy Birthday Johnny Damon!!!

Johnny Damon turns 41 years old today.

While Johnny Damon is not named with the sport’s greatest players, he has certainly put himself into the category of ‘Winner’.  And some of the sport’s biggest stars cannot make that claim.

Relatively unknown until he joined the Red Sox, Damon was a quiet player that toiled around in both Kansas City and Oakland for the first 7 years of his career.  During that time, her perfected his craft as a solid hitter with a knack for collecting doubles and stolen bases.

When Damon arrived in Boston in 2002, his ability on the field as well as personality shined and he soon became a fan favorite.  Damon helped the Sox win the World Series title in 2004 and his new-found fame garnered him 2 All-Star team selections and MVP consideration.

Damon moved on to the Yankees in 2006, and again he helped them reach the pinnacle of the sport in 2009 as the Yankees collected another World Series title.

Johnny Damon has proven to be a very skilled baseball player.  His consistency on offense is remarkable, and his time in the major leagues has been relatively injury free – a true credit to a player that played as hard as he did!

Here’s to Johnny Damon!!  Happy Birthday!!!

Rickey Henderson 1991 Donruss American League All-Star

Rickey Henderson 1991 Donruss American League All-Star

As a crazed collector in the mid-to-late 1980’s and into the early 1990’s, I had some pretty large player collections brewing.

One of which was of Rickey Henderson.  Not only was Henderson one of the best in the game, but he almost always had great-looking baseball cards.

Like this All-Star card from the 1991 Donruss set:

 

Donruss really knew how to put together an All-Star card – so much better than Topps back in the day!

The card gives us action – not a posed, super-cropped portrait.  It shows us one of the many skills possessed by the player that earned him his All-Star status.

I am a fan.

Reggie Jackson 1984 Drake’s Big Hitters

Reggie Jackson 1984 Drake’s Big Hitters

Ah, Drake’s!

One of my all-time favorite oddball baseball cards from the 1980’s has to be the ‘Drake’s Big Hitters’ cards.

The cards, offered inside boxes of Drake’s snack cakes, were such a fun set to go after as a kid.  And the designs were pretty nice too.

Here is the card of Reggie Jackson from the 1984 set:

 

The Drake’s set became a staple set during the mid-80’s and the ‘limited edition’ feel that the set offered led to collector’s gobbling them up (and the snack cakes, too).

Dave Winfield 1988 Topps BIG

Dave Winfield 1988 Topps BIG

Back in the 1980’s, very few players across the big leagues were are as physically large as Dave Winfield of the New York Yankees.

Winfield stands 6 feet, 6 inches tall and weighed 220 pounds during his playing days.

Today, he was be considered slightly bigger than average, but by no means ‘enormous’.

 

But, back in 1988, he was ‘Big’.  And rightfully so, he belonged in this 1988 Topps Big set.  The cards are jumbo in size when compared to other Topps products, but if any player from the 1980’s deserves an oversized baseball card, it is ‘Big Dave’.