GCRL Never Really Went Away - Part Two

Aloha, everybody,

Happy Super Bowl weekend. My Raiders didn't make it to the bowl ( yet again), but the rival Broncos did, so I'll be cheering against the ponies. 

Although, I've gotta admit - I'm a bit torn about this one, because there's a piece of me that would like to see Payton Manning end his career with 200 wins and a storybook, come from behind, Super Bowl victory. Either way, it should be a good game. 

Now, where were we with that package full of cardboard goodness from GCRL Jim? 

Let's (cheap Super Bowl reference coming up) kick off part two with something Jim knows a little bit about...Steve Garvey cardboard...

 

It may be the year of the bat flip (see Topps 2016), but 70's cardboard also knew a thing or two about showing off the batsmen. 

Drake's Big Hitters gives us a wonderful shot of the Garv shucking his bat off to the side, as his work with the lumber is done. It looks like he's eyeing a line drive gapper. Wonderful choice of photos.

Above is a shot of Garvey's long time teammate and what I believe to be a lurking popcorn vendor. Who else would wear such a hideous shirt? 

On to another master with the lumber...

The 80's were full of ugly or otherwise boring card designs, but these Pedro cards made some pretty good design choices. 

Sure, the Drake's has some kinda mystery shape in the corners of the frame. What are those things? Pomegranate seeds?  

The '86 Fleer gives a nod to the comic books of the day, but both designs hold their own without being obtrusive. That was quite an accomplishment for 80's cardboard. 

How about one with mercenary Eddie Murray obviously hiding something under his hat?

Jim included this card which took me way back in the memory banks...

Fimple made it to the bigs, but he was mediocre on his best days, so he's not the point here. 

The memory this card tweaked was about the Dukes, the Triple A club the Dodgers used to have in Albuquerque, NM.  

Back when I was growing up, that was the club most Dodger stars such as Ron Cey, Mike Piazza and Pedro Martinez came up from. Tommy Lasorda won a championship as their manager. The Dodgers eventually swapped the Dukes for San Diego's Las Vegas club. 

Speaking of Mr. Piazza, here's a shot of him anticipating a crash at the plate...

How do I know that's about to happen? Because we've seen Piazza's "impending impact" face before...



 Jim didn't only include sluggers in the package; I got some never seen before, oddball cardboard from a couple of my favorite pitchers as well...

Revco?

Q: What's a trade between Dodger collectors without some vintage? A: Lacking. 

This package wasn't...

 Bob Darnell pitched a whole seven games for Brooklyn, but it was enough to get him immortalized on the 1955 Bowman TV set. I now have four Dodgers from this set, and I'm itching for more! 

Jim also dropped in a good assortment of miiiinnnnniiiiiiiiis.....

And finally, just when I thought I received every Roger Cedeno card I could ever want (and a few I didn't)...

That's right, an auto from the kid. 

Cedeno was mediocre as a Dodger, but he went on to do fairly well with the Mets - who promptly traded him off into obscurity. Hope you're doing well, Roger, wherever you may be. 

THANKS for a fun package of cards and some great new additions to my collection, Jim. I'll be putting together a package for you over the weekend. Enjoy the Super Bowl, wherever you may be in the ether of former blogger land. 

Here's one for all of the bloggers who have moved on...

 

Aloha!