Sunday, August 7, 2016

On Target With The Dodgers

Aloha, everyone,

Let's take a break from the Olympics and take a peek at another Dodgers oddball from the past. 

Recently a fellow collector dropped a couple of these packages in my lap...



These were sold by Target back in 1990 in celebration of the Dodgers' 100th anniversary. 

What a cool set this is! But beware the checklist - it's got over 1,100 players. That's because the set contained every player that ever put on the uniform for the Dodgers (up to that point). This includes all of the variations of the Brooklyn club. 

The main drawback for me is the individual cards are rather small, and the cardstock is crap, which really takes away from the main appeal of the  set - the beautiful vintage photography. 




It's like having a Conlon set exclusively devoted to the Dodgers. And that's a grand thing. 

The set was sold in packages of 6 sheets each. Her's a look at the back of a sheet. The individual cards are separated by perforation. 



The checklist is huge, so the set wasn't the easiest to complete. It also means plenty of scrubs and lesser known players to go along with the legends from Brooklyn and the stars of LA. 





Target didn't feel compelled to only include photos of the players in Dodgers unis, and that doesn't bother me in the least. 

On the other hand, they used photos of the players in Brooklyn uniforms whenever possible, which makes the set a fascinating trip through the history of Dodgers uniform variations. 


Tony Burbs from Wrigley Roster Jenga is chasing this set, and he recently put out a feeler to see who might have some of these Target Dodgers. Auspiciously, it was right when I came upon these. 

I ripped the packages open (!!!) and saw what I could do to help a fellow collector out. Tony will soon receive the cards I was able to pull for him. 

Sure, I was able to help Tony out a bit, but his chase of this set opened my eyes and led to my appreciation of this vintage oddball set. 
Aloha! 

Friday, August 5, 2016

A Wonderful Oddball From Out of Left Field

Aloha, everybody, 

My son recently handed a flipbook to me, asking if I wanted it. Boy, did I ever! 


I couldn't find much info on this little flipbook, but it looks like it was produced by L.A. County government to celebrate the Dodgers' 50th season in Los Angeles, an to encourage voting in the 2008 Presedential election. 

Of course, it commemorates Kirk Gibson's legendary World Series home run.

Here's a peek inside. I've opened the front cover and the first image is visible... 


Later in the sequence, Gibby and Dennis Eckersley watch the flight of the ball on it's way into the L.A. night sky...


How about some fist-pump action...


The sequence actually plays out very well when you flip through it. Kudos to the county government for getting something right. 

Finally, a look at the back cover...


I never get tired of watching replays of Gibby's home run, or of the various TV and radio calls from that magic night. Now I have a flipbook to view it in an entirely new way. 

Aloha!