Five Random Cubs Cards

With the recent addition of the Topps Updates and Highlights cards, I now have 5704 Cubs cards from 20 different brands. A random number generator picked five of them. Here they are in the order selected.

The random number generator picked three of the Cubs superstars from the late '80's and early '90's, Andre Dawson, Mark Grace, and Ryne Sandberg.



Fleer 1989 #513 Jeff Pico This guy most definitely was not one of the superstars of the late '80's and early 90's. He did have a nice debut with the Cubs in 1988, pitching a complete game four hit shut out against the Reds. But other than that, he was a .500 spot starter and middle reliever. He finished the season 6-7 and stuck around with the Cubs for two more seasons.



Topps 1973 #309 Paul Popovich Popo was the utility infielder for the Cubs, filling in whenever Santo, Kessinger, or Beckert were hurt or needed a day off. His glove is what kept him on the roster, not his career .234 average. This card gives us a good look at the 1972 road uniform. This was the first season the Cubs went to the pullover jersey. The road uniform had an oddity never again repeated in MLB history.... the number on the front is centered. It stayed there only one season and returned to the left side in 1973.



Donruss 1992 #422 Andre Dawson This card was the All Star card for the Hawk. In the 1991 All Star game, he hit a home run off of Roger Clemens. 1992 saw Dawson's average and power numbers drop, hitting .277 with only 22 HRs. After the season, he became a free agent and left Chicago for the Red Sox, where he could be a DH.



Leaf 1988 #40 Mark Grace This is Leaf's rookie card for a young, skinny Mark Grace. At this point, he had no major league experience listed on the back of his card. Grace made his MLB debut for the Cubs on May 2, 1988. He made the jump from AA to the majors, skipping AAA. He had a nice rookie season, hitting .298 and would be a fixture at first base for 13 seasons.



Donruss 1997 #72 Ryne Sandberg This is the last Donruss card for Ryne Sandberg as he retired for good after the 1997 season. I was at his last home game in September and if I remember correctly, he got a hit in the fourth or fifth inning and then was pulled for a pinch runner, giving the crowd the chance to give him one last standing ovation as he returned to the dugout. Ryne hit .264 in his final campaign, with 12 HRs and 64 RBIs.