Anyone who collected cards in the late 70's and 80's would recognize the name Renata Galasso. Though not the first mail order card set seller, she was one of the more prolific advertisers of her era. Her advertising worked on me. The very first Topps complete set I bought, back in 1978, was from Renata Galasso.
The set also came with a bonus; 45 black and white cards of former players. The set was called Galasso Glossy Greats. When I got my set, I remember being ambivalent about these black and white cards, especially since I had 726 full color cards in the same box. I know exactly where my Topps '78 set is; but the Glossy Greats were lost. Actually, they were probably tossed.
Fast forward 33 years and some of those cards are back! I've kept a set of the cards in my watch list for almost a year. The BIN price was a little high, so I though I wait and see if the price would drop. It never did, but the seller had a couple other sets I needed, plus charged shipping on only the first item. So I bought four sets, including the Glossy Greats.
The set was produced from 1977 - 1984. There were 45 cards per release, and over that span, six different sets were issued, making for a total of 270 cards. There were 17 different Cubs cards.
The only Cubs player among those in the set that I saw play was Ernie Banks. All of the others were from much earlier times. That's what I find interesting about sets like this. Sets like this typically feature players from a generation or two earlier, and they are a nice history lesson. I know that I'm getting old, because players in modern versions of sets like this are all players I knew growing up. The "generation or two earlier" is my generation! Oh well, time marches on.
Back to the Glossy Greats.....
The cards are pretty basic looking on the front,
and the back isn't much to write home about, either. But they are printed on a glossy white card stock, which was a novelty back in an era when everything was on cardboard.
Here are the other 16 Cubs cards
My brother ordered the complete '78 Topps set from Galasso, too. I have no idea what he did with those B&W cards. He probably doesn't either.
ReplyDeleteHave the Cubs worn a throwback uniform like the one Kiki Culyler is wearing? It must be 1928-29. I think they should.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they have. I know they've worn throwbacks from 1906, 1918, the late '30s, and the '40s. I agree that the late '20s uniform looks nice; maybe they'll get to it someday.
ReplyDelete