In this post and this one from 2018 I looked at the different color combinations on 1975 Topps Cubs cards. There was a tie for the most common one, with green/green and yellow/red having four cards each.
Do you suppose that this year's Heritage will do the same thing and overload on these two combinations?
To give you and idea as to what they may look like, I made one of each. Next to each is the original 1975 card that I used for inspiration.
I was one for two with my gamble. I picked up these two autograph cards, anticipating that the two players would become rule followers for my autograph collection.
Jordan Wicks will be part of the starting rotation once the season starts. As soon as he throws his first pitch in his first game his autograph will follow my rules.
Not as fortunate, Daniel Palencia was sent to AAA Iowa to start the 2024 season. I did read several complimentary things about him, so hopefully he'll get called up sometime during the year. If not, I spent five bucks for nothing.
I've got 21,684 Cubs cards from 316 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades.
The Cadaco discs made their debut at the tail end of the '80s, in 1989. The 3½" yellow discs were part of the Cadaco All-Star Baseball game. The game had been around since the 1940s, but 1989 was the first time the discs contained an image of the player. A license with the Player's Association allowed for the images, but no MLB license was obtained, so team logos were airbrushed out.
The 1989 release included 63 players, four of which were Cubs. A young Greg Maddux was one of the Cubs. Because he is a pitcher, there are no game numbers around the outside of the disc. Those are only found on batter's discs.
Also, don't let the 1988 copyright date on the discs fool you. These have always been known as a 1989 release.
So here's the scoop...
Topps and O-Pee-Chee included cards on the bottom of the wax pack boxes from 1986 through 1992
1986 - Cards from both companies were printed on the bottom of the box. There are four panels, with four cards on each panel, making a total of 16 cards. The fronts and backs of the cards are identical to the regular cards and the cards are the regular size. There are no Cubs among the 16 players.
1987 - There are just eight cards. Topps printed the cards in panels of two on the side of the box while OPC put four-card panels on the bottom. The cards are slightly smaller, measuring 2 1/8" x 3". The fronts are identical to the regulars while the backs are different. They highlight a career milestone achieved during the 1986 season. Ron Cey is the lone Cub in the set.
1988 - We're back to sixteen cards and both companies put them in panels of four on the bottom of the box. The cards are full sized and have a front the same as the base set while the backs again highlight a milestone. There are some OPC versions that have blank backs. All of the Topps card have a front and back. The Cubs were shut out on the checklist.
1989 - Things are settling into a groove and nothing changes in 1989. Its sixteen full-sized cards on the bottom of the box. The backs include a career milestone. We get a Cub this time, Goose Gossage.
1990 - All things are the same in 1990; 16 cards on the bottom with career milestone on the back. This time, for the only time, there are two Cubs in the set, Andre Dawson and Ryne Sandberg.
1991 - Same old, same old for the fourth year in a row. Andre Dawson was the only Cub included.
1992 - Big changes here. Topps ditched the cards on the bottom. OPC included four different cards on the bottom. The cards were the full size of the box bottom and featured team-centered events. None were Cubs events.
All good things must come to an end and the 1992 season was the last of the box bottom cards.
Reader Angus from Ontario reached out to me, offering an empty O-Pee-Chee wax pack box from 1987. I gladly accepted and la boite (the box) arrived yesterday.
I don't have a box collection, and I'm not planning to start one. However, this box is more than just a box. There are cards on the bottom of the box and one of them is a Cub.
Which Cub from 1987? Ryno?? Rick Sutcliffe? Jody Davis? Shawon Dunston?
Nope to all four. The Cub on the box is... (and if Night Owl is reading this, you might want to look away!)
Ron Cey! There are four cards in the panel, as you can see. The front of the card is the same as a regular 1987, though these are a little smaller. They measure 2 1/8" x 3". The backs of the cards are completely different. They highlight a career milestone accomplished by the player in 1986. Cey's was career homer #300.
Normally I'd be in a quandary about whether to cut up the cards or not. But since this is from the junk wax era, these boxes are very plentiful, so I have no qualms about cutting out the Cey card.
I was not aware that Topps and O-Pee-Chee did this with cards on the box, so I had to do some digging. I'll share what I found tomorrow,
While we are still waiting for Heritage to come out I thought I'd show my second favorite color combination from the 1975 set.
