1983 Topps Review

The 1983 Topps Baseball Card set is my favorite set of the 1980's. It is made up of 792 cards, the second year that Topps had expanded the set from 726 cards. Visually the most appealing set of the decade, it is a step up from the 1982 Topps set in production value and miles ahead of the woeful 1981 set. A similar style set was released by Topps in 1984 that didn't catch the eye as well as the Topps 1983 release. After 1984, Topps seems to have let their baseball cards slip in quality with poor designs and unimaginative photography, a trend that would end up costly them dearly a few later as the competition caught up and surpassed them later in the decade.

The entire 1983 Topps set was bought for me at a card show in the mid 1980's but I don't remember the price. This set looked great at the time and hasn't lost any of its appeal over time. Like all baseball cards from this era, though, it has lost a lot of its value. This set peaked at around $160.00, but today can be bought on eBay for $20-$40 including delivery.

Lets look at the Good, the Bad, and the rest of this set.

The Good

One aspect of the 1983 Topps card that was innovative and new was the inclusion of a small portrait photo in the lower right or left corner. This allowed Topps to include far more action photography in the main photo without neglecting the traditional head shot. Some of the best Topps cards of the 1980's utilize this feature quite well.



Card #540 Ozzie Smith is a great example of the new design and its improved photography. It is also one of my favorite baseball cards overall probably because the gold chain suspended in mid-air around Ozzie's neck gives the photo such a sense of motion.









Card #604 Joe Morgan Super Veteran and card #101 Pete Rose Super Veteran are great examples of my favorite of the subsets Topps included in most of their 1980's sets. I really like the Joe Morgan card because, as you can see in the photo on the left, he is wearing a Houston Colt .45's uniform. I don't have any Colt .45's cards unless you count this one. The backs of these cards really stand out from the typical written copy that Topps slapped on most of their cards. Instead of "Had 13th-inning Single for game-winning RBI, 5-29-82" like you find on Ryne Sandberg's #83 Rookie Card, the Super Veterans set gives you a wonderful rundown of the player's career and accomplishments including their all-time rankings and awards. Way to go, Topps!





The League Leader cards from 1983 are fairly typical, but card #704 is just amazing. It features Rickey Henderson's 130 stolen bases - the single season record that still stands and probably always will. Rickey's photo is slightly out of focus, but perhaps that's because he never stood still long enough for Topps to get a good shot that year. Second place with fewer than half of Rickey's total was Damaso Garcia and even the National League Leader, Tim Raines, trailed by 52 stolen bases.








Cards #350 Robin Yount, #478 Phil Garner, and #768 Chris Speier are some more great examples of the improved action poses Topps captured in this set. Two of the cards also capture one of my favorite aspects of a card when there are additional players featured in the photo. In this case, it appears that Phil Garner has failed to stop the sliding Lenny Faedo, who wore #12 for the Twins, whereas in the last card, Chris Speier is tagging out the Dodger's Derrel Thomas, wearing #30.

The Bad



Card #789 Bryan Clark has long been one of of the most memorable cards in the 1983 set, but not exactly in any flattering way. Clark's facial expression captured by the Topps photographer would certainly not have caused any trepidation in the batters he might have faced that day. That, or Godzilla just stepped up to the plate. I have just never understood how photos like this make it past a final review before going to press.



Card #360 Nolan Ryan is one of the most mundane cards I've ever seen of the Ryan Express and probably just a more traditional portrait would have been better.

The Rest...

The 1983 Topps Traded Set is the standard 132 card set and features the rookie cards of Julio Franco and Darryl Strawberry.

Significant cards from this set.

#83 Ryne Sandberg RC
#100 Pete Rose
#163 Cal Ripken
#360 Nolan Ryan
#482 Tony Gwynn RC
#498 Wade Boggs RC
#34T - Julio Franco RC
#108T - Darryl Strawberry RC

Overall

This is a very strong set from Topps for the 1980's, definitely in the top 2 of the decade. The use of two photographs on each card certainly foreshadowed the rise of Upper Deck with its improved production values in the 1990's. Why Topps got away from a real winning design that it had in 1983 I've never been sure, but it would take Topps enormous effort and time to regain the lead from the competition that it squandered in the early 1980's

1991 Topps Review

The 1991 Topps Baseball Set consists of 792 ignored and unappreciated baseball cards. I barely remember buying the factory set in the mid 1990's and probably only looked at some of the key cards if at all before closing the box and setting it down on a shelf in the basement for the next 15 years. My enthusiasm for this set dwindled even further once it became clear that it would never appreciate in value. Even eBay auctions for $0.99 for the entire set occasionally end up without a bid. You can buy a brand new, unopened set for $8-$10. I can't remember what I paid for mine.

That all changed once I actually got the cards out, sorted them and put them into their own binder. As I really looked at the cards I realized that Topps actually did a good job with this set. Yes, it is still on the old-fashioned cardboard in 1991, while Upper Deck had been putting out glossy cards on attractive whiteboard for 3 years that were far superior in production value. And yes, even stodgy old Topps was branching out with the costier Stadium Club set, but there is a lot to like in these cards.

Compared to the fairly routine or even mundane portraits of previous years, 1991 marks a start of better photography with more inventive poses and much better action shots. There are quite a few cards that stand out in this set if you don't let the fact that they aren't worth anything dampen your perspective.

1991 also witnessed a return to putting the player's position on the front of the card. This had been done away by Topps from 1987-1990 and was a source of irritation to me. Did Topps assume every kid knows the position of 700+ players by heart? A simple two letters gives a lot of information in a small space and I was pleased to see it reappear in the bottom left corner of the 1991 set.

Let's look at the Good, the Bad, and all the rest of this set...

The Good

Card #455 Walt Weiss is one of my favorite cards of the set and pretty much sums up what is great about this set. I can't imagine getting a better action shot than here with Weiss elevating over the oncoming Joel Skinner to complete a double play. The flying dirt is seen in vivid detail without any blurring and I especially like that Topps let some of the action extend outside the frame in a lot of its cards.



Card #760 Benny Santiago is the centerpiece of the set and is another action shot that I really like. Notice that the frame covers the catcher's mask on the right while on the left Santiago's arm seems to be reaching out of the card giving the viewer the sense of depth. While this pose is obviously a bit more staged than the previous card of Walt Weiss, it is one of the best portraits I've ever seen.



Card #530 depicts a younger Roger Clemens posing against the Fenway Park outfield scoreboard. The pose just seems iconic to have the Rocket posed next to the words "STRIKE OUT". I was never a fan of Roger Clemens, but he almost seems likable depicted in this manner.



Card #1 of the 1991 Topps Set again featured Nolan Ryan. This pose is by far the best shot Topps ever took of the Ryan Express and captures perfectly the delivery that produced 100 mph fastballs for 27 years.



Card #450 at first looks as if Wade Boggs is standing in front of those ridiculous grey felt studio backdrops. Further inspection actually reveals a grey sky with menacing storm clouds ominously hovering over a towering Boggs. Not my favorite card of the set, and the pose is more appropriate for a power hitter, but if I try to imagine that the clouds are real and hanging over Fenway Park, then the cards becomes a bit more bearable.

The Bad



How bad would you feel if you worked to make it to the Major Leagues and this turned out to be your rookie card? He looks just like a little kid trying on his daddy's work clothes. His helmet looks too big, his glasses look WAY too big, and he just looks out of place. His jersey even looks fake though it is probably a practice jersey. I wish someone at Topps, while proofing this set prior to production would have been able to realize that this card looked ridiculous and simply chose a different photo. Was there really only one photo of Jeff McKnight?





I think more than one photo taken on "Turn Back the Clock" Day at Comiskey Park is a bad choice. Overuse a gimmick and it loses its appeal. Also, look at Robin Ventura's expression - looks like he is in pain or constipated. Again, Topps could have tried a bit harder to flatter it subjects with its photos instead of just slapping the first photo they come across on the card.

The Rest...



The backs of the cards are nothing special, but I have always been loyal to Topps in part because the "Complete Major League Pitching Record (League Leader In Italics, Tie <>)". They have thankfully never deviated from this practice and hopefully never will.

The traded set consists of the standard 132 cards released later in 1991 and have the same design as the base set except that they are printed on slightly different card stock (which I have never understood) and the backs are lighter in color.

Significant cards from this set:

#113 Carl Everett RC
#333 Chipper Jones RC
#4T Jeff Bagwell RC
#45T Jason Giambi RC
#101T Ivan Rodriguez RC

Overall

This set has gotten a lot better with age even though its value hasn't. I really like what Topps did with the upgraded photography. 1991 is miles ahead of the 1987-1990 era and overall I give the set 3 1/2 stars.