1987 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  51
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Description:  With the exception of the copyright date on the bottom right, these photo cards are identical in design to the sets issued in 1985 and 1986.  Fronts feature a full color picture and the backs include brief biographical notes on each player.

How Distributed:  All fans attending the Sunday, April 12th Phillies game at Veterans Stadium received the original 47-card set.  The four blank-backed update cards (I believe) were sold separately at the stadium late in the season.  I have a very vague recollection of purchasing the four photo card update set for $1 at a second half game.  Lee Elia was named the new Phillies manager on June 18th following the firing of John Felske.  The others featured in the update set made their Phillies debuts in May or June, as follows:  Wally Ritchie - May 1st, Keith Hughes - May 19th and Jeff Calhoun - June 16th.  Given those debuts, I would guess the update cards were available during the second half of the season, following the All-Star break.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards): 

1. Luis Aguayo (#16 - INF) 2. Doug Bair (#58 - RHP) 3. Steve Bedrosian (#40 - RHP) 4. Don Carman (#42 - RHP) 5. Joe Cipolloni (#23 - C) 6. Joe Cowley (#39 - RHP)       7. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 8. Ken Dowell (#37 - SS) 9. Mike Easler (#34 - LF) 10. John Felske (#7 - MG) 11. Marvin Freeman (#48 - RHP)         12. Todd Frohwirth (#52 - RHP) 13. Greg Gross (#21 - OF-1B) 14. Kevin Gross (#46 - RHP) 15. Von Hayes (#9 - 1B) 16. Tom Hume (#41 - RHP)

17. Ken Jackson (#51 - SS) 18. Mike Jackson (#33 - RHP) 19. Chris James (#18 - OF) 20. Greg Jelks (#45 - 1B-OF) 21. Steve Jeltz (#30 - SS) 22. Greg Legg (#11 - INF) 23. Mike Maddux (#44 - RHP) 24. Tom Newell (#50 - RHP) 25. Jim Olander (#38 - OF) 26. Lance Parrish (#13 - C) 27. Shane Rawley (#28 - LHP)         28. Ronn Reynolds (#29 - C) 29. Ron Roenicke (#17 - OF) 30. Bruce Ruffin (#47 - LHP) 31. John Russell (#6 - C-OF) 32. Juan Samuel (#8 - 2B)

33. Bob Scanlan (#39 - RHP) 34. Dan Schatzeder (#35 - LHP) 35. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 36. Rick Schu (#15 - 3B) 37. Jeff Stone (#14 - OF) 38. Kent Tekulve (#27 - RHP) 39. Milt Thompson (#24 - OF) 40. Freddie Toliver (#43 - RHP) 41. Len Watts (#49 - LHP) 42. Glenn Wilson (#12 - RF) 43. Phillies Coaches 44. Jeff Kaye / Darren Loy 45. Shawn Barton / Rick Lundblade         46. Phillies Team Card 47. Phillie Phanatic

Complete Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards):

1. Jeff Calhoun (#31 - LHP)         2. Lee Elia (#4 - MG)

3. Keith Hughes (#19 - OF) 4. Wally Ritchie (#38 - LHP)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (7):  Bair, Cowley, Jelks, Legg, Olander, Scanlan, Watts

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (12):  Calhoun, Dowell, Easler, Freeman, Frohwirth, Hughes, M. Jackson, Newell, Parrish, Ritchie, Roenicke, Schatzeder
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (25):  Aguayo, Bedrosian, Carman, Cipolloni, Daulton, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, Hume, K. Jackson, James, Jeltz, Maddux, Rawley, Reynolds, Ruffin, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt, Schu, Stone, Tekulve, Thompson, Toliver, Wilson

Managers (2):  Elia, Felske
Coaches (1):  Jim Davenport, Lee Elia, Claude Osteen, Mike Ryan and Del Unser are all featured on a card together.

Phillie Phanatic (1):  I believe the photo used was taken as the Phanatic was atop the Phillies dugout in Clearwater.

Multi-Player Prospect Cards (2):  Kaye / Loy, Barton / Lundblade
Other Cards (1):  Team card

Surprises:  There are a couple of things with this set only a few of us would find interesting.  As far as I can tell, this is the first team-issued photo card set featuring solo cards of players who never actually played for the Phillies.  Joe Cipolloni, Jim Olander, Bob Scanlan and Len Watts never got the call to the big leagues with the team, nor did the four prospects featured on the multi-player cards for that matter.  Marvin Freeman and Ronn Reynolds appear in the set as well, although neither played with the Phillies in 1987.  Freeman's season was hampered by injuries and he appeared in 19 minor league games.  Reynolds was dealt to the Astros on April 2nd for Calhoun.

There are two #39's in the set - Scanlan and Joe Cowley.  Scanlan started the spring with #39 and Cowley most likely requested the number upon his arrival from the White Sox late in the spring on March 26th.  Cowley had worn #40 with the White Sox, but that number already belonged to Steve Bedrosian.

Omissions:  None!  Every single player to appear with the Phillies in 1987 is represented in this set, and that's really impressive.

Variations/Rarities:  There's a Phanatic photo variation featuring the mascot riding his ATV, and a variation of the widely available Phanatic card but with different writing on the back.  There's also a black and white portrait version of a Don Carman card and fellow collector Bill W. e-mailed me to let me know the card was available at a Pennsylvania baseball card show in 1987 where Carman was an autograph guest.

Phanatic Variations 1. On dugout, different writing on back         2. Riding ATV

Black & White Variation 1. Don Carman (#42 - LHP)

Also See:  One of the more desirable (in my opinion) and difficult to find team issued sets is the 1987 Phillies Great Performers of 1986 set, issued to season ticket holders who renewed their 1987 season tickets early.  14,000 Phillies created an entry for this set as part of his Phillies Database Project.

Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collectors Rick G., Steve F. and Bill W.

This set was originally featured in a post back in October 2014, and I'm going through these older team-issued set posts to update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.

1986 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1988 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

1980-1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

Phillies at Angels: August 12th to August 13th

Tuesday and Wednesday 10:05
Angel Stadium - Anaheim, CA

Phillies 53-66, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 11 1/2 games behind the Nationals
Angels 68-49, 2nd Place in the A.L. West, 3 1/2 games behind the Athletics

Phillies Probables:  Jerome Williams (0-0, 0.00), A.J. Burnett (6-12, 4.29)
Angels Probabes:  C.J. Wilson (8-8, 4.82), Jered Weaver (12-7, 3.68)

At the Ballpark:  I hadn't heard about this, but the Angels website is saying that the Phillie Phanatic will be visiting Angel Stadium for both of these games.  Also of interest is the Jim Fregosi Tribute Collector Card that will be given out at tonight's ballgame.  Finally, all kids attending tomorrow night's game will receive a "Kids' Baby Rally Monkey Bobble," which sounds terrifying.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Ben Revere - .309

Runs:  Marlon Byrd and Jimmy Rollins - 61

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 22

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 72

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 32

Wins:  David Buchanan, A.J. Burnett, Cole Hamels and Roberto Hernandez* - 6

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.37

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 144

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 27

*Now with the Los Angeles Dodgers

1988 Topps #215, #95, #498 and #243

1988 Topps Appreciation:  I'm all over the place with this installment of 1988 Topps cards featuring former Phillies and Angels.

Von Hayes wrapped up his 12-year big league career with a partial season with the California Angels in 1992.  The Phillies had traded Hayes to the Angels following the 1991 season for two prospects - pitcher Kyle Abbott and some outfield prospect named Ruben Amaro, Jr.  Lance Parrish was dealt from the Phils to the Angels in October 1988 for minor leaguer David Holdridge after a less than stellar stint in Philadelphia.  Hayes makes a cameo on Parrish's card.

Catcher and Wall of Famer Bob Boone spent just short of a full season less playing for the Angels (968 games between 1982 and 1988) as he did playing for the Phillies (1,125 games between 1972 and 1981).  Following the 1988 season, Boone headed to Kansas City for his final two seasons.

I wrote about Mark Ryal's near missing link status back in my 1989 Phillies Missing Links post.  Ryal only appeared with the Phillies for 29 games in 1989 and another nine games in 1990, but I always held out hope that he'd appear on a standard-sized Phillies card.  Alas, it was not to be.

Diamondbacks at Phillies: July 25th to July 27th

Friday and Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Diamondbacks 44-58, 4th Place in the N.L. West, 13 games behind the Giants
Phillies 44-58, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 12 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Diamondbacks Probables:  Wade Miley (6-6, 4.16), Josh Collmenter (8-5, 3.64), Vidal Nuno (0-1, 3.78)
Phillies Probables:  Kyle Kendrick (4-10, 4.87), Cliff Lee (4-5, 3.67), Roberto Hernandez (4-8, 4.25)

At the Ballpark:  Former Phillie Placido Polanco returns to the ballpark on Saturday night.  He'll be signing autographs before the game and he'll throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  All kids will also receive a W.B. Mason collectible Phillies truck on Saturday.  On Sunday, all kids will receive a Cole Hamels t-shirt.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Ben Revere - .295

Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 53

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 19

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 60

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 28

Wins:  A.J. Burnett - 6

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.72

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 125

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 24

1988 Topps #669

1988 Topps Appreciation:  I wasn't sure where this card would fit it within these series preview posts, so I thought now was as good a time as any to feature it.  Topps phased out team cards beginning in 1982 when Team Leaders cards appeared in lieu of cards with photos of the entire teams.  From 1982 to 1984, each team's batting average and ERA leaders were featured together on a card, with the prior year's team leaders listed on the back.  Team cards disappeared completely in 1985, and I don't think I even noticed.  In 1986, Topps featured the "dean" of each team on a Leaders card.  Steve Carlton was featured on that year's Phillies Leaders card, as Lefty had been with the team since February 1972.

Topps continued the "Leaders" concept in 1987, and the Phillies Leaders card that year featured Glenn Wilson, Juan Samuel and Von Hayes standing around the batting cage.  One could argue that these players were indeed three of the team's leaders.  The card made sense.

And then we came to 1988.  Catcher Lance Parrish is squatting in what is presumably a spring training photo with coach Mike Ryan looking on, hand on his hip.  I'm not sure what Topps was going for with this photo, but the shot doesn't exactly scream "Phillies Leaders" to me.  Maybe if I find a decent photo of Carlos Ruiz squatting with Rod Nichols lurking in the background I'll create a 2014 Chachi version of this card.

1988 Topps Phillies

1988 Topps #600, #572, #705 and #95

This is the 38th post I've written about the Phillies appearing within the Topps baseball card sets since way back in 1951.  I've had a lot of fun researching and writing these posts and I'm looking forward to delving into the dark decade of the '90s.  Given the approaching yuletide season, the next Topps Phillies post may not appear until 2012.  You never know though . . . if there's some free time over the Christmas break and the boys are both happily playing with their new toys, I may just sneak away to rummage through my 1989 Topps binder.  (Also, this post is running a day early so that I can celebrate my son's birthday with tomorrow's post.)

1988 Topps #572 (Back)

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  Why mess with a good thing?  For the seventh straight year, Topps gave us 792 cards in the base set and a 132-card traded series.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  For the first time since 1980, Topps went back to the idea that the color purple was somehow associated with the Phillies.  There still wasn't a position listed on the front of the cards, but I liked the floating team name at the top.  It was only a few years ago that I realized that the team name is positioned just behind the top of each player's head or arm or bat.  I spent countless hours looking at these cards back in the day and I just never noticed that.

Notable competition:  The colorful Score set entered the fold in 1988, and I'll admit that some of my lawn mowing money went towards purchasing packs of the new kid on the block.  With a cool new set and my loyalty towards Topps, I pretty much ignored Fleer and Donruss in 1988.

1988 Phillies

Record and finish:  In their worst year since 1972, the Phillies finished with a record of 65-96, dead last in the East and 35 1/2 games behind the division-winning Mets.  The Phillies wouldn't lose 96 games again until 2000.

Key players:  Not one player finished with more than 20 home runs.  Right fielder Chris James had perhaps the best offensive output, hitting a lowly .242 with 19 home runs and 66 RBIs.  Mike Schmidt missed the last month and a half of the season, and his home run tally fell to 12.  Juan Samuel (.243, 12 home runs, 67 RBIs) and Lance Parrish (.215, 15 home runs, 60 RBIs) muddled along as best they could.  There were a few bright spots though as rookies Ricky Jordan (.308, 11 home runs) and Ron Jones (.290) made their debuts and Bob Dernier (.289) returned to the organization.  (Hooray!)  Kevin Gross led the pitching staff with 12 wins and Steve Bedrosian managed to save 28 games.

Key events:  The entire season was a mess.  Woody Woodward was brought in as the new GM during the offseason, but he was fired in June.  Lee Thomas was hired and he immediately started cutting personnel and players.  Manager Lee Elia and several of his coaches didn't make it through the season.  Coach John Vukovich was brought in on an interim basis to finish off the season and he went 5-4.

1988 Topps #215, #126, 1988 Topps Traded #18T and 1988 Topps #298

1988 Phillies in 1988 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 33 Phillies in the base Topps set and just another two Phillies cards in the traded set.  There are a ridiculous 42 Team USA cards in the traded set, which always really annoyed me.  Almost a third of the traded set were mostly guys I had never heard of before, while deserving Phillies such as Dernier, Jordan, Jones and reliever Greg Harris got shut out.

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#95 Lance Parrish (c), #215 Von Hayes (1b), #705 Juan Samuel (2b), #126 Steve Jeltz (ss), #600 Mike Schmidt (3b), #18T Phil Bradley (lf), #298 Milt Thompson (cf), #572 Chris James (rf)

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#20 Kevin Gross, #415 Don Carman, #66 Shane Rawley, #79T David Palmer, #268 Bruce Ruffin

1988 Topps #20, #415, #66 and 1988 Topps Traded #79T

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 1988 - 10 cards

#38 Jeff Calhoun, #188 John Russell, #356 Luis Aguayo, #378 Todd Frohwirth, #440 Steve Bedrosian, #468 Darren Daulton, #494 Wally Ritchie, #518 Greg Gross, #543 Kent Tekulve, #756 Mike Maddux

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1988 - 7 cards (with new teams listed)

#154 Jeff Stone (Orioles), #203 Fred Toliver (Twins), #626 Glenn Wilson (Mariners), #651 Mike Jackson (Mariners), #731 Rick Schu (Orioles), #781 Keith Hughes (Orioles), #783 Ron Roenicke (Reds)

• Phillies Leaders card - 1 card, #669

This card sums up the team's 1988 season perfectly.  Catcher Parrish looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than swatting while wearing a Phillies uniform and getting ready to catch one of the team's suspect pitchers.  Coach Mike Ryan looks on, appearing to be hot, tired and bored.

• Phillies appearing on National League All Star Cards - 3 cards

#398 Juan Samuel, #406 Shane Rawley, #407 Steve Bedrosian

• Manager card - 1 card, #254 Lee Elia

1988 Topps #440, #543, #268 and #642

Who’s out:  See above for my little rant about the Team USA cards in the 1988 Topps Traded set.

Phillies on other teams:  Bradley (#66 with the Mariners) and Palmer (#457 with the Braves) were the only two players to get Phillies cards in the traded series.  There were six other players in the set who spent time with the Phils in 1988 - #179 Greg Harris (Rangers), #328 Bill Dawley (Cardinals), #337 Bob Sebra (Expos), #393 Mike Young (Orioles), #451 Bob Dernier (Cubs) and #787 Bill Almon (Mets).

What’s he doing here:  Roenicke was released right after the 1987 season had ended, yet he's included as a Phillie in the 1988 Topps set.  I have to remind myself sometimes that this was back when the next year's releases were already in stores the preceding December.

1988 Topps #669

Cards that never were candidates:  Dernier, Jordan, Jones, Harris and probably Young - but only because he appeared in 75 games.  I'd make a manager card for Vukovich to commemorate his 9-game stint as interim manager.

Favorite Phillies card:  This is probably the toughest crop of Phillies cards from which to pick a favorite since the lackluster 1955 Topps set.  By default, I'll go with Bedrock's card since he was coming off his Cy Young season.  Schmidt's card may just be his worst Topps base card ever.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  A reprint of Tekulve's card appears in the 2001 Topps Archives set.

Blogs/Websites:  One of the original set blogs, 88 Topps Cards set the bar for all set blogs that have followed.

Did You Know?:  Long before Topps began its shenanigans with the Abe Lincoln variation cards found within packs of its 2010 set, there was of course the James K. Polk variations found within certain packs of 1988 Topps.  I'm still searching for the Frohwirth and Schu Polk variations.  Send me an e-mail if you have either of those cards available for trade.

1987 Topps Phillies

1987 Topps #430, #255, #666 and #409

In the summer of 1987, I lovingly packed away my Star Wars and G.I. Joe men as I stood on the cusp of being a full-fledged, pimple-covered, annoying teenager.  I played video games on our Commodore 64, I played baseball (poorly), I collected baseball cards, and I started to think about girls a lot.  It was a big year for me, and a big year for Topps as they broke out the wood-grained borders for the first time since 1962.

1987 Topps #97 (Back)

The Set
Number of cards in the set:  It’s now six years in a row for the 792 base card and 132 traded card configuration.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  Love it.  I’m hoping it’s only a matter of time before Topps decides to put out another wood-grained-bordered base set. (Perhaps in 2013?)  The only minor quibble I had when the cards were first released was the lack of the player’s position on the front of the card.  Topps went with team logos on the fronts of the cards for only the second time since 1965 and they wouldn’t use team logos on their cards again until 1996.  The box containing the player’s name used the team’s actual colors, which was also a huge plus.
Notable competition:  Topps really set itself apart from the pack in 1987.   The Fleer and Donruss releases were re-hashes of their prior year sets and I remained unimpressed with Sportflics.

1987 Phillies
Record and finish:  The Phillies had a brutally disappointing season, finishing with a record of 80-82 and in fourth place behind the division winning Cardinals.
Key players:  Mike Schmidt had another great season (this would be his last great season), hitting .293 with 35 home runs and 113 RBIs.  He hit his 500th career home run on April 18th against the Pirates Don Robinson.  Juan Samuel was the offense's other bright spot, as the second baseman hit .272 with 28 home runs and 100 RBIs while stealing 35 bases.  Von Hayes (.277, 21 home runs, 84 RBIs) and Milt Thompson (.302, 46 stolen bases) also enjoyed solid seasons at the plate.  Shane Rawley led the pitching staff with 17 wins and Don Carman joined the rotation full-time, winning 13.  Closer Steve Bedrosian was awarded the National League Cy Young Award due to his stellar 40-save season in which he pitched to a 2.83 ERA in 65 games.  Kent Tekulve had another fine year out of the bullpen, appearing in a franchise record 90 games.
Key events:  The season had so much promise at the outset.  When the season started, the line-up boasted former All-Stars Lance Parrish and Mike Easler, both acquired during the off-season.  Both were busts.  Parrish hit .245 with 17 home runs and 67 RBIs in 130 games.  Easler hit OK (.282), but he was shipped back to the Yankees in June.  The big pitching acquisition was Joe Cowley, who was acquired from the White Sox in March for Gary Redus.  Cowley started 4 games, compiling a 0-4 record and a 15.43 ERA before injuries ended his season and ultimately his career.  The team's decline cost manager John Felske his job in June, and he was replaced by Lee Elia.

1987 Topps Traded #94T, 1987 Topps #294, 1987 Topps Traded #53T, 1987 Topps #97

1987 Phillies in 1987 Topps
Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 29 cards in the base set and another 5 in the traded series for a total of 34 cards needed for a complete 1987 Topps Phillies team set.
Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#94T Lance Parrish (c), #666 Von Hayes (1b), #255 Juan Samuel (2b), #294 Steve Jeltz (ss), #430 Mike Schmidt (3b), #53T Chris James (lf), #409 Milt Thompson (cf), #97 Glenn Wilson (rf)

Five of the eight starting position players had the photo appearing on their 1987 Topps card taken at a Spring Training game against the Expos.  When Schmidt came to bat, the photographer just pointed his camera and held down the button.

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 4 cards

#771 Shane Rawley, #355 Don Carman, #499 Bruce Ruffin, #163 Kevin Gross

1987 Topps #771, #355, #499 and #163

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 1987 - 15 cards

#63 Fred Toliver, #209 Rick Schu, #329 Ron Roenicke, #379 John Russell, #532 Jeff Stone, #553 Mike Maddux, #636 Darren Daulton, #684 Kent Tekulve, #702 Greg Gross, #719 Tom Hume, #736 Steve Bedrosian, #755 Luis Aguayo, #789 Dan Schatzeder, #16T Jeff Calhoun, #103T Wally Ritchie

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1987 - 3 cards (with new teams listed)

#42 Gary Redus (White Sox), #191 Charles Hudson (Yankees), #471 Ronn Reynolds (Astros)

• Phillies Leaders card - 1 card, #481

I was never a big fan of these cards, as I viewed these as taking spots in the set away from 26 additional players who could have had cards.  Instead of a card of Wilson, Samuel and Hayes standing around the batting cage chatting, we could have had a card of Todd Frohwirth.  We was robbed!

• Phillies appearing on National League All Star Cards - 1 card, #597 Mike Schmidt
• Manager cards - 2 cards, #443 John Felske and #32T Lee Elia

1987 Topps #736, #684, #702 and #209

Who’s out:  There wasn't a lot of turn-over following the 1986 season, and Topps did a great job with the Phillies player selection.  Easler could have been a good candidate for the traded set, but by the time the set was released, he was already back in the Bronx.
Phillies on other teams:  Cowley (#27) and Easler (#135) appear with the White Sox and Yankees, respectively.  Both Calhoun and Parrish ended up with Phillies cards in the traded set, but they're in the base set with the Astros (#282) and the Tigers (#791), respectively.
What’s he doing here:  I don't have any problems with Topps' Phillies player selection in the set.  Imagine that.

1987 Topps #481

Cards that never were candidates:  I'm not sure if Easler and Cowley "deserved" Phillies cards, but I'll list them here solely for the sake of completeness.  Keith Hughes made it into 37 games with the team, hitting .263.  He and reliever Michael Jackson (55 games, 3-10 record) would have to wait for the 1988 Topps set for their first Topps cards.
Favorite Phillies card:  Schu's card is great.  Gotta love a guy with a ripped knee-hole in his pants.

Other Stuff
Recycled:  Apparently, Topps is going to have an insert set with its 2012 release featuring the 1987 Topps design on mini cards.  I know I'm not alone in enjoying this recent resurgence of the mini cards.
Blogs/Websites:  There’s a 1987 Topps blog out there, but it’s been inactive since January 2010. The Godfather of Baseball Card Blogs, the aptly named The Baseball Card Blog, selected the 1987 Topps set as the best set of the 1980’s back in June 2006.
Did You Know?:  When I decided to create 1987 Topps cards for those Phillies missing from the base and traded series, the toughest part of the assignment was finding the right font to use for the players’ names.

White Sox Cards had done a really close approximation for his 1987 Topps creations using the Felt Marker font, so I tried that too.  But the names still looked a little off.  As this was in the era before I had two small boys, I decided to take the time to create a letter map, scanning and cropping each letter of the alphabet from actual 1987 Topps cards.  It was a painstakingly boring exercise, but in the end I was glad I had taken the extra step.  (Note there are a few letters missing.  Fortunately, I haven’t needed those letters yet!)  I’ll post my 1987 Topps Missing Links cards in a future post.