The 1980 Donruss Set That Never Was

We all know that Topps monopoly on baseball cards was broken up by a court ruling in 1980. In 1981 we had Fleer and Donruss cards as well as Topps.  In anticipation of the ruling Donruss created these 1980 prototypes.  These can still be found. A quick look at COMC.com shows this panel currently selling for $855.28. (not sure what the 28 cents is for, postage?)

The panel included Reggie Jackson, George Brett and a blank template.  I wasn't the first and I probably won't be the last to use this template for card creations. I made a card of Dan Quisenberry back in 2014 using this design. I've also seen a few other custom cards using this format on the interwebs.

Elements of this design made it into the 1981 Donruss set. Here is a Cy Young Card of Steve Carlton.  You can see the similarities in the banner design.

You can also see the similarities in the banner design of the 1980 Topps cards. If this had been released in 1980, I could see Topps taking issue with the design.

The photos they used also made it into the 1981 set. A cropped version of the Reggie photo made it onto one of his three base cards. 

Donruss even had a bit of revisionist history in regards to the 1980 set. In 2002 they came out with a 1980 "What if?" set including this Reggie Jackson card. It didn't resemble the 1980 prototype at all. 

The Brett photo found its way onto two cards in 1981, his base card and his MVP card.

A cropped version of the same photo can be seen here on an advertisement for the new 1981 Donruss cards.

Okay, that's enough for the baseball card history segment of this post.  The reason I am posting this in the first place is to make these prototypes into a complete set.  

I'm going to follow my normal template of making base cards of the eventual season MVPs and Cy Young award winner.  Then in subsequent posts, I'll fill in the various other elements that make a complete baseball card set.

In the AL, George Brett won the MVP in 1980. That card has already been made for us.  In the NL it was another big hitting third baseman and future Hall of Famer, Mike Schmidt.  You can see my adaptation of the prototype's design.

The Cy Young Award winners were Steve Stone and Steve Carlton. For Carlton this was his 3rd of 4 Cy Youngs. His 24 wins helped the Phillies to their first ever World Series Championship. He was also 3-0 in four post season starts.  Steve Stone was having a career year in Baltimore. He had a 25 wins. That was a full ten wins more than his previous high of 15 with the 1977 Southside Hitmen. He also had a career high of 149 strikeouts. Tendinitis in his shoulder dropped his numbers to 4-7 in just 15 games in 1981. He retired at 34. 

For Donruss, the first few years the set was, well, basic. They didn't have designated rookie cards, or team cards, or leader cards, or all-stars, or post season cards. You get the idea.  My 1980 set that never was will have all that and more.  Those of you that actually read this far into the post can of course request cards as usual or even submit ideas for subsets that I didn't include.

To be continued....

Stretch

Willie McCovey
1938-2018

Yesterday we lost another legend. Willie "Stretch" McCovey.  I put together one more 1972 Alt-Topps card in his honor. Additionally, I have included all of the cards I've made of McCovey over the years for this blog. 

1981 Donruss Rated Rookies: Ojeda, Bell, Bonilla

In 1981 there were 17 players receiving Rookie of the Year votes. Topps managed to get 9 of them into the 1981 set. All of them on multi-player "Future Stars" cards. Donruss only managed to include 2 players. Tim Raines and Mookie Wilson. Both of them got their own regular issue card. Had Donruss made multi-player rookie cards in 1981, they might have included more of these rookies. Donruss wouldn't make "Rated Rookie" cards until 1983. Here is what a multi-player Rated Rookie card from the inaugural Donruss set might have looked like.

Bob Ojeda was 6-2 in 10 starts for the Red Sox in the strike-shortened 1981 season. That was enough to finish 3rd in AL voting. He went onto have a solid 15 year MLB career. A career that was perhaps shortened by a tragic boating accident. After going 6-9 for the Dodgers in 1992, Ojeda was traded to the Indians. During spring training, his new teammate Tim Crews took Ojeda ans Steve Olin boating and crashed into a pier. Crews and Olin were killed. Ojeda survived but missed most of the season recovering from both the physical and emotional injuries. He was signed by the Yankees for the 1994 season but was released after pitching just 3 innings.

George Bell batted .233 in just 163 at bats in the 1981 season. Somehow that was enough to earn a couple ROY votes but not enough to remain on the Blue Jays' roster for the 1982 season. In 1982 he returned to the minors then was plagued by injuries and illness. It wasn't until 1984 that he became a regular in the Toronto line-up. In 1987 he was the AL MVP.  On this card I used the "Jorge" spelling of his name because that is what all the card manufacturers used in 1982. This despite the fact that his facsimile autograph on his 1982 Topps card is clearly spelled with a "G". In 1984 Donruss began spelling his name with a "G". Fleer followed suit in 1985. Topps finally used his preferred spelling in 1987. This is the same company that called Roberto Clemente "Bob" until 1970.

Juan Bonilla had a career year his rookie season. He hit .290 and with Ozzie Smith at shortstop, Bonilla turned 72 double plays, 2nd best in the league. He was released by the Padres just before the 1984 season and sat out the whole season. In 1985 he was signed by the Yankees and spent most of the season playin AAA ball. By the end of 1987 his playing career was over.

1981 Donruss Gary Matthews

In the spring of 1981 the Phillies traded Bob Walk to the Braves for Gary Matthews. Bob Walk was 11-7 as a rookie pitcher on the 1980 Championship Phillies and showed promise. However in 1981 Walk would just win a single Major League game for the Braves. Meanwhile Gary Matthews would hit .301 with 9 homers and 67 RBIs in the strike shortened season of 1981. He would be one of 4 Phillies to receive MVP votes that season along with Pete Rose, Steve Carlton and 1981 NL MVP Mike Schmidt.

1981 Donruss Carlton Fisk

In 1981 Topps suddenly had 2 new competitors.  Topps upped their game by adding a "Traded" series. Donruss and Fleer had only the regular issue.  Since Fisk was signed by the White Sox in mid-March of 1981, all 3 card companies had him depicted as a Red Sox. Fisk first appeared in a White Sox uniform in the 1981 Topps Traded set. 

1981 Donruss Harold Baines

Chicago White Sox CTNW Fan Favorites #3

I'm putting together 5 "Cards That Never Were" fan favorites from each team. These are not necessarily the 5 best players from the franchise. So as David Letterman used to say before Stupid Pet Tricks, "This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, no wagering."

Harold Baines had rookie cards on both Topps and Fleer in 1981 but once again Donruss missed the boat. Baines was part of the White Sox 1980 rookie class that included pitchers Richard Dotson and Britt Burns. Joined by veterans Tom Paciorek, Greg Luzinski and Carlton Fisk, Baines made a huge contribution to the "Winning Ugly" Sox of 1983.

He was traded to the Rangers in 1989 for Wilson Alvarez, Scott Fletcher and Sammy Sosa. He returned to the Sox in 1996-1997 and 2000-2001. He joined the White Sox coaching staff in 2004 and will remain this season under new manager Robin Ventura. 

1981 Donruss Willie McCovey

Even though his last game was in June of 1980, Fleer included a card of Willie McCovey in its 1981 set. Topps didn't make a 1981 McCovey Card but if you would like to see what it might have looked like check out Uncle Doc's Closet. With those two cards out there, I felt that Donruss needed some representation.