1978 Topps

My love for this set in unconditional. It's not that great of a design. But this is the first year that I collected cards as a 9 year old kid while spending the summer at my grandparents in Arkansas, and like all first loves, it never leaves you. I have the same love for Paul Simon's Slip Slidin' Away too, as it was the first 45 I ever owned as a kid.

NEVER MIND THAT THIS MAY BE THE GREATEST TIGERS TEAM SET EVER.

No, in 1978, I was much more concerned with rigging the cards in order so that I could clobber my brother in the "Play Ball" game on the back. I didn't know Pete Rose from Reggie Jackson, but I knew Tito Fuentes was money. No matter how many times I shuffled my deck, he always somehow ended up as the fourth card. Amazing thing that was......

I swear, I can look at these cards, and immediately I think back on that summer of playing little league for the first time, riding bikes up to the gas station to get our slushies in those little miniature helmets that they serve ice cream in now (I got the whole set that summer too!), and just enjoying the hell out of being nine years old. 

Enough about that though. It wouldn't be too many years later that we'd look back on this set as the beginning of one of the greatest eras in Tiger baseball. FOUR, count 'em, FOUR, of the greatest Tigers of all time would make their debut in this set. The heart of the Tigers order and their ace, probably should be in the HOF starting pitcher. I wonder if any set ever has had that many rookie cards of guys who would mean so much to their respective teams.

So without any further fanfare, the 1978 Topps Detroit Tigers:

21 Steve Kemp

45 Mark Fidrych

68 Steve Focault

94 Chuck Scrivener

124 Dave Rozema

151 Milt Wilcox

176 Milt May

232 Mickey Stanley

258 John Hiller

286 Ben Oglivie

342 Aurelio Rodriguez

370 Rusty Staub

385 Tito Fuentes

404 Detroit Tigers Team Card

456 Vern Ruhle

480 Ron LeFlore

515 Tim Corcoran

536 Roric Harrison

559 Phil Mankowski

607 Fernando Arroyo

633 Tom Veryzer

660 Jason Thompson

701 Rookie Pitchers Bruce Taylor

703 Rookie Pitchers Jack Morris

704 Rookie Second Baseman Lou Whitaker

707 Rookie Shortstops Alan Trammell

708 Rookie Catchers Lance Parrish

723 John Wockenfuss

703, 704, 707, & 708. 

Really, that says it all.