1979 Topps

A fantastic set in its simplicity. There is something about this set that I really can't put my finger on and it has to do with the printing. As I may or may not have stated before, I've worked in the printing business for the last twenty years. Long before card grading was the "in" thing, I was noticing things like off-centered, out of register, and poor quality cards. It's my curse that I picked a career that would have an adverse effect on my hobby.

That being said, this set was a benchmark for Topps. Very clean with vibrant colors and excellent photography. The colors still jump off the cards for me. Most Topps cards depicting players in action before this year look like they were taken with an old Kodak 110 camera. I'm pretty sure this is the first set in which the action photography is in focus. A huge jump from past issues.

Of course that's where the quality stopped at Topps. These cards are tough to find fairly well centered, and don't even get me started on the yellow and brown color scheme. Neither of things take away from the other advances at Topps that year though, and I'm content to say that this was the best set they had ever produced at the time. 

The 1979 Topps Detroit Tigers:

4 Stolen Base Leaders Ron LeFlore

33 Dave Rozema

66 Detroit Tigers Team Card

80 Jason Thompson

93 Phil Mankowski

123 Lou Whitaker

151 John Hiller

176 Aurelio Rodriguez

196 Steve Kemp

217 Steve Dillard

231 John Wockenfuss

251 Jack Morris

272 Tim Corcoran

288 Milt Wilcox

316 Milt May

343 Ed Glynn

358 Alan Trammell

388 Jack Billingham

411 All-Time Record Holders Hits Ty Cobb

414 All-Time Record Holders Batting Average Ty Cobb

440 Rusty Staub

469 Lance Parrish

541 Jim Slaton

569 Bob Sykes

598 Mark Wagner

625 Mark Fidrych

660 Ron LeFlore

692 Mickey Stanley

706 Tigers Prospects Dave Stegman/Dave Tobik/Kip Young

One last note about these cards. At the end of the summer of 1978, our family got stationed in Rota, Spain. Well guess what the Navy Exchange in Rota didn't sell? That's right, baseball cards. Accordingly, when my granny asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I told her baseball cards.

So imagine my excitement when the package came. A FULL BOX OF 1979 TOPPS BASEBALL CARDS!!!

The same day I got the worst news I had ever received in my young life. (No, my granny was fine. In fact she is alive and well and still raising hell as I sit here and type this.....)

I HAD TO SHARE THE BOX WITH MY LITTLE BROTHER??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? WAS IT NOT ENOUGH THAT HE WAS ALLOWED TO PLAY WITH MY STAR WARS FIGURES WHENEVER HE WANTED??? NOW HE GETS HALF MY BASEBALL CARDS???

I laugh now thinking about my outrage in the summer of 1979. Over the years we've collected cards since we've given each other cards that the other has liked without thinking twice. But boy was that one pisser of a deal that year.....