REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM MARCH, 2014: A 1978 DREAM ROOKIE CARD

Thought it'd be fun to go way back and revisit my blog post from March 14th of 2014, featuring a "fantasy" rookie card featuring four pretty good infielders making their Big League debuts about that time:

 

Now, would THAT have been a rookie card to collect or what!?

Of course three of the four would indeed have their rookie appearances in that wonderful 1978 set: Paul Molitor, Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker.

However that fourth player, legend Ozzie Smith, would have to wait until the following year to get his baseball card debut.

Here's the original post I wrote up back then:

"Yeah I know, I'm pushing it imagining a once in a lifetime rookie card like this.

Topps didn't even have a rookie card for "infielders" in their 1978 set.

But man, what a card THIS could have been! Two Hall of Famers and two others who arguably should find their way in at some point.

Of course we all know that Molitor and Trammel were on the same card in the 1978 set, making for an already fantastic rookie card for collectors.

But with Whitaker on another card, and Ozzie Smith ignored altogether that year, I took all four of them and created a "dream-card" for people that care about these things!

It reminds me of the dream-card they gave out at a card convention years ago that featured Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan on a 1967 rookie card.

Can you imagine how incredible that would have been?! To have a rookie card featuring THOSE two?! 

Could have been THE rookie card for the decade…

Oh well, hope you all can at least enjoy THIS creation here…"

A MISSING ROOKIE CUP- 1979 OZZIE SMITH

Next up in the “Missing Rookie Cup” thread is one of the great rookie cards of the decade, 1979’s Ozzie Smith, which in my opinion would have been oh-so-much better with that Topps Rookie All-Star trophy at the lower right corner:

Smith made an immediate impact in the Majors when he came up in 1978, finishing second to slugger Bob Horner (and all the hype) in the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
Playing in 159 games for the San Diego Padres, Smith hit .258 with 152 hits, 69 runs and 40 stolen bases, giving everyone a good idea of what to expect for the next 19 seasons.
But of course it was his defensive wizardry that led him straight to the Hall of Fame, collecting 13 straight Gold Gloves between 1980 and 1992, while making 15 All-Star games and giving everyone thrills along the way.
“The Wizard of Oz” was incredible, and definitely one of those players I am so grateful to have had seen play in person.

ALLOW A MAN A MOMENT AND A DREAM...MY 1978 "DREAM" ROOKIE CARD

Take a look at this:

Yeah I know, I'm pushing it imagining a once in a lifetime rookie card like this.

Topps didn't even have a rookie card for "infielders" in their 1978 set.

But man, what a card THIS could have been! Two Hall of Famers and two others who arguably should find their way in at some point.

Of course we all know that Molitor and Trammel were on the same card in the 1978 set, making for an already fantastic rookie card for collectors.

But with Whitaker on another card, and Ozzie Smith ignored altogether that year, I took all four of them and created a "dream-card" for people that care about these things!

It reminds me of the dream-card they gave out at a card convention years ago that featured Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan on a 1967 rookie card.

Can you imagine how incredible that would have been?! To have a rookie card featuring THOSE two?! 

Anyway, for the 1978 dream card I have here, I also used a different Molitor image, since the one Topps used on their rookie card was a colorized black and white shot, and not an attractive image to say the least.

Could have been THE rookie card for the decade…

Oh well, hope you all can at least enjoy THIS creation here…

MISSING TOPPS ROOKIE ALL-STARS: 1979 PAUL MOLITOR AND OZZIE SMITH

During the decade of the 1970's, Topps was in the (awesome) habit of naming a "Rookie All-Star Team" at the end of each season and honoring them the following year with a "rookie trophy" on their baseball card.

I loved these cards and wasn't happy when the 1979 cards came out and realized the rookie all-stars were not to be found.

Later on I learned that for whatever reason Topps also omitted the rookie all-star designation on their 1974 set (I wasn't collecting yet when that set came out). So these two sets were the only ones during the 1970's that were missing this

Looking back all these years later, looks like Topps didn't mess up too badly since all the players on the 1973 and 1978 rookie all-star teams didn't end up as superstars. You did have some decent guys like Bob Horner, Davey Lopes and Gary Matthews, but the rest were players that were easily forgotten over time. That is, except for two: Paul Molitor and Ozzie Smith.

Off all the players that missed out on having a cool trophy on their card, these two players were the only ones that went on to the Hall of Fame, legitimate superstars, so I figured I'd fix that right here and now.

Here are Molitor and Smith's 1979 cards with the Topps rookie all-star trophy (using the 1978 trophy) in it's proper place on the card front.

Note that for the Molitor card, I also "corrected" his position to second base since the original card has him as a shortstop. Kind of odd since he predominantly played second in 1978, not short. To top it off Topps even selected him as the all-star second baseman for their rookie team. Weird...