BY TROY KIRK
The Chicago Cubs issued baseball card sets that were given away at a ballpark promotion in 1982, 1983 and 1984. The best thing about these sets is that the designers of the cards have used Wrigley Field as a backdrop for all of the photos. When a team plays in a beautiful ballpark like Wrigley, it only makes sense to use it in a baseball card set. All three sets are filled almost exclusively with action shots with a full crowd, bringing the real feel of a game at Wrigley Field to the baseball card connoisseur.
The 1983 set particularly stands out, with great shots of Larry Bowa, Ron Cey and Dickie Noles, among others. The makers of these cards also prove that action photos that are clear with the player recognizable are possible. After being numbed by Topps action cards with players’ backs to the camera, long-distance shots taken from the “Uecker” seats, and general fuzziness, these photos are a welcome sight.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the three sets is that they all had a different sponsor. The 1982 set was put out by Red Lobster, the 1983 set by Thorn Apple Valley, and the 1984 set by 7-Up. All were made in conjunction with the Cubs.
As far as the design of the cards go, the fronts are borderless with the player’s number, name and position in type below him. The type on the 1982 set is strictly black, while the 1983 and 1984 sets have the type in either black or white to aid the readability with a dark background. The 1982 set also contains the player’s signature on the front. The sets contain a mixture of vertical and horizontal photos. The photos from the 1982 set are generally dark in comparison with the other two sets.
The backs of the cards feature slight changes in format each year. All three sets contain the sponsor name in a 3/4-inch area on one side of the card. The player’s name and stats cover the remainder of the card. The 1982 set contains a black box that surrounds the stats.
Statistics in the 1982 set are as complete as any card you’re likely to see. They contain complete major and minor league stats, World Series, Playoff and All-Star Game stats, along with seasonal and lifetime batting stats for pitchers. For players with a long career, the stats are written vertically, while everyone else has theirs written horizontally. The 1983 set has all the stats in a horizontal format. They also trimmed out the World Series, Playoff and All-Star stats, but they did leave the pitchers’ batting stats. The 1984 set featured stats exactly like 1983, except that they also trimmed the pitchers’ batting figures.
Other tidbits on these sets are that there was a team card issued in 1982 and 1983, but none in 1984. There was a coaches card issued all three years, however each has a different format. The 1982 coach card shows all of the coaches on the field, the 1983 card shows them all on the dugout steps taken with a fisheye lens, and the 1984 card shows head shots of them all in little boxes. Short biographies of the coaches are found on the back of the 1982 and 1983 cards while the 1984 card contains only the coach’s name and coaching position.
• 1982 Cubs Red Lobster Set •
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1982 CUBS RED LOBSTER SET (28 UNNUMBERED CARDS)
• Cubs Team
• Lee Elia
• Coaches Card
• Doug Bird
• Larry Bowa
• Bill Buckner
• Bill Campbell
• Jody Davis
• Leon Durham
• Steve Henderson
• Willie Hernandez
• Fergie Jenkins
• Jay Johnstone
• Junior Kennedy
• Ken Kravec
• Randy Martz
• Bob Molinaro
• Jerry Morales
• Keith Moreland
• Dickie Noles
• Mike Proly
• Al Ripley
• Ryne Sandberg
• Lee Smith
• Scot Thompson
• Dick Tidrow
• Bump Wills
• Gary Woods
• 1983 Cubs Thorn Apple Valley Set •
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1983 CUBS THORN APPLE VALLEY SET (27 UNNUMBERED CARDS)
• Cubs Team
• Coaches Card
• Thad Bosley
• Larry Bowa
• Warren Brusstar
• Bill Buckner
• Bill Campbell
• Joe Carter
• Ron Cey
• Jody Davis
• Leon Durham
• Mel Hall
• Fergie Jenkins
• Jay Johnstone
• Steve Lake
• Craig Lefferts
• Jerry Morales
• Keith Moreland
• Dickie Noles
• Mike Proly
• Chuck Rainey
• Dick Ruthven
• Ryne Sandberg
• Lee Smith
• Steve Trout
• Tom Veryzer
• Gary Woods
• 1984 Cubs 7-Up Set •
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1984 CUBS 7-UP SET (28 UNNUMBERED CARDS)
• Jim Frey
• Coaches Card
• Rich Bordi
• Thad Bosley
• Larry Bowa
• Warren Brusstar
• Ron Cey
• Henry Cotto
• Jody Davis
• Bob Dernier
• Leon Durham
• Dennis Eckersley
• George Frazier
• Ron Hassey
• Richie Hebner
• Jay Johnstone
• Gary Matthews
• Keith Moreland
• Dave Owen
• Rick Reuschel
• Dick Ruthven
• Ryne Sandberg
• Scott Sanderson
• Lee Smith
• Tim Stoddard
• Rick Sutcliffe
• Steve Trout
• Gary Woods
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• Originally Published in Jan. 1985 “Twin Times” •
THIS ARTICLE FROM THE “TWIN TIMES” NEWSLETTER – OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE TWIN CITIES SPORTS COLLECTORS CLUB – IS REPRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR. IT HAS BEEN RETYPED, BUT NO CONTENT HAS BEEN CHANGED (EXCEPT FOR VERY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS, CORRECTIONS TO ANY TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND THE ADDITION OF GRAPHICS). COMMENTS OR INFORMATION IN THE ARTICLE MAY BE OUT-OF-DATE.
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