Missing No-Hitters

Night Owl made a nice post a few days ago about no-hitters and the lack of recognition of Dodger no-hitters on cards. Well, my blog is all about lack of recognition. I try to recognize everyone who put on a MLB uniform by giving them a card (well, at least from the 1983-2001 Topps sets), and when I got to thinking about it, Topps has done a poor job at recognizing no-hitters during that period as well. There are a few highlight cards during that period (1984 had some, and Topps started making them in every set again for a while starting with the 1997 set), but many of the no-hitters in that period were missed. The 1990 season had about 12 by itself, let alone all of the random ones from 1984 through 1995. I have made a good number of highlight cards, so I thought I would show off the ones I have made so far celebrating no-hitters and perfect games.

Here we go, starting with the 1989 set. I know I said that the '85-'88 sets are missing cards, but I am kind of on a time crunch today and didn't have time to make cards from those sets, but I may update the post at a later time. Here is what may be the last no-hitter against the future world champs. Tom Browning pitched a perfect game against the future world champion Los Angeles Dodgers on September 16, 1988. He got a card in the '89 Fleer, Score, and a few other sets, but no '89 Topps card.

There were a good number of no-hitters in 1990, and I made cards for many of them in the 1991 Topps set. Among them are the combined one that Mark Langston and Mike Witt pitched, Randy Johnson's one against the Tigers, Dave Stewart's, Fernando Valenzuela's, Terry Mulholland's, and Dave Stieb's. On all except for the Langston/Witt and Stewart ones, other people provided the photos I believe, and I think they were all from the original games, so I apologize for the blurriness. 

 1991 had a good number of no-no's as well, and I completed the 1992 Topps set, and also made backs for it, so here you go. I have Bret Saberhagen's no-no, Denny Martinez's perfect game, Wilson Alvarez's no-hitter, combined no-hitters by the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves, and Nolan Ryan's 7th and final career no-hitter.

1992 only had 1 no-hitter, the one pitched by Kevin Gross. Here is his 1993 Topps highlight card.

1993 had no-hitters thrown by Chris Bosio, Jim Abbott, and Darryl Kile. I used the 1994 Topps preview design for these, and like how they turned out, making them a little different than a normal 1994 Topps card.

For the 1994 season/1995 Topps set, I have done Kenny Rogers' perfect game, Kent Mercker's no-hitter, and Scott Erickson's no-hitter.

I probably wouldn't have known about Ramon Martinez's no-hitter in 1995 had it not been mentioned on the back of 1 or 2 of his cards, and had Night Owl not made his post the other day. I believe there is only 1 card mentioning it in the 1996 sets for some reason. Here is his 1996 Topps card for the no-hitter.

And that about wraps it up. Topps did a better job catching all of the no-hitters and putting them on cards from the 1997 through about the 2010 decade. I hope you have enjoyed all of these missing no-hitter cards. Thanks for checking out my latest post.

-Jeremy

1994 Topps Season Highlights Jose Canseco

This is another cool Season Highlights card that Topps missed out on in the early '90's. On May 29th of 1993, Jose convinced his manager Kevin Kennedy to let him pitch an inning in a blowout. Canseco ended up injuring his arm and missing a decent amount of time in 1993, possibly costing him a shot at 500 Home Runs in his career. Score highlighted the moment ok Jose's 1994 Score base card with a photo of him pitching in the game.

This card was pretty simple to make. I used a 1994 Topps preview design which is different from the '94 regular set because of the brown background behind the player name instead of green. I've made a few other season highlights cards for other teams in this set, and they look pretty cool.

I am almost completely finished with the templates for every team from 1989-2001. I just have the NL teams in the 1997 set, and I will be finished. After that, I may do some easy copy and paste sets such as 2007 and 2008, but I'll probably take a break from templates and actually do some customs after that. I also want to possibly work on finalizing a checklist for the 2016 Topps set since Topps has templates on their website and those are pretty easy to make. Plus, I would think those designs could be taken off of the page sooner than later, especially with the 2017 set coming out in a month or two. I remember when Topps first started offering the customizable trading cards that they had the 2007-2009 designs available, and now those templates are nowhere to be found.

I put up a page for the 1998 Topps set, and after I finish the '97 templates, I'll put up pages for the other sets that are missing pages up through 2001. It's a bunch of pages, but I feel that's the best way to go. That way I can put templates up with each set, and the main page won't be as long as Santa's naughty list. Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

1993 Topps Bret Boone Season Highlights

In 1992, Bret Boone made history by becoming the first 3rd generation player in the Majors. His grandfather Ray Boone, played for 6 teams from 1948-1960. His father Bob, played for 3 teams from 1972-1990. Had he not been injured in 1990, Bob could've played in the Bigs at the same time as Bret. Bret's younger brother Aaron made his debut in 1996, and his brother Matt played in the minors for a few years. I actually saw Matt play for the Lakeland Tigers in 2002 and got a broken bat from him, as well as a signed baseball. I got Bob's autograph once or twice in spring training, and got Aaron's as well. If I had known that I would get 3 of the Boone's autographs, I would've tried to get a ball signed by them all and try to get Ray through the mail in the early 2000's and go to more Rays-Mariners games to try to get Bret to finish it. 3 out of 5 ain't bad though.

Topps didn't make season highlight cards in the 1993 set, so collectors missed out on getting cards like this. I have previously made ones of Sid Bream and Bip Roberts, and there are a good number of ones to come.

Paul just emailed me the finalized checklist for the '94 Topps set, so I will be trying to post that next, and finish templates for the '97 and '98 sets, and make reference pages for the rest of the sets up to 2001 that don't have ones. My goal is to have every template you should need, lists of fonts and sizes so that won't be a chore, and then have complete checklists and update them as cards get done. I'm also working on printing my 1992 Topps set. Not too much has been done so far, and I don't have much sticker paper left, but I think I'll get 30 or so cards done at least. These will be some fun projects to work on in 2017 and I also hope to make customs too. I wish everyone a great 2017 and can't wait to see all the customs made in the new year. Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

1991 Topps #801 Ken Griffey, Jr./Sr. Season Highlights

I chose to make season highlight cards for the sets that Topps didn't produce any in, as well as add some that they missed in sets that they did. Today's card comes from the 1991 set where Topps did have Record Breaker cards, but didn't have Season Highlight cards.

Ken Griffey, Jr. and Ken Griffey, Sr. became the first father and son to play in the Majors at the same time in 1989 when Junior made his debut. In 1990, Senior was acquired by the M's, and he and his son got to play on the same team together. On August 31, they were playing the Angels when Senior took Kirk McCaskill deep. Junior was up next, and promptly did the same thing, creating a special moment that would be played on replay reels for the next 25 years.

For this card, I used the same ribbon at the top that is used on the 1991 Future Stars subset, and just cleared the team logo out of the bar at the bottom, and put the date there. Not too difficult, but it looks like it could've appeared in the 1991 set.

The 1994 and 1998 templates may be finished by tomorrow, and if so, I will add the 1994 ones to its page, and create one for the 1998 set. I think by the end of the year, I could have a page for just about every set from 1989-2001, and probably have another checklist or two finalized. Thanks for checking out my latest custom.
-Jeremy

1993 Topps Bip Roberts Season Highlights

Bip Roberts is a fan favorite among card collectors. He appeared on Topps cards throughout his career, but did miss out on a sunset card, which I plan on making in the future. In 1993, Topps didn't make any season highlight cards, and they missed out on a chance to make a card celebrating Roberts getting 10 hits in a row. This is my take on what the card could've looked like. I got the photo from the YouTube video of the game where he got his 10th hit. Some highlights cards that Topps have made just have some random photo, instead of the photo from the actual moment, so I wanted to make sure I had a photo from the actual play instead of a random one.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Topps needs to scrap the current version of Archives and make it into a set of cards that never were. They could put this card in the set, and quadruple print it, and insert it into packs so you get 4 of the Roberts card in a row. I'm sure some collectors wouldn't appreciate Topps "Bipping" them, but I would totally enjoy the irony. I think eventually I'll do a post outlining what I think an Archives cards that never were set would look like and contain, and maybe even make a fake sell sheet of it. They could really put out a nice base set, have autographs of course, do a 1 in maybe 5 pack insert featuring a pair of players that mixes a regular Topps card with one that Topps didn't make. They could have a 1 of 1 card where you would win a complete Topps run of  a player (including cards that never were) that would be autographed. You could also do a Topps Chrome/Bowman Chrome/Finest insert, a "What if?" insert featuring cards highlighting scenerios that didn't happen (Jeter getting drafted by Astros in '92, Pujols getting traded to Padres in '00, Braves drafting Todd Van Poppel instead of Chipper Jones in '90, Bill Buckner making final out in the '86 World Series, and so on. They could do another kind of "What if?" set featuring what sets could've looked like if they had started out a year before they really did, like a '92 Finest set, a '95 Topps Chrome set, and a '96 Bowman's Best set. And to make things really interesting, have an insert set featuring team cards that never were, and include oddball relics on them (a Braves tomahawk, an Angels Rally Monkey, a pack of the Brewers secret sauce, some Cubs ivy, stuff like that), and make them maybe 10-50 in all and serial numbered. Just some ideas to make the Archives set something every type of collector (basically would collect). Who knows, some Draft Pick cards (Mike Trout, Madison Bumgartner, Kris Bryant) could start commanding crazy prices.

I hope you enjoyed the Bip card and my rant on Archives. Maybe someday Topps will listen...Thanks for checking out my blog.

-Jeremy

1993 Topps Sid Bream NLCS Highlights

Topps last made postseason highlights cards in 1981. When they made them again, it was in 1997, just in time for the Bankee$ run of titles, so we really didn't get any worthwhile postseason highlights cards until 2002, a full 2 decades after Topps decided to call it quits on the subset. We missed out on a ton of great, collectible cards. I am trying to come up with some ways to incorporate these cards into Topps sets. Some of the designs are easier to work with than others, and some designs, like '96 for example, don't really give me much to work with, so I'm still clueless on what to do to the design in order to make it suitable for a highlight card. It's mainly a question of how to fit 'postseason highlights' and the playoff round and player name, but it's still challenging none the less.

I didn't have much trouble making this card. The bottom of the card gave me enough room for everything when I used a horizontal card. I was old enough to remember the postseason in 1992, but young enough (9) to where I didn't have my own TV so I only watched a few games when my parents weren't watching any of their shows, so I totally missed seeing this play live. I caught a few games of the World Series, including the final one. I remember staying up watching Dave Winfield hit a double in extra innings I believe, but must've fallen asleep after that because when I woke up, the news was on. There are so many postseason highlights cards that I could make from that era.....Topps really dropped the ball on those cards. 

I'll probably post more cards during the next few weeks. It might be slower because of the holidays, but I'm hoping I'll have some free time to make more cards and post them, if not in the next few weeks, then in the beginning of 2016.

Thanks for checking out my latest card.-Jeremy

2015 Topps Manny Ramirez Highlight Checklist

Well, I decided to change the checklist again. This time, instead of having card #54 be a 1991 Topps Mike Mussina Draft Pick card, I decided to make a 2015 Topps Manny Ramirez checklist card. It just seemed like more fun to me. I have no clue yet how many cards are going to be in the 2015 Topps set, so I decided to make a safe bet, and number the card as #792 for the '15 set. It also gave me a way to officially have a checklist for my set. I hope to do more "highlight checklist" cards, and to also make the 1991 Topps Mussina in a future series.

1990 Topps Dave Dravecky Highlights

Dave Dravecky is one of my favorite players ever. I never watched him pitch, and his career ended 3-4 seasons before I really started following baseball, but I read a few of his books, and am inspired how he beat cancer to pitch in the Bigs again. It just happens to be his birthday today, and he just happens to be the next card on my list, and his friend Atlee Hammaker just happens to be the next card on my list on my other blog, Completing the 1992 Topps Set. That's kind of crazy.

Dave got a regular card in the '90 Topps set, as well as base cards from Score and Upper Deck. I have always wanted to try to make a 1990 Donruss and Fleer card of him, but I don't know if I should post it on this blog or not.

Topps didn't make highlight cards until the 1997 set, but I have made a few in sets that Topps didn't feature them, including a 1990 Topps Bo Jackson Highlight card. 1990 Topps has the most cards so far in my custom Topps "Cards that never Were" set with 6.

I used GIMP to do the rotating on the text on the back of the card, and after a few mistakes, I think I got the concept down, and really like how it turned out. If you compare it to the '90 Bo Jackson back, I think it really puts that one to shame. I found a picture of an actual game ticket, some shots of the scoreboard, and 1 of Dave pitching in his comback game on the blog Sons of Johnnie LeMaster, and used some of them on the card. I decided to try to make the card a horizontal one, and like how it turned out as well.

Thanks for checking out this blog, and if you are ever interested in it, my other blog Completing the 1992 Topps Set is a project I am working on to give a 1992 Topps card to everyone who appeared in a MLB game in the 1991 season. If you have any comments, suggestions, ideas, or questions, feel free to write them in the comment box. I love comments and followers and love to get a feel for the kinds of collectors reading my blog so I can appeal to their interests. Happy Valentines Day to my awesome wife, and everyone reading this.
-Jeremy

1984 Topps George Brett Highlights

Topps could've made a highlight card of George Brett's pine tar game in their 1984 set, but they chose not to. '84 would be the last year they would put highlight cards in the set until 1997. I thought this would be a cool card to do of the Royals legend. After doing this card, I can check another Topps set off of my list that I have added a card to in the regular set. I probably won't do many cards before 1984. I still need to do cards from the '85, '86, '88, '99-'07, and '09-'15 sets, and although I have cards from those sets in later series down the road, you never know when I might feel the need to deviate from the checklist and maybe push one of those cards to the front. Only 3 more cards left in the 2nd Series.

1994 Topps Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura Highlight

In 1993, Nolan Ryan was playing in his 27th and final season. His Rangers were playing the White Sox on August 4th, and Ryan, who had a few grudges against Ventura and the White Sox, hit Ventura with a pitch. Ventura started walking to first, and then turned and charged the mound. Ryan managed to get Ventura into a headlock, and started wailing on his head before teammates came along and the fight got broken up. I remember hearing about it on the news for the next few days.

I decided to do a highlight card of the famous fight. I used a 1994 Topps pre-production card of Ryan for the front. The area above the color bar underneath the name is brown on this card, unlike the regular cards in the set, which are green. I think I might stick with that design if I end up making more 1994 Topps highlight cards.

Thanks for checking out my custom cards.
-Jeremy

1994 Topps Joe Carter World Series Highlights

This is another World Series Highlight card that Topps missed between 1982 and 1997. Most people know the story, but if not, I'll refresh everyone's memory. The Toronto Blue Jays were up 3 games to 2 on the Philadelpha Phillies in the 1993 World Series. They were down, however, by the score of 6-5 with runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out when Joe Carter stepped to the plate. He belted a Mitch Williams pitch into the seats for a World Series-winning Home Run. The Jays won the championship, and that has been their last appearance in the playoffs.

I decided to use the Blue Jays design from the 1994 Topps set for the front, and use a horizontal back without a picture cutout. As I have said before, I think 1994 Topps is one of the hardest designs to work with as a custom card maker. I will be using it again soon, as the next card is a 1994 Topps highlight card of the Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura fight.

1995 Topps Kenny Rogers Highlights

Topps didn't make Season Highlight cards from 1985 up through 1996. This is my take on what a 1995 Topps Season Highlight card would look like.
Kenny Rogers pitched a Perfect Game on July 28, 1994 against the Angels. I remember being 11 and hearing all about it on the news the day after. A few years later, in 1998, I went to a Tampa Bay Devil Rays game and got to meet Kenny. He was playing with the Oakland A's, and they were playing the Rays, and after the game, Kenny went to the third base side and started signing autographs. I had his 1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection card, and had it ready to be signed, when this lady got my attention. It turned out to be Kenny's mom, and she had never seen the card I had, and offered to trade it for one of the cards of Kenny that she kept in her purse. So I traded his '94 Pinnacle Museum Collection for his '90 Upper Deck card, and got him to sign that one instead. It was kind of neat. I'm sure not many people have traded cards with a ballplayers Mom, and I was happy to give her a card that she hadn't seen before.

Like this one, a few of the last cards in Series 2 will be Season Highlight cards. The next 2 are from 1994, and I'm not sure how to change the fronts, but I think I have some ideas. Stay tuned for them in the next few days. Thanks for reading my blog.

-Jeremy

1987 Topps Mookie Wilson World Series Highlights

I have always wished that Topps would've made more World Series Highlight cards. They made some in the '60's and '70's, but if I'm not mistaken, the last year they made them in the '80's was 1981, and they didn't bring them back until 1998. They missed out on cards like a 1989 Kirk Gibson, a 1994 Joe Carter, a 1996 David Justice, and this one, a 1987 Mookie Wilson. This game is one of the most remembered games of all-time, and for Topps not to showcase it on a card is a shame. Here is my attempt at a 1987 Topps Mookie Wilson World Series Highlights card.

1990 Topps Bo Jackson Highlights

Topps gave Bo a base card in 1990, but left him off of the All-Star subset even though he was the Game's MVP. Donruss gave him an All-Star card, and Score and Upper Deck had cards that highlighted the 448-foot Home Run he hit in the 1st Inning. Topps didn't have a Highlight subset in the 1990 set, only Record Breakers and All-Stars. I decided to give Bo a card highlighting his Home Run. Maybe in one of the future series, I'll make the former Auburn Tiger a 1990 Topps All-Star card too. I have some really good ideas for cards for Series 5 (the next checklist I'm working on) and am excited for many of the cards in Series 2, 3, and 4. Here is card #2 in Series 2, and #27 in the set.

1980 Topps Highlights: Disco Demolition Night

While Topps hasn't normally done Highlight cards of promotions, and Disco Demolition Night was more of a catastrophy than a highlight, I thought I would make this card protraying one of the most memorable promotions in Major League History. In 1979, Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck wanted to generate more ticket sales, so he decided to have Disco Demolition Night during the middle of a doubleheader between the Detroit Tigers on July 12. A local DJ invited listeners to come to the game, which helped lead to the boost in attendance for the game. People could attend the game for 98 cents, and were invited to bring disco records to be burned/exploded in a giant bin in centerfield during the middle of the 2 games. The Sox drew a little over 15,000 people to the previous night's game, and Veeck expected maybe 10,000 to 15,000 more people to come to Disco Demolition Night. Over 50,000 people came. During the first game, many fans threw records on to the field. Many people broke into the stadium through windows and openings once the gates were locked. After the records were blown up, fans poured onto the field, tearing up grass, stealing the bases, and climbing the foul poles. The field had a hole in it from where the records were destroyed, and players could smell pot smoke and feared for their safety as fans chucked empty liquor bottles onto the field. The second game was postponed, and untimately forfieted. I don't believe any card companies have made cards comemmorating Disco Demolition Night, and I was surprised, seeing how Tristar Obak had a few cards that were different (first person to sell hot dogs at a baseball game, first person to catalogue baseball cards, inventor of Heisman Trophy), and all of the random cards that are in the Goodwin Champions and Allen/Ginter sets. Here is what Topps may have had their Disco Demolition Night card look like in their 1980 set.