There Can Be Only One (1980 Topps Pack)

After going to my local hobby shop and picking up some 1980 Topps Yankees cards that were lying around, I feel in love with the set. I like the banner design along with the facsimile signatures, and the colors blend in nicely with the white border. There is a definitely a good shot that I’ll try to collect this set, including the daunting Rickey Henderson rookie card.

I bought a pack of 1980 Topps on eBay for a nice price from a Canadian seller. Yes, Canadian. This means business. After shifting through the broken pieces of 30-year-old gum, this is what I pulled.

#425: Mark Belanger
#715: Sal Bando
#45: Frank White What better way to start off a vintage pack with three All-Stars in a row? White’s was the only card to feature an “A.L. All-Star” title in the pack.

#48: Rick Miller
#396: Dan Meyer
#324: Tom Underwood
#252: Ted Cox
#393: Ozzie Smith This was one of Ozzie’s earlier cards before his career skyrocketed when he was traded to the Cardinals.

#435: Don Gullett
#191: Ted Martinez
#169: Luis Gomez
#104: Manny Mota
#240: Dave Kingman Kingman hit a whopping 48 homeruns in the 1979 season for the Cubs. It’s a much more astonishing number considering the time period he hit.

#516: Hector Cruz
#530: Jim Sundberg


So no Henderson, but a pretty decent pack full of All-Stars. The seller was also kind enough to throw in an unopened 1986 Donruss pack. Nothing spectacular came out of it except for this jive photo of Alfredo Griffin.