Be dilligent when buying 1986 Procards stars
MinorLeaguer
Posts: 497 ✭✭✭
A reminder to look for 1986 Procards "reprints" of stars from the late 80's early 90s. The team sets contain the first cards of many stars and HOF'ers. The reprints were usually originally found in "GEM" grading slabs and even sold in those slabs on HSN back in the day. The reprints don't ever have team sets to go with them even though they all were originally issued in team sets. Appears PSA slabbed this Palmeiro reprint. Always look at the font of the 1986 on the reverse as it is wrong. The "f" in Pittsfield as well as a lot of other font issues. Here is a legit Palmeiro. There are definitely reprints of the 1986 Procards players that become stars like Maddux, Glavine and Randy Johnson. I can't recall, but there may be 1986 Procards Sumter David Justice reprints as he was still a big star back when these reprints were being hawked. Just need to think who in these sets were big in the early 90's and likely had reprints as that was the era all tried to "one-up" RCs racing to be the player's first card.
Comments
good information to know. I would think if one stayed with the big 3 grading companies they would be pretty safe
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Funny, I was going through a lot box I won just the other day and it had '88 Pittsfield Cubs sealed set. Joe Girardi was the main card. Also Jerome Walton. Oh well. Looked the set up and it had over 2000 cards in the set for all teams. Sheesh.
As it turns out, that 1988 Pittsfiled set is not even those two's first cards. Joe Girardi is in the 1987 Procards Winston-Salem set and Jerome is in the 1987 Procards Peoria set.
I don't try and put a whole set together as I just collect the first cards of stars and fan favorites. Otherwise would take up too much real estate with all the commons!
As these were issued in individual team sets and generally sold or given away at the local team's ballpark, it is interesting when you look at pops. Folks knew the 1986 Pittsfield set was going to be a winner with the first cards of Maddux, Palmeiro and Jamie Moyer and although the pops are still considered low by junk wax era standards, the 1986 Elmira set that has the first card of Curt Schiling either is scarce or someone is siting on a hundreds of those Elmira sets in their collection. It's usually off-center to boot. The 1986 West Palm Beach Randy Johnson is the Big Unit's first card. Time to consider if with current pop of only 43 10's and starting to get closer to 40 years old, could this be a monster card long-term? I gotta believe there are way over 43 people in this world that would love to have that card in gem-mint condition in their collection.
Usually collectible minor league team sets have one big-league name and the rest are commons. Besides the 1986 Procards Pittsfield set, I can't think of too many Minor League Sets off the top of my head that contain multiple stars/fan favorites, but here is a short list:
1977 TCMA Clinton Dodgers with the first cards of Mike Scioscia, Dave Stewart and Ron Kittle
1977 TCMA Evansvile Triplets with first cards of Jack Morris and Lance Parrish
1978 Cramer has first cards of Pedro Guerrero, Bob Welch and Rick Sutcliffe
1973 Trois Rivieres Aigles (three-rivers eagles) with Joacquin Andujar, Ray Knight, Doug Flynn and Pat Zachary
1982 TCMA Albuquerque Dukes with Orel Hershiser and John Franco
1981 Pawtucket Red Sox with Wade Boggs, Bob Ojeda, Rich Gedman, Bruce Hurst, Marty Barrett
1990 Diamond Tampa Bay Yankees with the first card of Mariano Rivera and includes Carl Everett, Shane Spencer and Ricky Ledee
I'm pretty sure there are some A's minor league sets from the 80s that have McGwire and Canseco cards in the same set(s) too,
1991 Cal League Bakersfield Dodgers has Pedro Martinez and Mike Piazza