Tubthumping, Part 1 – Pitch, But No Hit Nor Run

 It’s become a trend for me… I go to a show, ignore the Pokemon, walk past the graded cards and end up sifting through the plastic tubs full of loose Card Savers which contain random oddballs and vintage cards.

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One recent tub had three cards from the 1980 Burger King Pitch, Hit and Run set, which was based on the 1980 Topps set but featured a BK logo on the front with some other changes.  I’ll also mention – since it took me years to pick up on this – that the 33 card set is divided into three subsets:  Pitchers, Hitters and Runners.  The cards I recently got all fall into the “Pitchers” subset.

I’ve had this 1980 Burger King Jim Palmer on my wantlist for a while now and was happy to drop a buck on it.

Unlike some other Burger King sets, these are easy to differentiate from the regular Topps set, both because of the BK logo on the front and also because the backs are red instead of blue (and have a Pitch, Hit & Run graphic replacing the cartoon).

The Palmer card is one of a number of cards in the BK set which has a different photo not that it’s earth-shatteringly different…. Here’s the non-BK 1980 Topps card.

J.R. Richard’s BK card is pretty much the same with very slight cropping differences (You’d have to have the two cards side-by-side to pick up on it).  The BK cards which use the same photo as the Topps counterpart aren’t on my want list, but I was in the proper mood to grab it anyway.

Steve Carlton’s card has the same photo but it’s cropped a little bit tighter on the BK Pitch Hit and Run card.

It’s kinda interesting that fans of Lefty who went into a Philadelphia-area BK restaurant at the time wouldn’t have been able to get this card, they would’ve gotten the 1980 Burger King Phillies set, which has a similar Steve Carlton card in it.

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Moving on to a different kind of oddball… This post’s subject line says “No Hit”, but I suppose that this 1980 Fleer NFL Team Action card technically shows a different kind of hit.

Even within the realm of Fleer NFL Team Action cards, this is a pretty crappy photo, but a need is a need.

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Late 1970s hockey cards fall into a weird category for me.  I’ve thought about completing the hockey sets I started as a kid, but I never commit to it – mainly because I prefer buying cards in person while vintage hockey cards are few and far between in the general Shlabotsylvania area.  This 1977-78 Topps Glenn “Chico” Resch card knocks off one need should I decide to officially go for it.  Of course, I’m still only halfway through this particular 264 card set.

I presume that Resch was called “Chico” because he looks vaguely Latino, but if it were me I would’ve called him “Gomez” for his resemblance to John Astin. Cara mia!!!!

Just Googled on John Astin and was pleased to find out he’s still among us, God bless him.

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Speaking of hockey sets I collected in my younger days, this 1981/82 Topps card got me way more excited than a card of a Sutter or a Black Hawk should have (and I’m old school, I still stick with “Black Hawks” rather than the currently-used “Blackhawks”)

Why is that? The answer lies on the back of the card…

The gimmick with this year of Topps hockey was that they produced two overlapping hockey sets for 1981/82. Cards #1 through #66 were the same no matter where in the US you bought the packs, but cards #67 through #132 were different in the eastern part of the country than they were in the west.

I bought enough packs in 1982 that I’m pretty close to having complete “National” and “East” sets, but this is just my 3rd “West” card. 

I never seriously considered going after the West set, but it’s still fun to find a card.

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One last card which was a ‘just because’ buy… I grew up watching The Monkees, I like a bunch of their songs and my wife is a full-blown fan (we have the complete series on VHS and DVD).  That being said, the Donruss Monkees cards from the late 1960s were pretty underwhelming.  This card isn’t great, but it’s my first.

Here’s the back, complete with questions without answers and answers without questions.

Just for the heck of it, here’s a quickie list of my top 10 Monkees songs in alphabetical order:
For Pete’s Sake
Gonna Buy Me a Dog
Pleasant Valley Sunday
Porpoise Song
Randy Scouse Git
Star Collector
(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone
Tapioca Tundra
What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round?
You Just May Be the One

Ask me again next week and I might have a different list.

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I get no slabs
But I’m an oddball fan
You’re never gonna keep me down…