The Trader Speaks

Jack Wallin’s 1979 Diamond Greats Baseball Card Set

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This 1979 Diamond Greats baseball card set advertisement published in the February 1980 issue of The Trader Speaks offers a fascinating look into Jack Wallin’s tribute to baseball’s icons.

First, Jack Wallin, a collector and dealer and later a Donruss photographer, produced the set, not TCMA. He focused the set on autograph collectors since each of the 400 players was living when he printed it, and he included home addresses for all of them. You’ll find a ton of signed examples across eBay and the major auction houses; for example, Leland’s sold a near-complete set of 380 in June 2021 for $4,041.

I presume this is why he printed the 2-1/2” x 3-1/2” black-and-white cards with blank backs; he wanted collectors to focus on player autographs on the front.

The ad shows that the complete set of 400 cards was available for $23.95, each lettered series (A, B, C, and D) was available for $7.50, and team sets were available for $2.50.

The set’s key cards include Joe DiMaggio, Roger Maris, Willie Mays, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, and Stan Musial, and you can find raw unsigned sets for a few hundred dollars.

While Wallin wrote in the ad that all the players were living at the time of printing, a few died in late 79/early 80, so I’m unsure if a complete signed set is possible.

I’d love to see the original address list, so if you have an example, please e-mail me.

A Pair Of 1983 Card Shows With Special Guest Stars

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I ran across the following pair of advertisements for card shows in the February 1983 issue of The Trader Speaks, so I asked folks on X which they would most want to travel back to 1983 to attend.

The first was the Baseball Card & Memorabilia show at the JFK Travelodge International Hotel on January 29th, 1983, with special guest star Hank Bauer.

The second was for the Sports Memorabilia Show #5 at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany, New Jersey, held on February 26 and 27th, 1983, with special guest celebrities Carl Erskine and Jimmy Piersall.

Folks preferred the JFK show at a ratio of 7:4. However, one collector said the Bauer show was the easy choice because they got both Piersall’s and Erskine’s autos in person before.

Which show sounds the most appealing to you?

1980 Baseball Card And Sports Memorabilia Show With Brooklyn Dodger Guests

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One of my favorite things from back issues of The Trader Speaks is seeing all the game’s greats who were regular signers at card shows. Brooklyn’s second Baseball Card And Sports Memorabilia Show had Cal Abrams, Gene Hermanski, and Billy Loes!

The advertisement was printed in the January 1980 issue to promote the March 1980 show.

Cal Abrams represented a lot of his buddies via a company named Cal Abrams Sports Inc. Abrams, Hermanski, and Loes all played for the Dodgers together. Cal Abrams played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1949-1952, Hermanski played for them in 1943 and from 1943-1951, and Billy Loes was a Dodger in 1950 and from 1952-1956.

The Trader Speaks printed the following advertisement, a month earlier than the one pictured above, in December 1979.

You can see that the company also represented Clem Labine, Stan Lopata, Willard Marshall, Frank Thomas, Joe Pignatano, Carl Erskine, Sal Yvars, and Ken Raffensberger.

A 1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee Ad

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If you read modern hobby guides about the 1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee set, most will say that the cards were available from the artist for $3.50. Well, here’s an ad from the March 1977 issue of The Trader Speaks proving it!

Note that not only were sets advertised for $3.50, but you could get “2 sets for $6.”

Laughlin described the set as 32 cards based on baseball’s most memorable moments, like Hank Aaron’s 715th home run.

An Ad For The Most Gorgeous Cards Ever Produced

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This advertisement from the back cover of the February 1977 issue of The Trader Speaks highlights the most gorgeous cards ever produced: 1976 SSPC!

Why would someone call a collector’s issue one of the most gorgeous sets ever produced? Well, because of the set that influenced its design…

1976 SSPC is a 630-card “collector’s issue” released by TCMA. Dubbed the “Pure Card” set, the design was based loosely on the 1953 Bowman set. The set was available exclusively via mail order and was advertised in the nascent Hobby Media, such as it was in the mid-70s.

Despite the cards bearing a 1975 copyright, the set is considered a 1976 set as it was not released until then.

SSPC was not licensed by either MLB Properties or the MLBPA, and shortly after its release, was sued by Topps. As part of the settlement, SSPC agreed to never reprint their 1976 set, and to never attempt to produce a similar product ever again.

Keith Olbermann, then still in high school, edited the copy on each card.

BaseballCardPedia

Dean’s Cards added that it was the only full baseball card set ever issued during the Topps monopoly, so the hobby saw it as a refreshing change of pace from the predictable Topps issues.

And lastly, if anyone has any other advertisements offering these cards, please get in touch with me.

What’s New For 1983 (Oddball Sets, That’s What)

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The June 1983 edition of The Trader Speaks featured this great piece by Robert Udelson, highlighting four great oddball sets, new for 1983!

You’ll find the first cards commonly called the 1982-83 Neilson Wayne Gretzky Hockey set. And while they’re pretty nifty, the coolest collectible from the set is the 25” x 33” store display sign featuring all 50 cards. Classic Auctions sold this one in November 2017 for $179.

Udelson wrote that the backs of the Gardner’s Brewers cards were very similar to that year’s Topps issue; well, that’s because Topps printed the set! So the hobby now calls the set the 1983 Topps Gardner’s Bakery Milwaukee Brewers cards. The cards remain cheap today. You can grab this pair of graded Yount and Molitor cards on eBay for $50 (July 2024).

The non-standard-sized 23-card 1983 True Value Chicago White Sox cards (2-5/8” x 4-1/8”) would have been tough to assemble in 1983, two at a time, but today, they’re pretty cheap. The Standard Catalog shares that the Sox could not distribute some of the cards because of rainouts, but they were smuggled out to hobby channels anyway; those three cards belong to Harold Baines, Marc Hill, and Salome Barojas.

Frankly, there isn’t much interesting to say about the 1983 L.A. Dodgers Police cards; however, it looks like the partnership to print cards between the Police and the Dodgers lasted a long time. The Standard Catalog lists a set for each year from 1981 to at least 2000, except 1985. This complete set of 1983 cards is available on eBay for $7 (shipped).