Opening Cello Pack #1

It’s been a while since I opened any packs of 1987 Topps to add to my set build. These next 24 cello packs I’ll be opening were purchased from eBay on July 6, 2024. Each cello pack contains 31 cards plus one stick of bubble gum and sold for $0.69 in 1987. I need 145 more cards to complete my hand built set, trying to do it solely with purchased wax packs, rack packs, cello packs and soon some jumbo packs. Here is cello pack #1:

511 - Steve Lyons, Chicago White Sox

* 784 - Cal Ripken, Baltimore Orioles (Hall of Fame)

92 - Urbano Lugo, California Angels CORRECTED  (Trademark on front next to logo)

563 - John Stefero, Baltimore Orioles

353 - Ernie Camacho, Cleveland Indians

710 - Gary Gaetti, Minnesota Twins

653 - Kevin Mitchell, New York Mets (Rookie)

138 - Roy Lee Jackson, Minnesota Twins

461 - Steve Ontiveros, Oakland Athletics

475 - Scott Garrelts. San Francisco Giants

737 - Floyd Bannister, Chicago White Sox

420 - Will Clark, San Francisco Giants (Rookie)

605 - Todd Worrell, St. Louis Cardinals All-Star / League Leaders 

334 - Ed Correa, Texas Rangers (Rookie)

619 - Jerry Reed, Seattle Mariners

* 241 - Danny Heep, New York Mets

638 - Rich Bordi, Baltimore Orioles

405 - Brook Jacoby, Cleveland Indians

393 - Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds Manager / Team Checklist

155 - Eddie Whitson, San Diego Padres

13 - Nick Esasky, Cincinnati Reds

* 351 - Gene Garber. Atlanta Braves

434 - Mike Fischlin, New York Yankees

467 - Randy St. Claire, Montreal Expos

43 - Gene Michaels, Chicago Cubs Manager / Team Checklist

358 - Sal Butera, Cincinnati Reds

* 466 - Kal Daniels, Cincinnati Reds

* 348 - Carmelo Martinez, San Diego Padres

86 - Nate Snell, Baltimore Orioles

209 - Rick Schu, Philadelphia Phillies

440 - Willie McGee, St. Louis Cardinals

* - Cards needed for my set.

Card Highlights

#784 Cal Ripken (Hall of Fame)

#653 Kevin Mitchelll (Rookie)

#420 Will Clark (Rookie)

#393 Pete Rose Manager / Checklist

Cello pack #1 was great, pulled my favorite player in Will Clark and a Hall of Fame in Cal Ripken. This pack had 5 cards I needed for my 1987 Topps build, bringing my total to 652 of 792 (82.3%) of the cards to finish the set. Stay tuned for cello pack #2.

On This Date - May 13, 1976: George Brett

The backs of trading cards are often times just as interesting or even more interesting than the fronts of trading cards. Along with the usual biographical / personal info and stats there is sometimes trivia and fun facts as well. In 1987, Topps included on some cards trivia about the player and a this day in history type section called “On This Date”. In this special feature I’m going to highlight those “On This Date” facts. The next “On This Date” feature comes from the back of Allan Anderson’s (#336) 1987 Topps card. 

May 13, 1976

“George Brett collected 3 hits in 6th consecutive game for Royals. George’s 1976 Topps card was #19.”

The consecutive game streak began on May 8, 1976 at the Baltimore Orioles. During the streak Brett went 18-26 (.692 batting average) with a double, a homerun, 4 runs batted in, 9 runs scored and 2 bases on balls. The Royals were 5-1 during the streak. 

Source(s): Baseball Reference, Trading Card Database

Random 1987 Topps Card: #63 Fred Toliver

The Random 1987 Topps Card will be a regular feature here, hoping 2-3 times per week will be doable along with the other things I have planned. I will use a random number generator to select the random card. My goal is to do this for the complete 792 card set plus the Topps Traded set along with the various insert sets, etc. 

Fred Toliver (Freddie Toliver)

Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right     Throws: Right
Height: 6’1”     Weight: 165
Born: February 3, 1961 in Natchez, Mississippi

Draft: Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 3rd round of the 1979 MLB June Amateur Draft from San Gorgonio HS (San Bernardino, CA)
Major League Debut: September 15, 1984 versus Los Angeles Dodgers (Boxscore)
Final Major League Game: July 4, 1993 versus Cincinnati Reds (Boxscore)
Major League Teams: Cincinnati Reds (1984), Philadelphia Phillies (1985-1987), Minnesota Twins (1988-1989), San Diego Padres (1989), Pittsburgh Pirates (1993)

The Card: 1987 Topps #63 - Standard classic baseball standing pose.  

The 1987 Season: The 1987 season was Toliver’s third and last season with the Philadelphia Phillies. Toliver appeared in 10 games during the season, with a 1-1 win-loss record and a 5.64 earned run average in 30.1 innings pitched. He struck out 25 and walked 17. 

Trivia (card back): None

Fred Toliver Fun Fact: He played with the Wei Chuan Dragons of the Chinese Professional Baseball League from 1994-1996. Compiling an 18-19 win-loss record and a 3.50 earned run average in 47 appearances. 

Source(s): Baseball Reference, Trading Card Database

Custom Cards: Fernando Valenzuela

Along with posting about real cards, I like to dabble in creating my own electronic (I don’t print them) trading cards. I created this card shortly after Fernando Valenzuela passed away on October 22, 2024. Today (November 1, 2024) would have been his 64th birthday. 

So here is my tribute to Fernando Valenzuela using the 2024 Topps Heritage White Bordered variation as inspiration. I’ve color matched the team name with a team color.