Night Owl Cards

I have long admired this card.   It's an Awesome Night Card from way back and it was one of the only 1986 Topps cards that I owned in 1986. I don't remember at all buying packs of cards in '86 and I had so few that year, but I must have bought some because I've known about that Bo Diaz card for 35 years.   I've known about it for so long that it seemed a given for the upcoming Greatest 100 Cards of the '80s countdown. A tag at the plate was relatively rare on cards in the '80s and to get the entire scene in the frame, and also knowing who is being tagged out , was an achievement. It is an achievement. (Also, they're somehow playing while it's snowing). But after reviewing eligible candidates for the countdown, I began to have my doubts. Oh, that's not taking anything away from the Diaz card. It's still great. But have you noticed how terrific the catcher cards are in 1986 Topps? We'll start from the beginning. At card No. 88 is Tom Niet...

Until looking it up just now, I wasn't sure whether this 1986 Topps card of Bo Diaz was actually a night card. A lot of the photos taken inside old Busch Stadium in St. Louis during the '80s are dark (some of the '70s photos in Yankee Stadium are the same). So you don't know if you're looking at a night game or day game. But I found the game in question. In the first inning of a night game between the Reds and Cardinals on Sept. 4, 1985, Vince Coleman singled, Willie McGee flied out, Coleman stole second, Tommy Herr walked, Coleman stole third, Herr stole second (these were the 1985 Cardinals after all), Andy Van Slyke was walked intentionally, and Terry Pendleton singled to left field. Coleman scored but Herr was thrown out at home by Max Venable. So what that means is Diaz had two night cards in the late '80s. This 1989 Upper Deck card is a night card as well. That's pretty impressive for one guy to have two night cards during a period when they weren...