subset collecting - pinnacle idols

back in 1992, i wasn't buying anything other than topps, really. i had seen some upper deck packs in one of the convenience stores on my university campus and bought one or two, but i was still in a topps-only mode.  so, i missed out on quite a few cards in real time.  i didn't learn about the pinnacle idols subsets that pinnacle put out in 1992 and 1993 until quite a bit later.

in fact, i owe my awareness of these cards to the blogosphere, as i believe i saw one of them for the first time on a blog in 2007 or 2008.  anyway, once i became aware, i quickly tracked down the complete subsets.  here are the 1992 cards:

the concept was simple and effective - take a present-day star and match them up with their idol from their youth.  here's the rundown of the players and their idols:

jim abbott - nolan ryan

wade boggs - george brett

ken griffey jr - rickey henderson

wally joyner - dale murphy

chuck knoblauch - ozzie smith

robin ventura - lou gehrig

don mattingly - rod carew

steve avery - jack morris

roberto alomar - sandy alomar

scott sanderson - jim hunter

david justice - willie stargell

rex hudler - roger staubach

david cone - jackie gleason

tony gwynn - willie davis

i appreciate the fact that ken griffey jr wasn't paired with his dad but roberto alomar was, and that pinnacle didn't limit the cards to baseball players, as you can see there is a football player and a comedian in there, too. 

it's worth mentioning that 1992 pinnacle had an insert set of "rookie idols" which paired rookies of the day with their idols. there were some repeats in that set, as nolan ryan, rickey henderson, and george brett showed up as idols, as did jim abbott. i only have a couple of those cards in my collection - the ones that feature dodgers darryl strawberry and eric davis.

in 1993, pinnacle again included an idols subset with (mostly) new subjects:

here's the list of those pairings:

jeff bagwell - carl yastrzemski

john smoltz - jack morris

larry walker - mike bossy

gary sheffield - barry larkin

ivan rodriguez - carlton fisk

delino deshields - malcolm x

tim salmon - dwight evans

lenny dykstra - ken stabler

danny tartabull - jose tartabull

jeff conine - dale murphy

gregg jefferies - ron cey

paul molitor - harmon killebrew

john valentin - dave concepcion

alex arias - dave winfield

again, kudos to pinnacle for including the likes of bossy, malcolm x, and ken stabler in the set. very cool. 

several years ago, i posted a custom card i made showing what one of these cards would look like if pinnacle had asked me who my idol was. 

of course, i interpreted this in the "favorite player" sense, unlike deshields who certainly had a more literal sense of the term "idol". it would be interesting to know/see who other bloggers might choose for a similar card.  what say you?

rod has some dodgergraphs, too

i had the pleasure of meeting rod from padrographs in person as part of the great nw bloggers summit when i was in portland for business a couple of years ago.  i enjoyed talking with him (and the other bloggers present) as he had some great collecting stories, including hanging out with tony gwynn during signing appearances and other interaction with former players.  he's also an avid reader (as am i) and has offered up some recommendations for me to check out.

finally, he's a generous guy. rod held daily giveways a couple of months ago that i sometimes participated in. he even sent some cards that i didn't request which was nice.  the first card received through the giveaways was this 2020 topps opening day alex verdugo red foil parallel

i suppose the red will look better once verdugo starts getting cards showing him with red socks, too. still, a sharp looking card!

here's a 1997 donruss elite mike piazza card

piazza was a popular guy on the recent giveaways, and i am consistently surprised at the number of his cards that i still need.

i didn't need this next card, but i did comment that i am/was a fan of the pinnacle 'the idols' subsets.

rod sent the card to my anyway. it was cool to see the variety of players featured as 'idols' - jim abbott idolizing nolan ryan made for a good pairing.

here's a card for my double play collection - a 1998 topps opening day derek jeter issue

turning a double play as a shortstop always felt more stylish to me than when i was playing second base. the turn is a lot more natural coming from the shortstop side of the bag, and the lean that jeter shows on this card reminds me of a 3-6-3 turn. i probably participated in only a couple of those during my baseball playing days.

after receiving those cards from his giveaways, i was able to find a couple of signed cards for rod's autograph frankenset as a way of repaying his generosity. rod recently returned fire with a great item for a fan of the dodger teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s.  check out this letter of transmittal responding to a fan's request for an autograph from peter o'malley (walter's son, and the owner of the dodgers following o'malley's passing in 1979)

that came with this signed index card

these items pair nicely with the signed business card that rod sent to night owl earlier this summer, and it is great that he was able to share the bounty of this collector's request!  the letter and signed index card also go great with the 1978 topps dodger team card that o'malley signed for me through the mail for me a few years ago.

and let's not forget this great vinyl sticker(?) of his logo

would that be the "swinging signing friar" then? very happy to add this to my blogger custom card collection!

thanks rod - there's a pwe in the mail for you that should arrive soon!