1984 Expos Postcards (Canadian Version)

The Expos did a postcard set every year from 1981-90, maybe even further back from that (but no Wallach if they did), but up until now I've never had any of the Wallach's.  This is the first Expos Postcard of Wallach that I've picked up.  They're not all that rare or uncommon, as I've seen them pop up regularly on ebay for years, I just never felt they were that high of a priority given all the other cards/items I was trying to budget.  

I see a lot of places that catalog these postcards as "baseball cards."  I don't, and keep them on my non-card need list, rather than my card need list.  So this, and any future ones I obtain aren't being added to the running card tally.  Those catalogs in their infinite wisdom also show this as "card" #35.  I don't see a #35 anywhere on the thing.  In fact, I see "29" twice, the second one, in the space for the stamp, really looks like a card number to me.  To keep things simple, I'm just leaving the title numberless.  

I've always thought these were kind of dumb, but now that I have one in hand, I can begrudgingly admit it's sort of cool.  My change of heart is due entirely to the back, which you'll have to take my word for, looks much better in person than in the scan.  It just has a very authentic/vintage feel and look to it.  I think it'd be kind of funny to send these post cards to the players that are on them.  If I ever pick up a set, I may do just that.  

1984 O-Pee-Chee Stickers #94

Card Review: 7.5  I prefer the back of the Topps sticker to this one.  The Topps sticker has a lot more red ink and just looks more legitimate to me.  The fronts are identical.  The photo of Wallach used for this sticker would have made for a great base card had Topps used it in '84.

Number of this card in my collection: 1
2014 update: n/a
2015 update: n/a
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 2

1984 Topps Stickers #94

Card Review: 8.0  I really like the Wallach photo on this sticker.  They should have used it for his base card in '84, which was in effect identical to the one they used in '83 and would use again in '85 and '86.  At some point I'll get around to making some "fake" cards on photoshop, and putting this photo onto the 1984 Topps card will be one of the firs that I do.

Roy Thomas , the other guy on this sticker, appeared in parts of 8 different seasons with 3 different teams over an 11 year period.  Appearing on this Wallach sticker was the highlight of his career (presumably).

Number of this card in my collection: 4
2013 update: 6
2014 update: 7
2016 update: 8
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: n/a
2019 update: 10

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: n/a

2023 update: 11

2024 update: 12

1984 All-Star Game Program Insert

Card Review: 3.2 This is the same photo as the '83 Insert, but with a different back.

Fun Facts: *Wallach went 0 for 1 in the 1984 All-Star Game

Number of this card in my collection: 6
2014 update: 7 
 

1984 Topps (Encased Variant) "Test Design"

 








Card Review: 4.5  I paid $9.49 for this stupid thing.  That's the most I've ever paid for a single Wallach.  Allegedly this was a "Test Design" that Topps produced.  On the final design, the players head in the lower right, protrudes from the box.  There are some zoomed in close ups below to show the difference.  It's nothing I'm going to get too excited about, but my OCD still demands I own at least one of them.

Number of this card in my collection: 1
2013 update: 2

This is copy and pasted from the ebay listing, I have no idea as to it's validity.  Frankly I think the guy sounds a little pompous and it saddened my to send him my money for this card.

ABOUT THE 1984 TOPPS ENCASED VARIATIONS
AS DESIGN TEST ISSUE CARDS

An extremely rare but popular card issue produced during the 1980's is the 1984 Topps Encased Variation baseball cards.   A complete basic set of 1984 Topps Encased Variations consists of 66 different skip-numbered cards.  The 1984 Encased Variation cards are obviously DESIGN TEST ISSUES.  That is, the 84T Encased Variations are cards having designs different from the common normally printed baseball cards of that year, reflecting a testing by the card manufacturer of design features not used for the regular pack-distributed cards of that year.  In fact, all of the known 84T Encased Variations apparently originate from sheets issued or discarded by Topps and/or from individual cards cut years later from the original DESIGN TEST ISSUE SHEETS and sold through The Topps Vault.

No matter what some "experts" may proclaim otherwise, the 1984 Topps Encased Variations are DESIGN TEST ISSUE cards and NOT proof cards.  That is, the 1984 Topps Encased Variation cards with four-color process printed fronts and blank standard Topps gray stock backs are NOT proofs!  But these are DESIGN TEST ISSUE cards.

A true proof card is one that comes from a sheet created for the printer to examine for ink flow checking and for determinations of problems needing correction before the massive print run of cards is given the okay to proceed.  Such proofs often are with only one, two or three of the four process ink colors present on the front.  Another form of true proof card is called a "make-ready" proof, a card from a sheet created during the operating of the presses to get the ink colors properly flowing as a sort of "warm up" before the sheets for the normally printed cards to be marketed to the public are printed.  "Make ready" proofs often have unusual ink color densities and combinations and are typically discarded as "waste" and only very rarely ever become available to the public.  The 1984 Topps Encased Variations obviously do not qualify as proofs created for the printer to examine nor as "make ready" proofs.  Therefore, the 84T Encased Variation cards are NOT proofs:  these are cards created by the card manufacturer to see or test what a new or differently designed card style will look like — that is, as DESIGN TEST ISSUE cards.

The key design difference between the 1984 Topps Encased Variations and the common regular Topps baseball cards issued in 1984 is that on the front of an Encased Variation the head portrait of the player is COMPLETELY ENCASED within the black border forming the portrait box while in the common regular Topps card the head portrait of the player extends onto and/or above the top black border of the portrait box.  The completely encased within the portrait box feature of the 1984 Topps Encased Variations has resulted in these cards sometimes being called "Head-In-Box" cards.  Also the 1984 Topps Encased Variations are always blank-backed while the common regular Topps cards usually have printed backs.

As is detailed above, the 1984 Topps Encased Variations are clearly DESIGN TEST ISSUE cards, NOT proof cards.  However, adding to the confusion is that both Sports Collectors Digest and Beckett in their huge encyclopedic catalogs mistakenly list the 84T Encased Variations as "proofs" and not as Design Test Issues nor as variations!  In a PSA article published on the collection of major card collector Bob Fisk, these 1984 Topps are pointed out as being among the most notable and rare cards in Fisk's collection.  At least PSA correctly identified these as Encased Variations but added the mistake of also calling these "proofs"!

What does make things a bit complicated is that there are "proof" versions known for the 1984 Topps Encased Variation cards.  Proof versions of the 1984 Topps Encased Variations exist and are ultra, ultra rare — with the 84T Encased Variation proofs having only one or two of four process ink colors on the front.  The 84T Encased Variation proof cards were released to the public via The Topps Vault.  

1984 Topps Tiffany #232

Card Review: 9.6 I love this card.  Some people are down on the '84 Topps design, which I'll never understand.  But I'm also of the age, where '84 was considered the definitive year of cards as far as the 1980's went, due to the Mattingly and Strawberry rookies.  I find the the blue and red backs of the this set, lend themselves very well to the Tiffany treatment, and the Expos logo in general.    There are 5 differnt variations that I know of for this card, the Topps base set, the helmet cropped by the box, the O-Pee-Chee, and Nestle.

Number of this card in my collection: 1
2012 update: 4
2013 update: 7
2014 update: n/a
2015 update: n/a
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: 12
2018 update: n/a
2019 update: 13

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: 14

2022 update: 16

1984 Donruss #421

Card Review: 9.2  This card, and set, has grown me great deal over the years.  At it's inception and for a long time after that I couldn't stand this card, or set design.  I always felt this set was wildly overrated due to it's scarcity compared to '84 Topps and to a lesser extent '84 Fleer.  Everyone wanted the Mattingly and Strawberry, and that drove the price up.  And back in the 80's, having a lot of "value" in the Beckett was pretty much deemed the same as being a "great set."  So it just became accepted that "1984 Donruss is a great set," even having words like "classic" and "iconic" tossed it's way.  I used to think that was the height of absurdity.  I've mellowed some on my position however.  While it still isn't my favorite design, I think it has aged well.  I've actually come to like the Tom DeLonge sea-foam green backs, and the purple and yellow front no longer bothers me.  No one will ever convince me that the photography, both photo quality and selection, is anything other than sub-par, but three decades worth of hind sight has definitely converted me on feelings on the design.  All in all, it's '84 Donruss, it's a set of significance and that's more than you can say about the vast majority of sets that have come out since.

Number of this card in my collection: 38
2012 update: 62
2013 update: 99
2014 update: 108
2015 update: 110 
2016 update: 116
2017 update: 117
2018 update: 151
2019 update: 166

2020 update: 167

2021 update: 174

2022 update: 231

2023 update: 233

2024 update: 238

2025 update: 239

2026 update: 241

1984 Topps #232

Card Review: 9.7  This is the "original" '84 design.  There are 5 variations of the 1984 Topps design I know of, the others being the O-Pee-Chee, Nestle, Tiffany, and the encased photo box.  That may not seem like much to younger collector's today, but in 1984, it was absurd (I would argue it's still absurd).

  I like the '84 design.  For the 2nd year in a row (and not done since), Topps went with the small head shot on the front of the card.  I have no problem with the large team name going down the side and I love the blue and red backs.  For awhile this was arguably the most sought after Topps set of the 80's, with the much coveted Don Mattingly and Darryl Strawberry rookie cards.

I would have preferred a different color than green in the corner photo box, but that's nitpicking really.  It's a solid image, even if Topps more or less recycled it on Wallach cards the next two years as well.

Fun Facts: *Wallach made his 1st All-Star team in 1984.
*Wallach was 2nd in the NL with 7 hit-by-pitch walks in 1984.
*Wallach led NL third basemen in assists and put-outs in 1984.
Number of this card in my collection: 46
2012 update: 106
2013 update: 154
2014 update: 186
2015 update: 201 
2016 update: 296
2017 update: 304
2018 update: 316
2019 update: 391
2020 update: 430

2021 update: 443

2022 update: 1,255

2023 update: 1,269

2024 update: 1,286
2025 update: 1,287

2026 update: 1,306

1984 O-Pee-Chee #232

Card Review: 9.5 This is the 2nd of four 1984 Topps variations to be featured here.  The O-Pee-Chee is my 2nd favorite.  The lighter colored card stock makes the back better looking than the Nestle and standard Topps issues.  I've always found the O-Pee-Chee variations to be a bit quirky.  I'm it's just a result of my associating Topps as the norm, but there's something kitchy about OPC.

Fun Facts: *If you look closely at the edges of this card, you'll notice they appear frayed.  This is common for O-Pee-Chee cards (hockey too), as they had notoriously dull blades at their factory, with this frayed appearance being the result.
Number of this card in my collection: 9
2012 update: 14
2013 update: 16
2014 update: 29
2015 update: 34
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: 35
2018 update: 47
2019 update: 42 (audit showed less)
2020 update: 43

2021 update: 45

2022 update: 47

2023 update: 49

2024 update: n/a

2025 update: 51

1984 Stuart #14

Card Review: 9.7 This is not a bad looking card for a processed foods company promo item. It's unusual that Stuart was apparently granted the rights for both the team logo and players likeness for use on their cards.  Probably had something to do with the Expos being from Canada.  All in all the front design of this card is better than the Donruss and Fleer designs from '84.  The only thing keeping me from rating this card even higher is the lack of stats on the back.  I honestly prefer this card to the over glossed stuff Topps in putting out today. 

I didn't discover these Stuarts (there's also an '83) until about 25 years after they produced.  Its the sort of card that really would have been the center peice of my collection had I obtained one at the time they were being made. 

Number of this card in my collection: 5
2014 update: 6

2015 update: n/a

2016 update: n/a

2017 update: n/a

2018 update: n/a

2019 update: n/a

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: 7

2022 update: 9

1984 Fleer #291

Card Review: 7.5  I'm just not a fan of the '84 Fleer design.  Too much blue.  Seems like a set that should be given away at hospitals.  I do however very much like the back.  I don't why Fleer stopped doing the B&W photos on the backs of cards, I always like them.  I also find the tones of blue on the back less offensive for some reason.
Fun Facts: *Tim went 0 for 1 in the 1984 All-Star game.
*Tim played 160 games at 3B in '84 to lead the NL

Number of this card in my collection: 5  There just don't seem to be many out there.
2012 update: 42
2013 update: 77
2014 update: 82
2015 update: 96 
2016 update: 101
2017 update: 103
2018 update: 119
2019 update: 136

2020 update: 174

2021 update: 181

2022 update: 193

2023 update: 200

2024 update: 212

2025 update: 214

1984 Nestle #232

Card Review: 9.3  this card is identical to the '84 Topps but for the "Nestle" logo on the front and back.  There is also what appears to be a coma before "Tim" along the top of the card back that isn't present on the regular 1984 Topps.  I know very little about this Nestle set, how it was packaged, sold, distributed, and everything else about it's origin is a mystery to me.

*UPDATE*  These cards were produced as a mail-in promotion.  For $4.75 and five candy bar wrappers, Nestle would send the collector one of six uncut sheets.  Each sheet contained 132 cards.  There are believed to have been 5,000 copies of the set produced.

Fun Facts: *These "Nestle" variants tend to be worth about 4x as much as their Topps counterparts.
*Tim was named an All-Star for the 1st time in '84
*Tim was briefly team-mates with Pete Rose in '84

Number of this card in my collection: 77
2014 update: 79
2015 update: 80
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: n/a
2019 update: 81

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: 82

2022 update: n/a

2023 update: 83