I’ve had a plastic bag of my old special edition LAPD-issued 1981 Dodger baseball cards up high on a shelf for 25 years. I just broke it out.
On the back of the cards are personalized greetings from the said players, reminding impressionable youngsters like myself that sportsmanship is everything, fundamentals are the method of achieving it, and being a bad guy is not the way to get there. These messages range from notable to hilariously contrived, including everything from baseball tips specifically to social awareness blurbs endorsed by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Our boys won the World Championship that year. ’81. Lopes, Russell, Dusty, Garvey, Cey, Reggie, Yeager, Monday, Reuss…
The whole collection needs to be scanned and blogged.
Steve’ll be the first for now. Rookie of the Year, 1980. Rest in peace, brother.
