Welcome Cubs Fans!

This blog will discuss the 1980s and the baseball card collecting hobby, with a focus on the Chicago Cubs. Contrary to vintage baseball cards, the majority of modern cards are affordable. The various sets will be considerably simpler to obtain. So, with thousands of cards in between, we'll start with 80 Topps and end with 89 Upper Deck. The apex of this period was represented by the Sandberg Rookie of the Year in 1983.


Wednesday, November 30, 2022

1980 Topps Superstar Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

1980 Topps Superstar has 60 cards which there are 2 Cubs Player.

Card Dimensions

The over-sized cards are the following dimensions: 5" by 7"

Basic Features

There are 60 cards in the 1980 Topps Superstar collection, which were distributed in cellophane packs and wrapped in clear plastic. The front is entirely made up of a player photo, with a facsimile autograph at the bottom. The player's name, team, and position can be found on the backs along with a sizable Topps logo. The backs of the cards came in either gray or white. The white back sets are more expensive and much uncommon than the grays.

1980 Topps Super Chicago Cubs Checklist


Number Player
16 Dave Kingman
32 Bruce Sutter

Kingman in a cello pack


Tuesday, November 29, 2022

1989 Topps Baseball Talk Lou Brock

Number of Cards

1989 Topps Baseball Talk set has 164 cards which there are 7 Cub players

Card Dimensions

The cards are the following dimensions: 3 1/4" x 5 1/4" slightly oversized

Basic Features

Most cards featured a picture of the baseball player's Topps rookie card on the front. The player's entire statistics were listed on the back of the card, and a plastic phonograph disc was adhered to the card and played about two and a half minutes of audio.

The front of this card shows Lou Brock' 1962 Topps rookie card.

The battery-powered LJN Sportstalk player was a basic gadget. When the card was inserted, a stylus rotated beneath to play the disc while the image on the card was displayed under a clear plastic cover.



Chicago Cubs 1989 Topps Baseball Talk Checklist


Number Player
11 Billy Williams
17 Ernie Banks
26 Lou Brock
69 Ryne Sandberg
75 Rick Sutcliffe
78 Andre Dawson
101 Rich Gossage






All of the recordings in this odd set were expertly compiled by the Daclyde YouTube channel. Click here and check out all of his recordings.



Monday, November 28, 2022

1987 Donruss Highlights Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

1987 Donruss Highlights set has 56 cards which there are 3 Cubs players

Card Dimensions

The standard-sized cards are the following dimensions: 2-1/2" by 3-1/2"

Basic Features

Late in 1987, Donruss' third and final issue of Highlights was published. The cards are glossy and of a typical size. Cards honor the players and pitchers of the month from each league, as well as occasions from the 1987 season. The set came with a little Roberto Clemente puzzle and was packaged in its own red, black, blue, and gold box. With the exception of the Highlights logo being positioned in the bottom right corner and the borders being blue rather than black, the card fronts are identical to those of the standard 1987 Donruss release.

The backs are printed in black and gold on white card stock.

Chicago Cubs 1987 Donruss Highlights Checklist


Number Player
20 Billy Williams
28 Andre Dawson
31 Andre Dawson


Sunday, November 27, 2022

1986 Meadow Gold Cubs Checklist

Meadow Gold produced three sets in 1986: set one included printing on the back and had 20 cards; the second set had a blank back, which was on the ice cream cartons, and included 16 cards; and the third set includes just eleven players. The cards were printed on the sides of milk cartons. Check the list for Cubs players and photographs below if you're confused because this could cause issues.

Number of Cards

Set one 1986 Meadow Gold have 20 cards, and there is 2 Cubs player.

Size of Cards

The size of the cards are approximately 2 3/8" by 3 1/2."

Basic Features

The only set featuring statistics on the back is this one, one of three created by Meadow Gold. The cards were given out in two-card panels along with bubblegum coolers, fudgesicles, and Meadow Gold popsicles. The cards were produced by MSA and they had just a player's license, so the logos are missing.

Chicago Cubs 1986 Meadow Gold Checklist


Number Player
1986 Meadow Gold stats on the back
12 Ryne Sandberg
43 Rick Sutcliffe
1986 Meadow Gold blank back ice cream flap
n/a Ryne Sandberg
1986 Meadow Gold blank back milk carton
n/a Ryne Sandberg




Uncut panels are worth much more




bubble gum cooler carton and wrappers


Number of Cards

Set two 1986 Meadow Gold blank backs have 16 cards, and there is 1 Cubs player. Rick Sutcliffe was cut from this set

Size of Cards

The size of the cards are approximately 2 3/8" by 3 1/2."

Basic Features

This unnumbered set of 16 full-color cards is blank backed. The cards were found (one card per package) on the flap of 1/2 gallon cartons of Meadow Gold "Double Play" ice cream. The cards were produced by MSA and they had just a player's license, so the logos are missing.



Uncut ice cream cartons are worth much more


Number of Cards

Set three 1986 Meadow Gold blank backs milk cartons have 11 cards, and there is 1 Cubs player.

Size of Cards

The size of the cards are hand cut and measure 2-1/2" by 3-1/2".

Basic Features

The third product from that year, the 1986 Meadow Gold Milk Carton Baseball Set, was manually cut from pint, quart, or half-gallon milk cartons. These cards feature artistic interpretations of the images. The player's previous year's statistics are printed next to the artwork, along with the Meadow Gold shield logo, "Super Stars Series," and his name, team, position, and Beatrice Foods name at the bottom. They are also the most expensive and difficult to locate set of the three. The cards were produced by MSA and they had just a player's license, so the logos are missing.

Saturday, November 26, 2022

1989 Topps Baseball Talk Ernie Banks

Number of Cards

1989 Topps Baseball Talk set has 164 cards which there are 7 Cub players

Card Dimensions

The cards are the following dimensions: 3 1/4" x 5 1/4" slightly oversized

Basic Features

Most cards featured a picture of the baseball player's Topps rookie card on the front. The player's entire statistics were listed on the back of the card, and a plastic phonograph disc was adhered to the card and played about two and a half minutes of audio.

Famous Ernie Banks' 1954 Topps rookie card appears on the front of this card.

The battery-powered LJN Sportstalk player was a basic gadget. When the card was inserted, a stylus rotated beneath to play the disc while the image on the card was displayed under a clear plastic cover.



Chicago Cubs 1989 Topps Baseball Talk Checklist


Number Player
11 Billy Williams
17 Ernie Banks
26 Lou Brock
69 Ryne Sandberg
75 Rick Sutcliffe
78 Andre Dawson
101 Rich Gossage






All of the recordings in this odd set were expertly compiled by the Daclyde YouTube channel. Click here and check out all of his recordings.



Friday, November 25, 2022

1986 Fleer League Leaders Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

There are four Cubs players among the 44 cards in the 1986 Fleer League Leaders collection.

Card Dimensions

The standard-sized cards are the following dimensions: 2-1/2" by 3-1/2"

Basic Features

Due to its sale at Walgreen's, this 44-card standard-size set can usually be referred to as the Walgreen's set. The words "Fleer League Leaders" are written on the front of cards. The cards have a blue stripe on a white background on both sides. backs also have the routinely bio and stats.

1986 Fleer League Leaders Chicago Cubs Checklist


Number Player
11 Leon Durham
25 Keith Moreland
39 Ryne Sandberg
41 Lee Smith










Box Designs

Thursday, November 24, 2022

1989 Topps Baseball Talk Andre Dawson

Number of Cards

1989 Topps Baseball Talk set has 164 cards which there are 7 Cub players

Card Dimensions

The cards are the following dimensions: 3 1/4" x 5 1/4" slightly oversized

Basic Features

Most cards featured a picture of the baseball player's Topps rookie card on the front. The player's entire statistics were listed on the back of the card, and a plastic phonograph disc was adhered to the card and played about two and a half minutes of audio.

It was a 1989 Topps design, however Andre Dawson's card had an entirely different photo from his standard card from that year.

The battery-powered LJN Sportstalk player was a basic gadget. When the card was inserted, a stylus rotated beneath to play the disc while the image on the card was displayed under a clear plastic cover.



Chicago Cubs 1989 Topps Baseball Talk Checklist


Number Player
11 Billy Williams
17 Ernie Banks
26 Lou Brock
69 Ryne Sandberg
75 Rick Sutcliffe
78 Andre Dawson
101 Rich Gossage


1989 Topps Baseball Talk Andre Dawson




All of the recordings in this odd set were expertly compiled by the Daclyde YouTube channel. Click here and check out all of his recordings.



Wednesday, November 23, 2022

1980-88 Baseball Immortals Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

1980 Baseball Immortals had 199 cards in the set; which there are 12 Cub players.

Size of Cards

The standard-sized cards are the following dimensions: 2-1/2" by 3-1/2"

Basic Features

The 1980–88 Baseball Immortals baseball set was produced by Renata Galasso Inc. and TCMA with the "expressed permission of Major League Baseball."

In the initial 1980 release, every Hall of Fame inductee from the inaugural 1936 class was listed on a 173-card checklist. The front of the cards is similar to the 1975 Topps design, which featured border segments with different border colors for the top and bottom halves. An inner gold border surrounds a color image or piece of art. The player's year of induction is shown on a flag at the bottom of the card, next to his name and position, and the gold frame is framed by the words "Baseball Immortals" at the top.
1975 Topps fronts


The card backs closely resemble those of 1954 Bowman, with the player's name enclosed in a white bat inside a yellow box at the top, the card number in a white circle to the right of that, basic height, weight, and birth information inside the yellow box, and a brief biography below. The answer to a Hall of Fame trivia question is placed upside-down inside a smaller yellow box beneath the bio. When the set was first released, the first 10,000 copies had the first printing on the back.
1954 Bowman back of card


The set was updated for the first time in 1984, with all members inducted into the Hall of Fame between 1981 and 1984. The design of the cards is the same, but the typefaces used on the update cards, numbered 174-189, are noticeably different.

In 1986, a second update brought the fonts much closer to their original configuration, but still differs slightly. Unlike the original set and the 1984 update, there is no trivia question on the back of the cards, and the words "1st Printing" are missing from the first 189 cards in the set. The numbers 190-196

Billy Williams was added to cards with numbers 197-199 in the 1987 final update. The fonts have changed even again, and although previous updates kept the original border pattern of various colors, the 1987 inductees' cards all have vibrant red top borders and yellow bottom borders. The trivia questions and "first printing" notations are once again omitted.

The entire first series of this issue has 3 variations for each card.


  • First printing on back /10000 not numbered
  • First printing on back w/ MLB logo
  • No first printing on back

Chicago Cubs 1980 Baseball Immortals Checklist


Number Player
17 Cap Anson - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
17 Cap Anson - 1st Printing, MLB logo
17 Cap Anson - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
36 King Kelly - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
36 King Kelly - 1st Printing, MLB logo
36 King Kelly - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
40 Frank Chance - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
40 Frank Chance - 1st Printing, MLB logo
40 Frank Chance - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
42 Johnny Evers - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
42 Johnny Evers - 1st Printing, MLB logo
42 Johnny Evers - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
43 Clark Griffith MGR - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
43 Clark Griffith MGR - 1st Printing, MLB logo
43 Clark Griffith MGR - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
47 Joe Tinker - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
47 Joe Tinker - 1st Printing, MLB logo
47 Joe Tinker - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
56 Mordecai Brown - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
56 Mordecai Brown - 1st Printing, MLB logo
56 Mordecai Brown - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
76 Gabby Hartnett - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
76 Gabby Hartnett - 1st Printing, MLB logo
76 Gabby Hartnett - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
149 Billy Herman - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
149 Billy Herman - 1st Printing, MLB logo
149 Billy Herman - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
158 Ernie Banks - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
158 Ernie Banks - 1st Printing, MLB logo
158 Ernie Banks - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
169 Hack Wilson - 1st Printing, no MLB logo
169 Hack Wilson - 1st Printing, MLB logo
169 Hack Wilson - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo
197 Billy Williams - 1st Printing, MLB logo
197 Billy Williams - no 1st Printing, no MLB logo