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.


Friday, March 24, 2023

1981 FBI Discs Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

24 disks in the 1981 FBI Discs collection included 1 Cubs player.

Size of Cards

The size of the disk is 2-7/8" in diameter.

Basic Features

1981's FBI (Fisher Beverage Inc.) was a well-known Canadian regional brand of fruit-flavored drinks. MLB Baseball Discs with a diameter of 2 7/8" are cutouts from the perforated bottoms of boxes. Like the 1982 discs, the earlier issue has black-and-white player portraits at the center that have had the cap logos airbrushed away. A green-and-orange FBI logo is at the top, with the player’s name at the bottom. Unlike the 1982 FBI issue, there is no copyright date on the 1981 discs. The MLBPA logo flanks the player's portrait at left, with the player's position (in English and French) at right, along with his team’s city.

These disks are very hard to find always. To prevent purchasing a false piece of history, always get a professionally graded card from a recognized provider.In the future, graded cards will be significantly more valuable. 

Chicago Cubs 1981 FBI Discs Checklist

Number Player
n/a Dave Kingman

Thursday, March 16, 2023

1982 TCMA Greatest Pitchers Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

1982 TCMA Greatest Hitters has 45 cards which there are 1 Cubs player

Card Dimensions

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

Basic Features

This 45-card set, which has player images in both color and black photos with either thin red or green borders printed on white, honors some of baseball's best pitchers. Player information and career statistics are carried on the backs in either white or gray cardboard. Direct from TCMA, each Playball set costs $4 and is available for purchase. There was lots of trivia among some old players.

TCMA is the initials of founders Tom Collier and Michael Aronstein

1982 TCMA Chicago Cubs Checklist


Number Player
1982 TCMA Greatest Hitters
7 Lou Brock
7 Lou Brock (grey back)
25 Riggs Stephenson
25 Riggs Stephenson (grey back)
27 Cap Anson
27 Cap Anson (grey back)
1982 TCMA Greatest Pitchers
18 Grover Alexander
18 Grover Alexander (grey back)
34 Mordecai Brown
34 Mordecai Brown (grey back)
1982 TCMA Greatest Sluggers
8 Ernie Banks
8 Ernie Banks (grey back)
13 Billy Williams
13 Billy Williams (grey back)
23 Hack Wilson
23 Hack Wilson (grey back)

Grover Alexander:

As you can see, he is wearing a Cubs uniform, but on the reverse of this card, they say he is a Philadelphia pitcher, but Grover was a Great Cub from 1918 to 1926.

Three Finger Mordecai Brown:


1982 TCMA Greatest Sluggers packaging:

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

1982 TCMA Greatest Sluggers Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

1982 TCMA Greatest Hitters has 45 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

This 45-card set, which has player images in both color and black photos with either thin red or green borders printed on white, honors some of baseball's best Sluggers. Player information and career statistics are carried on the backs in either white or gray cardboard. Direct from TCMA, each Playball set costs $4 and is available for purchase. There was lots of trivia among some old players.

TCMA is the initials of founders Tom Collier and Michael Aronstein

1982 TCMA Chicago Cubs Checklist


Number Player
1982 TCMA Greatest Hitters
7 Lou Brock
7 Lou Brock (grey back)
25 Riggs Stephenson
25 Riggs Stephenson (grey back)
27 Cap Anson
27 Cap Anson (grey back)
1982 TCMA Greatest Pitchers
18 Grover Alexander
18 Grover Alexander (grey back)
34 Mordecai Brown
34 Mordecai Brown (grey back)
1982 TCMA Greatest Sluggers
8 Ernie Banks
8 Ernie Banks (grey back)
13 Billy Williams
13 Billy Williams (grey back)
23 Hack Wilson
23 Hack Wilson (grey back)




1982 TCMA Greatest Sluggers packaging:

Monday, March 13, 2023

1982 TCMA Greatest Hitters Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

1982 TCMA Greatest Hitters has 45 cards which there are 2 Cubs players

Card Dimensions

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

Basic Features

This 45-card set, which has player images in both color and black photos with either thin red or green borders printed on white, honors some of baseball's best Hitters. Player information and career statistics are carried on the backs in either white or gray cardboard. Direct from TCMA, each Playball set costs $4 and is available for purchase. There was lots of trivia among some old players.

TCMA is the initials of founders Tom Collier and Michael Aronstein

1982 TCMA Chicago Cubs Checklist


Number Player
1982 TCMA Greatest Hitters
7 Lou Brock
7 Lou Brock (grey back)
25 Riggs Stephenson
25 Riggs Stephenson (grey back)
27 Cap Anson
27 Cap Anson (grey back)
1982 TCMA Greatest Pitchers
18 Grover Alexander
18 Grover Alexander (grey back)
34 Mordecai Brown
34 Mordecai Brown (grey back)
1982 TCMA Greatest Sluggers
8 Ernie Banks
8 Ernie Banks (grey back)
13 Billy Williams
13 Billy Williams (grey back)
23 Hack Wilson
23 Hack Wilson (grey back)

Lou Brock:

As you can see, he is wearing a Cubs uniform, but on the reverse of this card, they say he is a St. Louis hitter, which is true, but after a horrible trade, most likely money under the table.

To have a master set, which means you have to collect all cards and different variations, which wasn't hard back in the 80s, now it's near or even impossible.

Riggs Stephenson:


Cap Anson:


1982 TCMA Greatest Hitters packaging:

Sunday, March 12, 2023

1980 Fleer Team Stickers Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

108 cards in the 1980 Fleer Team Stickers collection included 4 Cubs cards with 1 variation.

Size of Cards

The size of the cards are roughly 2 3/8" by 2 3/4."

Basic Features

Each team has four different sticker varieties (logo, baseball diamond, cap, and monogram). Backs have cartoon illustrations by artist Robert G. Laughlin honoring every World Series from 1940 to 1979. There was also one vareable card included in this set with the cubs.

Cubs Checklist:

  • Cap
  • Logo color background
  • Logo diamond
  • Logo from cap or Monogram

Cap:



Logo color background:



Logo diamond:



Logo from cap or Monogram with with 1 variation:



Monogram variation:

Friday, March 10, 2023

1986 O-Pee-Chee Stickers Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

315 cards in the 1986 O-Pee-Chee Stickers collection included 9 Cubs players.

Size of Cards

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

Basic Features

The 1986 O-Pee-Chee Sticker Made in Italy by Panini has a red border on the corners and a nice photo of the player. The backs have the name and number of the card with advertisements for O-Pee-Chee in French and English. These stickers go into an album, which you can buy separately.

Chicago Cubs 1986 O-Pee-Chee Stickers Checklist


Number Player
54 Keith Moreland
55 Ryne Sandberg
56 Lee Smith
57 Steve Trout
58 Jody Davis
59 Gary Matthews
60 Leon Durham
61 Rick Sutcliffe
62 Dennis Eckersley

1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2354%20Keith%20Morelanda 1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2354%20Keith%20Morelandb
1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2355%20Ryne%20Sandberga 1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2355%20Ryne%20Sandbergb
1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2356%20Lee%20Smitha 1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2356%20Lee%20Smithb
1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2357%20Steve%20Trouta 1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2357%20Steve%20Troutb
1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2358%20Jody%20Davisa 1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2358%20Jody%20Davisb
1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2359%20Gary%20Matthewsa 1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2359%20Gary%20Matthewsb
1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2360%20Leon%20Durhama 1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2360%20Leon%20Durhamb
1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2361%20Rick%20Sutcliffea 1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2361%20Rick%20Sutcliffeb
1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2362%20Dennis%20Eckersleya 1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2362%20Dennis%20Eckersleyb
1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2363%20Bob%20Derniera 1986%20O-Pee-Chee%20Stickers%20%2363%20Bob%20Dernierb

1986 Sticker Book:

front