1984 Topps

While 1983 Topps was the first pack that I ever opened, 1984 Topps was the first set that I remember buying myself. My dad bought me my first pack of cards. I have bought the majority of the rest in my life.

1984 was a strange time for me. I was collecting cards, but not the ones that you would think. I was collecting Gremlins movie cards. Those have since been destroyed (probably by Gremlins), but I would pass up packs of baseball cards to get to the Gremlins cards.

I actually saw Gremlins at the drive-in in an actual Gremlin car. It was my dad's car. It was orange. I'm so glad it's gone. But I thought it was cool seeing Gremlins in a Gremlin. I was seven during the summer of 1984. Little things like that impressed me.

I did manage to pick up a few packs of Topps that year. I must have because I had a nice amount of those cards in my early collection. My local drug store didn't have Fleer or Donruss regular issues that year, so Topps it was. I stumbled upon them almost by accident. They kept the cards in the candy aisle. I always went straight to the candy aisle to see what new, interesting candies were in that week.

The design is reminiscent of the 1983 design. This time, the circle becomes a square and the space gets a little smaller. The team name is moved to the side and is blown up considerably. It's a step down from the previous year's set, but it's still a classic design. One that doesn't get a lot of respect today.

Is the design slightly juvenile? Yeah, just a little bit. It's comforting to look at though. The nostalgia factor drives this set up just a bit, but not enough to swing heavily in the opposite direction. Just enough for a tap. It's still a clean design and better than some of the card designs in the past few years.

The White Sox have 30 regular cards and 3 multiple team cards in the set.

20 - Greg Luzinski
47 - Rudy Law
72 - Mike Squires
97 - LaMarr Hoyt
125 - Britt Burns
135 - Victory Leaders (LaMarr Hoyt)
153 - Dick Tidrow
163 - Lorenzo Gray
177 - Jerry Hairston
216 - White Sox TL/C.Fisk
257 - Julio Cruz
269 - Aurelio Rodriguez
280 - Floyd Bannister
311 - Jerry Koosman
364 - Scott Fletcher
382 - Chris Nyman
405 - LaMarr Hoyt AS
409 - Juan Agosto
434 - Harold Baines
459 - Kevin Hickey
480 - Ron Kittle
518 - Greg Walker
541 - Dennis Lamp
560 - Carlton Fisk
591 - Tony LaRussa MG
619 - Jerry Dybzinski
664 - Dave Stegman
667 - Vance Law
698 - Marc Hill
712 - AL Active HR Leaders (Greg Luzinski)
716 - AL Active Strikeout Leaders (Jerry Koosman)
759 - Richard Dotson
777 - Tom Paciorek

Another solid effort by Topps and another bounty of White Sox cards in the set. It probably helps that the White Sox won their division by twenty games the year before. It couldn't hurt. With all the great stars and regional stars in the Sox set, you may be wondering why I chose Dennis Lamp to represent the set. Two reasons. I like to showcase the cards that don't see the light of day often. The other reason? I love... Lamp.