When I first started looking for the 350 or so cards I needed to complete the 1983 Donruss set, I thought it would take a while.
I knew it would take longer than when I decided to finally finish the 1982 Donruss set. I just bought a complete set with that. It cost me something like 50 dollars. Quick and easy. And with these ’80s Donruss sets – even though they feature the players who made me want to complete them in the first place – they’re not attractive enough to participate in the whole ‘fun-of-building’ scene that we set collectors are known for.
But I knew I couldn’t buy the entire ’83 Donruss set and be done with it…well, I could, but I’m not paying that price for a 1983 set. The Boggs-Gwynn-Sandberg newbies stalled the search, and I just decided to build it the normal way. Maybe I’ll be done in 2026, I thought.
But almost twenty years after this blog, I still underestimate its power and the generosity of collectors.
A few offers on Bluesky, especially a big message from Aaron, efficiently brought my wishes down from plus-300 to less than 30 in no time.
What about some of those big names?
In fact, it takes me back to my teenage years.
Much more where they came from, the players who made me love baseball.
Another round. That’s not even all of them yet, but I have them all mixed up now. I quickly found a folder for the set and I moved some of the new cards to pages with the ’83 Donruss cards I had already collected.
A comment he made on a recent post let me know that he would have something for one of my 80’s set builds. I suspected 1987 Fleer, but was pleasantly surprised when it was 1983 Donruss.
These are exactly the ones I needed. Many of the messages Johnny sent were repeats from just a few days earlier. (As with the 1982 Donruss, I have decent starter sets for someone for both ’82D and ’83D).
But the cards John sent packed even more punch.
Titans from my formative collecting years (watch Dwight Evans lock in with the last needed HOFers — again!)
A few more big ones.
So in no time I went from “One project” to five cards to get. Granted, two of the rookies are still around. This is what’s left:
277 – Ryne Sandberg
530 – Whitey Herzog
533 – Sparky Anderson
586 -Wade Boggs
Checklist: 443-546
Oh, and I need a 650-Jesus Vega that isn’t folded in the middle.
That shouldn’t be a problem at all. The only one that seems like it’s going to cost me more money than I want to spend is Sandberg, which is just like it was one of the original 1983 Donruss cards that I owned for years before consigning it in a blog swap, long before I decided to finish this set.
Still, that’s poor progress, even for a lavish ’80s set.
#time