1983 ASA Duke Snider

Set size: 12 cards

Front Design: A color or black and white photo of Duke Snider appears in a thin black frame, and his name appears beneath the photo in an identical frame. A thicker red line surrounds both in the white borders, with red bunting in the upper corners.

Back Design: A red and black border surrounds part of a "story" of career highlights that carries over from card to card.

Parallels and Similars: None.

Distribution: Cards were most likely sold through hobby means - either by ASA or through distributors and dealers. Card number 1 is available autographed and serially numbered to 2000, but entire unsigned sets were also available.

Thoughts: The design feels like a TCMA issue, and ASA might have been inspired by TCMA. ASA stands for Authentic Sports Autographs, a company which issued several similar sets in 1983 including stars like Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron. Mickey Mantle had a 72-card set in 1982, also issued with an autographed version.

1983 Perma-Graphic Credit Cards Reggie Jackson

Let's finish off the phone card trilogy with this one!

 Set size: 36 cards, sized the same as a credit card - 2-1/8" x 3-3/8", printed on plastic material like credit cards.

Front Design: Two years from their first release, the design has changed greatly. The card is vertically oriented, with a color photo inside a gold border with a 1983 Super Star "plaque" beneath. A gold banner lists the player's name, team, position, and league. A white border surrounds the photo's frame.

Back Design: The backs are the same as the 1981 release, with the player's vitals, career statistics, and a highlights biography. Lacking from this card is a box at the bottom for player signatures, though at least on Jackson's card, the space remains. The biography of Jackson's card is slightly updated to reflect his accomplishments in the past two years. Reggie Jackson is card 27 in the set, and if you look closely in the bottom right corner, the last two digits of the card code represent the card number.

Parallels and Similars: A gold-tinted parallel, limited to 1000 sets, also exists.

Distribution: Cards were again produced in cooperation with Topps, and sold in complete set form.

Thoughts: The front design has become much more ornate, from a simple photo and text to this fancy plaque motif. The design itself isn't bad, but certainly feels like an early-80s Topps release. Despite the credit card material, size, and feel, they look like cards. It really wouldn't be until 1995 Studio's release that a card release looked like credit cards.

1983 Salt Lake City Gulls TCMA

Set size: 26 cards

Front Design: A posed player photo is surrounded by a blue frame and white borders; a white-on-blue bottom-of-a-star style bar crosses the top while a similar bar at the bottom contains player name, team, and position.

Back Design: The black and white back has a banner at the top with the team and league names, a banner at the bottom with a TCMA advertisement, and space in the middle for player vitals and prior-year minor league stats.

Parallels and Similars: All 1983 TCMA minor league sets use an identical design.

Distribution: Cards were issued and sold by TCMA, but could be found through dealers and team stores. *Note: This actual card may be a reprint, possibly part of a sheet distributed with collectors kits in the mid-80s. However, the design is the same.

Thoughts: The Gulls were in Salt Lake City for a decade, heading from the desert heat to Calgary, Canada in 1985. The Salt Lake Bees took their place in 1994, under a series of other names. Spike Owen made his MLB debut the season this card was issued, and made his name defensively, though he was a key offensive contributor for the Red Sox in the 1986 ALCS. Spike sure seems excited to be a part of AAA on this high-school-pose photo.

1983 Albuquerque Dukes TCMA

Set size: 25 cards

Front Design: A posed player photo is in a blue border with a mountain-like design at the top and player's team, name, and position at the bottom.

Back Design: The plain black and white backs contain the team and league names in a black banner at the top, while a similar banner at the bottom contains an advertisement for TCMA cards. The middle of the card features the player's vitals and previous-year's minor league statistics.

Parallels and Similars: All 1983 TCMA team sets are identical.

Distribution: Cards were issued through TCMA, though they could be found at dealers and stadiums. *Note: This actual card may be a reprint, possibly part of a sheet distributed with collectors kits in the mid-80s. However, the design is the same.

Thoughts: Did you know that in 1983, there were two minor league teams named the Dukes? Albuquerque was a AAA-level team for the Dodgers (Orel Hershiser is in this set); Alexandria was a single-A team for the Pirates. I've heard of multiple minor league names copied from major league franchises (the Braves do this, especially), but this is my first case of hearing of two teams playing at the same time with the same non-MLB name. It's just about as confusing as the Columbus (Ohio) Clippers and Columbus (Georgia) Catfish both existing at the same time. The Catfish moved recently.

1983 Redwood Pioneers TCMA

Set size: 32 cards

Front Design: A posed color photo is inside a blue border. The top has a converging lines design with two stars, while the bottom contains the team name, player, and position.

Back Design: The plain black and white backs contain the team name and league, player's vitals and basic minor league statistics from the prior year, and a TCMA advertisement.

Parallels and Similars: All 1983 TCMA minor league sets are identical.

Distribution: Sets were issued by TCMA, but could be found at dealers and stadiums. *Note: This actual card may be a reprint, possibly part of a sheet distributed with collectors kits in the mid-80s. However, the design is the same. (See comments below.)

Thoughts: I had never heard of the Redwood Pioneers until I owned this card, which is remarkable only because they were a member of the California League. I've been to nearly every California League stadium (Visalia Rawhide is the only remaining team), and through my travels I've learned a bit about the history of several of the teams. It turns out the Redwood Pioneers exist today as the Lake Elsinore Storm, south of Los Angeles. I visited their home earlier this year, and they have worked hard to brand themselves as a  modern, unique team that has its roots in Lake Elsinore. It isn't hard to distance yourself from history when you don't have much. They were the Santa Clara Padres for one season (1979), before becoming the Redwood Pioneers (1980-1985). Then, they moved to Palm Springs as the Angels from 1986 through 1993. The Pioneers played in Rohnert Park, California, just south of Santa Rosa. The stadium stood until 2005. The outline of the field was visible until around 2009, and it seems the small parking lot still exists (as of around 2009).