1981 Dodgers Police

Set size: 32 cards, which have the odd measurements of 2-13/16" by 4-1/8".

Front Design: A color photo appears surrounded by a white border. The bottom of the card contains the player name, jersey number, and position, and "LAPD SALUTES THE 1981 Dodgers" in black ink.

Back Design: A police tip attributed to the player and the LAPD badge with the number (year) 1981 in black ink fills the back.

Parallels and Similars: Many of the police issues of the era have similar designs and card sizes.

Distribution: Cards were distributed by LAPD officers. The Ken Landreaux and Dave Stewart cards are short-printed due to being last-minute additions to the set; this set provides Stewart's true rookie card.

Thoughts: I like reading the tips on the back of these cards. I remember all the PSAs integrated into 1980s children's programming and they bring back memories. I'm just wondering if any of these crime tips are useful or just based on urban legends with no basis in fact. Snopes did a good job looking at the poison and sharp objects in Halloween candy (read the whole article about sharp objects - the only real incident is from the rumor creating the idea for the crime). Are there burglars out there who really knock on the door and break in when a kid answers? Are there predators out there luring kids into their cars with candy bars? (I'm not saying these are false, I'm just asking if they are.)

Additional Links: Old Baseball provides a checklist.

Additional Images: Card back:

1987 Astros Police

 Set size: 26 cards

Front Design: The oversized (2-5/8" x 4-1/8") cards feature a color photo surrounded by an orange border and the Astros logo, player name and position, in dark blue with a dark blue border.

Back Design: The card makes use of its larger-than-standard size by including a full "nuclear" team logo and card number at the top, player name, position, and bat/throw direction, followed by a full paragraph summary of the player's prior year. The bottom of the card has a "Tips From The Dugout" service message and an advertisement for set sponsor Deer Park Hospital.

Parallels and Similars: The 1986 and 1988 Astros Police issues feature similar designs, with border color variations.

Distribution: The first 12 cards were given away to kids at the stadium on Jul 14, 1987, while the rest of the set was distributed through the hospital.

Thoughts: I'm not sure how I ended up with this particular card, but it is the key card of the set and the only one with a premium value over the others. Most likely, I found it in a discount box, a great place to find oddballs like this. Mike Scott and Yogi Berra (as a coach) also appear in the set. The police issues are great examples of how cards can be produced and distributed inexpensively. The designs are fairly basic, but the detailed history on the back is a welcome change to a simple one or two sentence summary or basic stats.

Additional Links: The checklist is available at Old Baseball.