Night Owl Cards

I have long admired this card.   It's an Awesome Night Card from way back and it was one of the only 1986 Topps cards that I owned in 1986. I don't remember at all buying packs of cards in '86 and I had so few that year, but I must have bought some because I've known about that Bo Diaz card for 35 years.   I've known about it for so long that it seemed a given for the upcoming Greatest 100 Cards of the '80s countdown. A tag at the plate was relatively rare on cards in the '80s and to get the entire scene in the frame, and also knowing who is being tagged out , was an achievement. It is an achievement. (Also, they're somehow playing while it's snowing). But after reviewing eligible candidates for the countdown, I began to have my doubts. Oh, that's not taking anything away from the Diaz card. It's still great. But have you noticed how terrific the catcher cards are in 1986 Topps? We'll start from the beginning. At card No. 88 is Tom Niet...

The first time I ever saw a blank-backed card -- that is, one that wasn't supposed to have a blank back -- was in 1987. I was buying rack packs of '87 Topps here and there, usually after classes, driving off campus and on my way to my grandmother's. It was then that I pulled a blank-backed card of Tom Nieto. Instead of saying "who the hell is this?", because after all it was Tom Nieto, I said " what the hell is?" because the back was blank. I didn't like it. I was deprived of the stats and factoids that make a card complete. It was especially important because I had no idea who Tom Nieto was and I wanted to learn. I had half a card here! I was promised a FULL card! Later -- and I can't remember if it was in the same rack pack or in a different one -- I pulled another blank back. It was another Montreal Expo named Tom.   Tom Foley was half a card. I was flustered. For years, I wanted to pull another '87 Tom Nieto and...