Enough Already! 1981 Fleer

Ok, I was saving this pack, but good Lord people, even I hate Heritage now. Here's a pack of the late, great Frank H. Fleer Co.'s 1981 "let's stick it to Topps" Premier Edition Base Ball trading cards. With bubble gum! I don't know if this is an error pack or a non-error pack or even if there is such a thing as a 1981 Fleer pack without errors. Let's open this sucker though.

Well, here's some very rare Non-Topps Baseball card bubble gum. Sadly it didn't survive the years in one piece, but it looks a hell of a lot fresher than any vintage Topps gum I've pulled out of a pack lately. It's also absolutely covered in bubble gum dust. Fleer was a little sloppier when cutting their little strips of gum, so it has more of a punk, DIY feel to it. Anti-establishment bubble gum, right on!


Here's the wrapper advertisement, damn I want a Giant 3" Reggie photo button. Aw hell, there's a Bob Horner pin too. Crap, I want half of those pins! Billy, Yaz, Schmidt, Carew, Pops, Winfield... dang. That's a helluva checklist.

Here's the key to the whole thing: OFFICIAL LICENSEE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. Fleer finally getting one of these was either the beginning or the end of trading cards, depending who you ask.

Ok, now to the cards:

66 Denny Walling: complete with rainbow pullover and copious amounts of bubble gum dust.

299 Dick Tidrow: I tried to grow a 'stache like that but my wife started looking up divorce lawyers in the yellow pages, so I shaved. Quickly. And why's Dick in the same dugout as a dude with a Reds cap?

363 Willie Stargell: POPS! I love me some pops. This pack is a success no matter what now.

386 John Milner: Another Pirate, John strikes a pose in front of the lineup card.

53 Vern Ruhle: Gotta love the 95-5 centering, not to mention the crease in the top left corner.

303 Cliff Johnson: Blech, another Cub. Cliff has shadow people staring out at him from the crowd on either side of him. it's creeping me out.

367 Chuck Tanner: I apparently ripped the Pirate pack. Arrrrrr. Chuck was supposed to be the guy to lead the World Series parade down Peachtree. Not quite.

486 Gene Richards: Fro+Mutton Chops+Face in Shadows+Oppressive Yellow and Brown=Stuff of Nightmares.

393 Jack Brohamer: BaseballLibrary.com starts out his bio with "Small, gutsy and bowlegged". That's just not right. C'mon, the man was a Topps All-Star rookie, give him some respect.

170 Steve Stone: This has the "Pitcher of the Year" line on it, I'm not sure if that's a variation or not. I'm going to hit the SCD after I've scanned all the cards and check for errors.

458 Joe Strain: You have to strain to see the dude's face in all that shadow. His nose glows brightly, like he's about to lead Santa's sleigh.

44 Frank White: I remember Frank White being a lot better player than his stats on the back make him out to be. I might be crazy though.

397 JOE CHARBONEAU FREAKIN ROOKIE CARD HOLY CRAP: This pack just went from "good" to EPIC.

174 Scott McGregor: Scott looks really angry for someone fresh off a 20 win season.

339 Ed Farmer: A White Sox for a game of Sox or no Sox. About time after two Cubs... Believe it or not, the back is as blurry as the front.

452 Rich Murray: I saw "Murray", immediately thought "EDDIE!" and was quickly deflated.

402 Gary Gray: Indians come out of nowhere to tie the Pirates for most cards in the pack at three each. The back of Gary's card is lovingly slathered with wax.

Ok, time to see if any of these suckers are errors...... Nope, not a single one even has a variation. Oh well. I'm stoked I pulled the Joe C rook. I know it's worth about a quarter but tell that to the old-timers who insist this is a five dollar card. Nice rip. I need to find an '82 Fleer Pack now.