1987 Topps, Shawon Dunston

Card No. 346

A fan favorite in whichever city he played, Shawon Dunston spent a dozen of his 18 big league seasons as a Chicago Cub....Was first overall pick of the 1982 MLB draft....This is Shawon's third Topps card, as he appeared in each of the two prior years' 792-card checklists....Fashioned a pair of 4-hit games for the Cubs in 1987, propelling the club to victory on each occasion. 

*MK*

1978 Topps, Rick Monday

Card No. 145

If you're a good ballplayer, an American hero and you're wearing a spiffy dugout jacket, chances are you'll be featured here on the Topps Jukebox eventually....Naturally, Rick Monday checks off all those boxes....This is Monday's first Topps card as a member of the Dodgers....You'll find Rick's rookie card in 1967 Topps, where he and fellow-Athletic Tony Pierce adorn a "1967 Rookie Stars" card....Contributed 19 homers and 57 ribbies to the pennant-winning Dodgers in 1978.

*MK*

2018 Topps, Justin Verlander

Card No. 650

This card marks the first time Justin Verlander appeared in the flagship Topps set as a member of the Astros....Not sure I'll ever be a fan of an orange baseball top....Verlander owns the distinction of having a 'First Year' card and a 'Rookie' card in a regular Topps set....Appeared in the 2005 set as a Draft Pick while his technical rookie card can be found in 2006 Topps....No A.L. pitcher started more games (34) or struck out more batters (290) than Justin did for the Astros in 2018.

*MK*

1985 Topps, Reggie Jackson

Card No. 200

Perhaps my favorite Reggie Jackson card of all-time....When I was a kid I desperately wanted this card because it was chosen as the sample card for 1985 Topps in the price guide I owned....Jackson's rookie card can be found in the 1969 Topps set....Mr. October's final appearance in the main Topps set was 1987....Reggie cranked two home runs in a game three times during the '85 season.

*MK*

2001 Topps, Chad Curtis

Card No. 540

If you ever witnessed a game featuring Chad Curtis in center field, chances are you saw him literally flip heels over head on a throw to the plate....2001 marked the eighth-straight year Curtis was featured in the Topps flagship set....It's also his next-to-last Topps card....Chad's rookie can be found in the 1992 Topps Traded set....Logged just 115 at-bats over 38 games for Texas in '01--his final year in the Majors. 

*MK*

1979 Topps, Frank Tanana

Card No. 530

Nobody--and I mean nobody--prior to or since the photo for this card was snapped has ever had as much fun at a baseball park than Frank Tanana is having here....I've always been partial to Frank since he and I are both July 3rd babies....1979 marked the sixth year Tanana appeared in the Topps checklist....His first appearance in a Topps set was 1974, where he shared a "1974 Rookie Pitchers" card with fellow neophytes Vic Albury, Ken Frailing and Kevin Kobel....Following three-straight All-Star campaigns, Tanana managed just 7 wins in 18 games (17 starts) for the '79 Angels.

*MK*

1989 Topps, Will Clark

 Card No. 660

It wouldn't be right if this card wasn't my first entry into this blog's database. Not only is '89 Topps my favorite baseball card set of all-time, but Will Clark was my favorite ballplayer as a kid....1989 was Clark's third year of being included in the 792-card Topps set....Overall, this is Will's fourth Topps card, as his 'true' rookie was included in the 1986 Topps Traded release....Runner-up to teammate Kevin Mitchell in '89 N.L. MVP voting after posting career highs in hits (196), runs scored (104), RBIs (111) and batting average (.333) for San Francisco.

*MK*