1983 Dimanche-Derniere Heure

Card Review: N/A  This is another Dimanche-Derniere Newspaper insert.  This one is from 1983.  For a more detailed explanation as to what these inserts were, follow this link to the first one I posted about.  Prior to acquiring these, I thought this was the only one there was.  I didn't realize they put a new out presumably every year from 1972-83.  This one must be the most common, because it's the one I've seen on ebay with some regularity.  One particular seller has had a copy up for over a year, with a $29.99 starting price and a $16 shipping fee.  These things are sort of cool, but you'd have to be out of your mind to pay that price.  If your player collector looking to pick one up, the $5 range seems fair to me after viewing one in hand.  Perhaps a little more due to their scarcity and the fact some one took the trouble to preserve it for 30+ years.  Then again, I can't imagine demand for these things being very high.

Google translates the text as follows:

Tim Wallach (29) 3rd base
Born in Huntington Park, California, September 14, 1958...Age: 24 years....3rd base...Height: 6'3''...Weight: 205 lbs...Throws and bats right...Lives: Tustin, California...Acquired: Expos 1st pick in the June 1979 amateur draft, promoted to the Majors September 1, 1980...Stay in the Majors: 2 years, 31 days; under contract for one year...Tim married his wife Lori Bickford October 10, 1980...His favorite hobbies are racquet ball and golf...He batted .268 (31 doubles, 28 HR, 97 RBI) in 1982.

Back of insert

1983 O-Pee-Chee Stickers #257

Card Review: 7.5  There are more variations than normal between the OPC and Topps versions of the '83 sticker.  Chiefly, the color on the back.  OPC went with red ink and the Topps used blue.  I prefer the red.

Number of this card in my collection: 2
2014 update: 4

1983 All-Star Game Program Insert

Card Review: 3.3 From what I understand this card was cut out of an insert in the Program at the 1983 All-Star game.  It's stock is slightly thicker than that of a magazine cover, but much thinner than a baseball card.  Any information on how it came in the program would be greatly appreciated.  They re-used the same photo for a similar insert in 1984 and 1985.  It's not a bad card, just very small.

Number of this card in my collection: 5

1983 O-Pee-Chee #229

Card Review: 9.8  I like this O-Pee-Chee variation every bit as much as it's Topps counterpart.  I think I may actually prefer the back of the OPC.  However the front logo just looks odd, it's too thin.  For pure aesthetics, that's the only area this card falls short.  My biggest complaint can't be seen on these scans.  It's the card stock.  It's some of the flimsiest I've ever handled.  I'm not sure what was going on over at the OPC Plant in 1983, but this set is printed on an inferior paper stock.

Number of this card in my collection: 5
2012 Update: 6
2013 update: 8
2014 update: 32
2015 update: 34
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 39
2019 update: 41

2020 update: 43

2021 update: 44

2022 update: 45

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: n/a

2025 update: 58

1983 Stuart #12

Card Review: 9.4  This is a very strong effort for a promotional give-away set from Stuart (whatever they are, processed foods?).  I'm not sure how they got the go ahead to use team logo's and player's names, other than the obvious answer, they paid to.  This was another set that I didn't even know existed until twenty plus years after it's release.  This may be the best shot of Wallach wearing stirups to appear on any of his cards.  I've never fully understood why the Expos used a different shade of blue for their stirups and undershirts than they did for the hat.

Number of this card in my collection: 3
2012 update: 5
2013 update: 6
2014 update: 8
2015 update: n/a
2016 update: n/a
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 9

2019 update: n/a

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: n/a

2023 update: 10

2024 update: n/a

2025 update; n/a

2026 update: 17

1983 Topps Stickers #257

Card Review:  7.1  I'm not really sure if these stickers should count as "cards."  They're about half the size of a regular card and paper thin.  But everyone else is doing it, and I don't feel strongly enough about it to argue.  It's a great photo for a card.  I've always liked cards with photos taken in and around the batting cage.  Topps used to do that with a lot more regularity in the 70's.  If this were cropped differently, it would have made for a great photo on Wallach's 1983 Topps base card.  As it is, it's a little too much of a close up given the way Topps included the portrait on the front of the '83 card.

Number of this "card" in my collection: 2
2011 update: 3
2012 update: 10
2013 update: 12
2014 update: 29
2015 update: 32 
2016 update: 33
2017 update: 35
2018 update: 37
2019 update: 42

2020 update: 43

2021 update: 44

1983 Donruss #392

Card Review: 9.4  The '83 Donruss set is nearly identical (but I believe superior) in every aspect to the 1982 Donruss design.  The knob of the bat is on the right instead of the left, and a glove replaces a ball with the team name.  The color contrast just works better for me with the brown glove versus the white ball.  The Donruss logo and year are horizontal on the left, instead of vertical on the right, and the yellow backs are better than the blue.

Fun Facts: *This was the first card to feature Tim Wallach in the field.
*This photo was taken at Wrigley Field

Number of this card in my collection: 10
2012 update: 39
2013 update: 59
2014 update: 68
2015 update: 89
2016 update: 92
2017 update: 103
2018 update: 132
2019 update: 147

2020 update: 159

2021 update: 187

2022 update: 188

2023 update: 191

2024 update: 224

2025 update: 225

2026 update: 236

1983 Fleer #299

Card Review: 9.6 This set, and in particular this card, has really grown on me over the years.  For a long time I dismissed '83 Fleer as a bland and boring set.  But in reality it's actually a very well designed set.  The colors look great in contrast to the brown, regardless of team.  This is one of only two cards I've seen to show Tim using a black bat and black batting gloves, the other is his 1983 Topps.

I like the back of this card even better than the front.  Fleer did numbering by team, and then alphabetically, so it's random that Wallach was given card number "299" which sort of looks like "29." The write up and stats combine to make for a pretty impressive card.

Fun Facts: *Wallach led NL third baseman with 151 putouts in '83
*Wallach was 4th in the NL in hit-by-pitch with 6
*There are no palm trees in Montreal, but there is one on this card

Number of this card in my collection: 8
2012 update: 48
2013 update: 69
2014 update: 79
2015 update: 100
2016 update: 106
2017 update: 108
2018 update: 123
2019 update: 169
2020 update: 206

2021 update: 224

2022 update: 1,056

2023 update: 1,063

2024 update: 1,073

2025 update: n/a

2026 update: 1,074

1983 Topps #552

Card Review: 10.0   1983 Topps boasts a great design, great photo selection, and is one of my favorite sets ever.  It should be no surprise to hear then, that this card is on the short list for my favorite Wallach of all time.  The '83 Topps set has always been one of my favorites,  since the first time I saw it, and for my money the backs are the best designed Topps backs of the decade.  The purple/orange front color combination just seems to work very well with the Expos colors.

Fun Facts: * '83 Topps was the 1st Wallach I ever owned.
* this is the only Wallach card ever to depict him with solid black bat
*Wallach was snubbed from the '82 All-Star game played in Montreal.  For some inexplicable reason only 3 reserves were selected for 3B/SS/2B while an additional 3 for 1B alone were selected (Ray Knight .294/6 HR/70 RBI being the most egregious).

Number of this card in my collection: 65
2012 update: 119
2013 update: 159
2014 update: 166
2015 update: 222 
2016 update: 241
2017 update: 250
2018 update: 256
2019 update: 361
2020 update: 388

2021 update: 404

2022 update: 411

2023 update: 435

2024 update: 451

2025 update: 452

2026 update: 460