1980 Denver Bears Media Guide

               

If there's an area of my Wallach collection that's a bit sparse, it's materials from Wallach's time at Cal- St. Fullerton and in the minors.  While this 1980 Denver Bears media guide may not be the shiniest item I've picked up, it's a welcomed addition none the less.  Beyond a brief write-up in the player bio's section inside, there really isn't much Wallach specific content.  I think that's probably Wallach's likeness on the cover, but that's not confirmed inside.  It would make sense given he had been the previous year's 1st round draft pick after winning the Golden Spike award while leading CSF to the College World Series title in Omaha, and knocked the cover off the ball in his limited time at double-A Memphis, so Wallach likely had a pretty big buzz about him coming into the season.  Here's a photo, what do you think?

Whether it's Wallach or not doesn't really matter to me in the end.  It's a nice peice of history, as not only is it Wallach related, the 1980 Denver Bears ended up being one of the greatest minor league teams in baseball history.  That's not hyperbole either, here's a link to a write up on the team's greatness from MiLB.com.  If you're interested, here's a look at some of the contents inside (and I promise, there will cards in 2018 at some point as well):

1992 Denver All-Time Records #18

Card Review: 9.9  This is near the top of my list for all-time favorite Wallach card.  According to the online databases, this card doesn't exists.  I didn't know it existed until recently, but here is, in all it's minor league glory.  I'm not sure if it's omission is due to the manufacturer or how it was distributed, or if it's just so obscure to be off their radar, but it's not listed.  For the most part, all those online list copy from each other, so if whoever actually does the cataloging misses a set, they're all going to miss it.

This set was issued at the last ever home game for the Denver Zephyrs in 1992.  The set featured players who held all-time records for the Denver Zephyrs/Bears.  The Zephyrs moved to New Orleans the following season (where they still remain today) as MLB added the expansion Colorado Rockies in Denver.

While this isn't a true minor league card as it was issued 12 years after Wallach made his MLB debut, it's as close as it gets.  It's a great action shot, probably the best fielding shot of Wallach ever captured on cardboard, has very little gloss on the front (none on the back), and what I find to be a very kitsch Remax sponsor logo all over it.  Everything about this card works for me.

Fun Facts:
*The stat on the back that Wallach was Denver's all-time record holder for was 16 game-winning RBI in a season.  In 1987 Wallach led the National League in the now defunct stat, also with 16
*in 1980 the Denver Bears were the AAA affliate of the Montreal Expos.
*Wallach led the 1980 American Association in Total Bases and was 2nd to teammate Randy Bass in Home Runs (37)
*in 134 games with Denver in 1980, Wallach batted .281 with 36 home runs, and 124 RBI
*The 1980 Denver Bears saw 24 future Major Leaguers play for them in 1980, including Tim Raines, Charlie Lea, and Bill Gullickson
*Managed by Bill Gardner, the Bears put together a record of 92-44.
*MiLB ranks the 1980 Denver Bears as the 34th best minor league team of all time, and likely would have ranked higher had they not been upset in the playoffs

Number of this card in my collection: 10