1985 Kraft T-Shirt Offer

This was an insert inside packages of Kraft Cheese Singles in Canada.  It measures 3.5'' x 6'' and opens along the edge to measure 3.5'' x 12''.  The paper stock is extremely thin.  I'm not sure what I would compare it to, a magazine page is the closest thing I can come up with, but it's definitely a different material.  You could choose from 10 different players, and needed to send in 4 UPC's and $8, or 6 UPC's and $4.

I've never seen the actual Wallach T-shirt.  In fact the only shirt I've ever seen show up is a Steve Rogers shirt, and he's not listed as an option.  So I'm guessing this offer was an annual thing for awhile, with a rotating selection of players.  I'd be curious to see other fliers, and if the shirts changed pictures from year to year, or if it was completely different players each year.  The absence of George Bell and Andre Dawson makes me suspect they didn't use players more than once.

Below are the pictures from the ebay listing for the Steve Rogers shirt.  I can't say for certain it's one of these Kraft shirts, but it certainly appears to be.  When I put stuff on ebay, I try to use a clean, solid background for my photos, such as a piece of poster board, or clean table top.  This seller didn't go that route, and it's tacky enough that I hesitate to even post the photos.  I cropped out an absurd amount of bedspread.  If your curious, the seller wants $39.99 for the shirt.

(More) AP Wire Photos

 July 17, 1989: Expos beat the Braves 5-2.  Wallach went 1/4 with a double.

 July 26, 1989:  Phillies beat the Expos 4-3.  Wallach did his part going 3 for 4 with a home run, double, and 2 RBI's.  This was the high point in the season for the Expos.  The win stretched their lead in the NL East to 3.5 games.

 August 2, 1989: This photo is not from the date it was "wired."  The Expos played a road game on August 2, 1989 and this shows Wallach in home whites.  It seems to be for some generic article about how athletes handle stress.

 August 16, 1989:  Expos beat the Giants 4-2, Wallach scored a run.  Mark Langston threw 7 strong innings for the Expos but didn't earn a win.  The win stopped the bleeding of a dreadful 2-10 stretch that saw the Expos go from 2 games up in the NL East to 4 games behind.

 August 25, 1989:  The Expos hammered the Giants in San Francisco 12-2.  Wallach went 2 for 3 and also walked twice.  The win improved the great Dennis Martinez to 14-4 on the season.  The win followed a tough 22 inning 1-0 loss the night before, where a win would have brought them within one game in the NL East.

 September 5, 1989:  This is my favorite photo in the lot by a wide margin.  I've already had it blown up and printed (both as is and cropped).  It shows Wallach being greeted at home plate in St. Louis after hitting a grand slam by Tim Raines, Hubie Brooks, and Marquis Grissom.  Raines and Brooks are two of my all-time favorite Expos, and I always like Grissom.  It may never happen, but I'd love to get all four guys to sign this.  Montreal won the game 6-2.  Wallach also had a double while going 3 for 5 with 5 RBI's.

 September 5, 1989:  This photo was taken just moments earlier than the photo above.  All-Star Ken Hill can't be too happy giving up a 7th inning grand slam in what had been a 2-1 game.  Hill would go on to play for the Expos himself, actually leading the NL in wins with 16 as an Expo in the Bud Selig shortened 1994 season.

 September 20, 1989: Barry Bonds stealing 3rd base, not an easy task.  But that was just one of the many parts of Bonds game that made him the greatest player of all-time.  The Pirates won 9-1, their 5th straight, and 3rd straight loss for the Expos.  The wheels completely fell of the Expos bus in September, as they went 6-17 down the stretch and finished a disappointing 81-81 after leading or being in contention for the NL East most of the season.  The Pirates would win the NL East before being upset by the Braves in 7 games in the NLCS.

September 25, 1989: The date on this photo doesn't match the game.  The Expos beat the Cubs 4-3 in 10 innings on September 25 on a Jim Dwyer single, not the 26th.  Wallach went 1 for 3 and walked twice.  Jim Dwyer was playing in his 17th of eventual 18 big league seasons.  Really an incredible feat for a guy who was never an everyday starter, and never reached 300 plate appearances in a single season.

Baseball Magazine Vol 17 No 4 July 1985

This is the 2nd "Baseball Magazine" I've picked up with Wallach on the cover.  I still don't know much about it.  I'm assuming it was put out by the Expos, as everything is written twice (French/English) except the ads which are only in French,  and there is no mention of any other teams.

The article on Wallach isn't anywhere near as interesting as the one in the 1983 Baseball Magazine.  It's more or less some generic stuff on how good of a fielder he's become, and almost somewhat disparaging in it's assertion that his bat was supposed to be great (but is only pretty good).  It does lobby for him to make the All-Star team (which did), and Wallach has some interesting quotes to the effect of not expecting to win the fan vote due to playing in Montreal, but might have a chance were he a Met or a Dodger.

There were a few other interesting pieces in the magazine.  An article on Joe Hesketh, who I used to always like despite never ever actually seeing him pitch.  Joe was .500 or better as a pitcher in each of the seven seasons he pitched for the Expos, but never won more than 10 games.  This looked good on the back of a baseball card.  

There also a pull-out poster of Hubie Brooks, a article on Herb Washington, and a somewhat strange family photo collage of Vance Law.  

Also included was a score card, which leads me to believe these were sold at Olympic Stadium.  

Some the ads are sort of neat too.  Including a couple for Hygrade Meat, which do shed some light on the '82 Hygrade Meat Expos cards.

1988 Leaf #255 "Canadian Greats"

Card Review: 9.4  Every year growing up as a kid, I would eagerly tear into new packs of Donruss hoping to find that Tim Wallach had been chosen as Montreal's "Diamond King."  Wallach was never selected, and there were some very questionable selections on the part of Donruss over the years (Bryn Smith!?!).  Years later thanks to ebay and the internet, I discovered this card had been put out by Leaf.  It felt like a bit of a victory.

Fun Facts: *The following is list of Montreal's Diamond Kings chosen instead of Wallach
1982: Gary Carter
1983: Steve Rogers
1984: Al Oliver
1985: Charlie Lea
1986: Andre Dawson
1987: Hubie Brooks
1988: Tim Raines
1989: Andres Galarraga
1990: Bryn Smith
1991: Delino DeSheilds
*1983, 1988, and 1990 were particularly disappointing selections

Number of this card in my collection: 2
2013 update: 22
2015 update: 26 
2016 update: 27
2017 update: 28
2018 update: 31
2019 update: 35

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: n/a

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: 37

2025 update: 46 

2026 update: 47

2005 Topps Rookie Cup #45

Card Review: 8.8 nice unexpected surprise when Topps produced this set in '05.  At this point in time, any new Wallach is a welcomed event.
Fun Facts: *1982 Topps did not include the "Rookie Cup" trophy on the front of the card. Subsequently, none of my friends believed me that Wallach won one.
*Wallach was actually the Topps Rookie Cup winner for 1st base, though this card only list him as 3rd base
*Hubie Brooks was the 1981 Topps Rookie Cup 3rd baseman
* This picture appears to be from '82, not Wallach's '81 Rookie Cup season
Number of this card in my collection: 28

2011 update: 30
2012 update: 31
2013 update: 32
2014 update: 33 
2015 update: 34 
2016 update: 36

2017 update: n/a

2018 update: n/a

2019 update: n/a

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: 38

2022 update: n/a

2023 update: n/a

2024 update: 40