1981 Dimanche-Derniere Heure

Card Review: N/A This 8.5 x 11 insert ran in the Montreal Newspaper "Dimanche-Derniere" on June 7, 1981.  The paper stock is very thin, only slightly sturdier than a standard magazine page.  These inserts ran from 1972-83.  The backs are blank.  For years I've seen the Wallach pop up in online checklist, but had never acquired one.  What I didn't realize was that there was more than one.  The checklist I've seen it appear in give the impression that there was only one.  Then a seller on ebay posted two, this one from 1981 and another from 1983 (will post on that one soon).  So I'm presuming there is at least one more out there that I need to acquire from 1982.  As it stands this is the oldest confirmed Wallach item in my collection that is a quasi-card.  I have a souvenir cup that I suspect is older, and the ticket stub from his first major league game.  But those aren't cards.  I'm not counting this as a card either, despite the fact it shows up on checklist and I'm storing it in my card album.

Below is the description of the 1972-83 Dimanceh-Derniere set that I lifted from the Beckett Website:

The blank-backed photo sheets in this multi-sport set measure approximately 8 1/2" by 11" and feature white-bordered color sports star photos from Dimanche Derniere Heure, a Montreal newspaper. The player's name, position and biographical information appear within the lower white margin. All text is in French. A white vinyl album was available for storing the photo sheets. Printed on the album's spine are the words, "Mes Vedettes du Sport" (My Stars of Sport).The photos are unnumbered and are checklisted below in alphabetical order according to sport or team as follows: Montreal Expos baseball players (1-117; National League baseball players (118-130); Montreal Canadiens hockey players (131-177); wrestlers (178-202); prize fighters (203-204); auto racing drivers (205-208); women's golf (209); Patof the circus clown (210); and CFL (211-278). 

And here is a translation (per google, and my best guesses when their translation didn't make sense) of what is written on the card.

Tim Wallach (29)  Outfielder
Age: 22, turns 23 on September 14...Born: Huntington Park, California, September 14, 1958... Lives: Tustin, California...Height: 6'3''...WeightL 220 lbs...Throws right and bats right....Acuired: Expos 1st pick in the regular draft, June 1979; signed under contract, June 20, 1979, by scout Jack Paepke; promoted to the Majors September 1, 1980...31 days major league experience...1980 Season: Could have easily won the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards of the AAA American Association, had it not been for his Denver teammates, Randy Bass and Tim Raines, who respectively won those awards, despite a .281 Avg., 36 HR's and 124 RBIs....Personal: Married Lori Bickford, October 10, 1980...Favorite hobby is racketball.

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

1982 Plastic Wendy's Cup

This cup is another random ebay find that I know nothing about.  If you have any information on it, I'd love to hear about it.

1981 Plastic Coca-Cola Cup

I don't know anything about this cup.  I just knew I had to have it when I saw it on ebay.  The writing under the Coca-Cola logo is french.  My initial guess was that these were used at the Stadium as souvenir cups.  However, I have similar plastic Wallach cup that has markings from the fast food chain Wendy's.  So perhaps this was an earlier version of the cup, or used at a different chain.  I don't know.  If anyone has any insight it would be appreciated.

1982 O-Pee-Chee #191

Card Review: 9.8  What can I say, as far as Wallach cards go, it's an iconic classic. The Canadian rookie card for the the all-time hit leader of Canada's first major league team.

I'm a huge fan of the over-sized O-Pee-Chee logo on the front of this card, and really wish OPC had used it more often.  I prefer the obvious variations from the Topps counterpart to the subtle ones.  At some point I'll get around to doing photoshop mock ups of all the Wallach OPC variants with the large logo.  In addition to liking the larger OPC logo, I feel like it gives Wallach's bat more of a 3D effect.

Fun Facts: *The fuzz on the edges of this card is not considered a flaw for grading purposes (or so I've read). The OPC presses had notoriously dull razors, which created the fuzz.  An important fact to keep in mind if your ever shelling out for a 1979-80 OPC Gretzky.

Number of this card in my collection: 11
2013 update: 12
2014 update: 18
2016 update: 21
2017 update: 22
2018 update: n/a
2019 update: 24

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: 26

2022 update: 27

1982 Fleer #210

Card Review: 9.4 I like the backs of '82 Fleer better than the fronts (which have a weird waxy feel to them).  The first one of these I got was at my local card shop "The Batter's Box" in Phoenix.  I had literally just asked the guy for it, and he got annoyed, because I was like 7 and had asked once a week for six months straight.  Then some kid came in with a couple of cards to sell so the dealer told me to get lost.  One of the cards the kid had was this one.  The dealer rudely dismissed all the kid's cards as crap but told the kid he'd take the '82 Fleer Wallach, "I'll give ya a quarter, it's not like anyone collects Wallachs."  The kid took the offer and the guy turned to me, still in earshot of the kid, and said "one dollar."  He wasn't trying to be funny.  In the history of human civilization, I'm not sure there has ever been a bigger collection of dirt bags, than 1980's baseball card shop owners.


Number of this card in my collection: 26
2012 update: 37
2013 update: 57
2014 update: 60
2015 update: 70 
2016 update: 79
2017 update: 242
2018 update: 248
2019 update: 382
2020 update: 456

2021 update: 457

2022 update: 462

2023 update: 465

2024 update: 500

2025 update: 505

2026 update: 506

1982 Topps #191

Card Review: 9.9  This is Tim Wallach's marquee rookie card. At one time this card booked at over $4.  My first trip ever to a card shop was made with the purpose of finding this card.  It was probably about 1985 or '86, and my father took me.  I had no idea there was such a thing a stores devoted entirely to baseball cards.  My father had bought cards as a kid, a good number had survived in a shoe box, but he was in no way what you would describe as a card collector.  His collection ceased in 1968, and he didn't see a card again until people started giving them to me.  He was much more inclined to throw b.p. at a field or play catch in the yard than buy cards, and by the time my brother and I were 12 or so he flat out discouraged it as kid stuff.  But somehow back before then, he got the idea in his head that I should have a Tim Wallach rookie card, and found a cardshop in the yellow pages (The Batter's Box near Thunderbird High School in Phoenix).  I remember arguing with the cardshop guy because I thought there should be a 1980 Wallach since he had stats for '80 on the back of his cards.  But the guy had a book and proved me wrong.


Fun Facts: *Topps missed out by putting Wallach on the '81 Expos Future Stars card.  Had Wallach shared a card with Raines, it really would have been one of the great cards of the 1980's.
*Wallach wore #58 and was an outfielder when he was called up in 1980 for his MLB debut.  He homered in his first official at-bat.
*The 1982 All-Star game was in Montreal.  Wallach was a huge snub, his triple crown numbers in '82 were .268, 28 HR, 97 RBI.  Ray Knight was named an All-Star at 3B instead, with numbers of .294, 6 HR, 70 RBI.

Number of this card in my collection: 160
2011 update: 163
2012 update: 318
2013 update: 379
2014 update: 426
2015 update: 833 
2016 update: 1,145
2017 update: 1,187
2018 update: 1,195
2019 update: 1,227
2020 update: 1,233

2021 update: 1,240

2022 update: 1,251

2023 update: 1,277

2024 update: 1,791

2025 update: 1,792

1982 Donruss #140

Card Review: 7.5  I always found 1982 Donruss to be a mediocre design.  Even as a kid I remember thinking the ball/bat name plate combo at the bottom was a little too juvenile.  I get it, it's a baseball card, and they use bats and balls.  Maybe it's just my bias against Donruss showing, which was/is/and will always be my least favorite of the Topps, Fleer, and Donruss trifecta that dominated the wax pack buying era of my life.  Card design aside, it's a pretty cool shot with the bleacher sin the background and I like anything with the red batting practice jersey.

Fun Facts: *Wallach homered in his first official MLB at-bat
*Wallach drew a walk in his actual first at-bat
*Wallach homered in his first professional at-bat in the minors
*This photo was taken at Wrigley Field.

Number of this card in my collection: 101
2011 update: 103
2012 update: 108
2013 update: 139
2014 update: 143
2015 update: 161 
2016 update: 169
2017 update: 173
2018 update: 206
2019 update: 224
2020 update: 236

2021 update: 242

2022 update: 250

2023 update: 254

2024 update: 263

2025 update: 265

2026 update: 266