Vintage Baseball Cards: 1979 Topps

In celebration of the 65th anniversary of Topps baseball cards, my collection is going to be the subject of this year-long series.

Shortly after starting my obsession in 1971, the goal was to have at least one Topps card from every year.

Although the 1952 set is considered to be the first released by Topps, the company issued two series that was a part of the game a year earlier.

One sentence. That was all Ozzie Smith had in the review of the San Diego Padres 1979 season in the following year’s Sporting News Baseball Guide.

The runner-up to Atlanta’s Bob Horner in the 1978 National League Rookie of the Year voting, Smith pretty much fell off my radar as it was time to put the important cards in storage in 1979.

A defensive wizard, Smith didn’t get a hit in his first 32 at bats of 1979 and finished the year at .211 without a homer and 28 RBI. He did have 28 stolen bases. Hardly numbers that would make one think this guy was headed to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1980, Smith won his first 13 straight Gold Gloves. He made his first of 15 all-star appearances a year later and it was time to find a card protector for his first card.

The Trade

After the 1981 season, Smith was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals in a six-player swap that included Garry Templeton. At the time of the trade, Smith was in contract talks with the Padres and Templeton, also an all-star player, had issues with the Cardinals as well.

The trade worked out well for both shortstops and their new teams.

Smith would become “The Wizard” and be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002.

Hitting just 28 homers in his career, Smith added one more in the 1985 NL Championship Series with the walk-off blast in the finale to send the Cardinals to the World Series.

Two years later, the Cardinals returned to the Fall Classic as Smith had his best offensive season with a .303 batting average as he drove in 75 runs.

Smith also swiped 43 bases, which was his best since his days with the Padres. He finished with 580 in his 19-year career.

Despite not hitting a home run during the season, Smith received the Silver Slugger Award.

Templeton, who is a member of the Padres Hall of Fame, helped the team reach its first World Series in 1984.

In 1979 with the Cardinals, he became the first player in the majors to have at least 100 hits from both sides of the plate as he collected a league best 211.

A two-time Silver Slugger, he retired in 1991 when he finished his 16-year career with the New York Mets.