1990 Topps TV Bernie Williams Fit the Time
Pre-namesake stranded by Say Hey
1990 Topps TV Bernie Williams (#66) - Card of the Day
You remember 1990, right? When the Cincinnati Reds were running wire-to-wire toward a World Series championship, and when Yankees now-legend Bernie Williams was a rookie?
Oh, right … Williams wasn’t actually a rookie — didn’t even make his Major League debut until 1991.
But he was right there in our baseball card packs all summer long even though he would spend the entire season with the Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees. This was the age of the rookie card boom, after all, and every player was a prospect worthy of pre-rookie cards.
And so we got 1990 Topps, Donruss, Score, and Bowman cards of Bernie Williams. Classic and O-Pee-Chee and Star Company, too.
All before he ever set foot in Yankee Stadium (well, in an I’m-in-the-lineup sort of way, anyway).
But maybe the most “1990” of all 1990 Bernie Williams baseball cards was his Topps TV issue.
Say you’ve never heard of Topps TV?
Me either, before now, but it turns out the cardboard behemoth issued six “TV” sets that year — one each for the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, Cubs, and Mets, plus an All-Star set.
Each of the six sets had 66 cards (read into the 6×66 thing what you will), which means there were a total of 396 Topps TV cards available — and they were different from the 1990 base set, too!
Even the design was different, with white card stock, the team name in block letters down the left-hand side, and a watermark-y sort of player photo on card backs. It was kind of a precursor to the more premium cards that would flood the market over the next few years.
But the thing that made the 1990 Topps TV cards so “1990” was this …
You had to order them on TV.
I mean, this was the era of the Home Shopping Network and mega infomercials, so it makes perfect sense that Topps would tap into that market, too, and in the biggest markets there were — New York, Chicago, Boston … uh … St. Louis.
Well, it’s a darn good baseball town … darn it! And L.A. folks can just order the
All-Star set — so there.
Unlike most 1990 cards, there don’t seem to be a ton of these Topps TV things out on the market, though you can find them if you’re looking.
And, if you’re a fan of 1990 or the Yankees or Bernie Williams, maybe you should be looking.
Because what’s more “1990” from a hobby perspective than a premium-ish rookie card of a non-rookie that you could only get by dialing this special phone number right now before it vanishes forever because supplies are limited?
Yeah, right. Not much.
If you’re wondering what all this has to do with today, October 8, well…
Bernie Williams wasn’t the first Bernie Williams in baseball. Nosiree, Bob (or Bernie)!
The first Bernie Williams was a left fielder and pinch hitter for the Giants from 1970 through 1972, and for the Padres in 1974.
And that Bernie Williams was born 76 years ago today.
So, you know — Happy Birthday, Bernie Williams!
Mays Erases Bernie
That first Bernie Williams singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning of the Giants’ eventual 4-3 victory over the Reds on September 7, 1970.
It was his first big-league hit.
The next batter, Dick Dietz, struck out against Tony Cloninger.
That brought up legend Willie Mays, with a chance to move the rookie along and help the Giants in their quest to erase a 3-1 deficit. Instead, Mays hit into a fielder’s choice, and Williams’ first stay on the basepaths was over.
Mays was safe at first, though, and he would score later in the inning on a Tito Fuentes single that also brought in Ron Hunt and Bobby Bonds.
Three years later, Mays was playing out the string for the Mets, but he was also getting ready for his last dose of October baseball. The thrills were few and far between for the Say Hey Kid, but he delivered one final big performance in the 1973 World Series.
The next year, Topps issued their last Mays card. It wasn’t quite a career-capper, but it showed one of the greatest players ever in one of his very last moments on a major league diamond.
Read more about Mays’ wrap-up and that card right here.
—
I could keep this party going by pointing out that there was another Willie Mays in the majors once upon a time — Willie Mays Aikens, that is.
And from there, I’m sure we could daisy-chain to Clay Aiken and then on and on and on.
But I think I’ll leave some arrows in my quiver for another day. So, happy Tuesday, and I’ll see you on Hump Day.
Thanks for reading.
—Adam
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