1980 Charlotte O's Police Blue and Orange Border Near-Complete Set Pair (46/53) Including Cal Ripken Jr. Minor-League Rookie

Sold For:

$1,020

Year:

1980

Auction:

2022 Spring

Lot #:

1815

Category:

Postwar Baseball - 1970s to Present Cards

Addendum: The original count for this lot in the catalog is incorrect. The lot consists of 46 different cards plus seven duplicates for a total of 53 cards.Presented are two near-complete 1980 Charlotte O's minor-league team sets, one of which is highlighted by future Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. on his first professional trading card, which precedes his Topps rookie card by two years. The 1980 Charlotte Orioles were featured on two promotional card sets that year, both of which are similar in design but remarkably different in distribution and difficulty. The blue-border set, sponsored by local television station WBTV, features twenty-eight cards. Complete sets were distributed at the ballpark. The second set features twenty-five orange-bordered cards and was produced in much smaller quantities. Sponsored by the Charlotte Police Department, it was distributed on a card-by-card basis from local police officers and was not made available as a complete set. The extremely thin stock on which the cards are printed (each of the cards is translucent) also makes it difficult to keep cards in top condition. This collection consists of the following: 1) Blue Border WBTV Near-Complete Set (26/28): Vg to Vg-Ex overall with a couple Fr to Gd. Missing only Quintana and Whitfield for completion. Key: Cal Ripken Jr. (SGC VG 3). 2) Orange Border Police Near-Complete Set (20/25) Plus 7 Duplicates: Condition of the near-complete set is Ex to Ex-Mt overall with a few slightly lesser. Missing only Eaton, Pensiero, Cal Ripken Jr., Williams, and The Pepper Girls for completion. Condition of the duplicates is three Vg-Ex to Ex and four Pr-Fr (due to pinholes). These are rarely offered near-complete sets, highlighted by an SGC-graded example of one of Cal Ripken Jr.'s minor-league rookie cards. Total: 53 cards. Reserve $300.