Tigers Gallery Checklist: All Star Program Inserts 1981-1985

Credit to Don, who hit it right on the head. That teeny tiny Trammell was the product of one of those early 80's All-Star programs indeed. This Trammell was of the 1981 variety.

Now, I didn't really know anything about these until I saw them in an ebay store that I was perusing to combine shipping for my Porcello Mini. I didn't quite know what to think of them, but oddball cards being fun and all, decided to add them to the order. When they came I was blown away. I had no idea they were so small! For the record, they're also really, really thin, much more like poster stock than card stock.

But that makes sense, based on what I was able to piece together from the internet. These "cards" were part of a fold-out insert put into All Star Programs from 1981-1985 that featured all of the All Star nominees for that year. Some entrepreneurial types took those inserts and carefully cut out the teeny cards within. They really are like cards though, complete with a little player profile on the back.

Like I said, this was what I was able to piece together, so there might be some more detail about these that I'm missing, but I think that's the gist. In my order, I ended up getting the Tigers sets for 1981, 1982 and 1985, all of which I'll showcase here. As for 1983 and 1984, I'll leave space on this page for if and when those little guys make their way to me.

1981 All Star Program Inserts (Cleveland) I'm not going to get into too much description on any of these, but the Tigers had a respectable, albeit small, group of nominees, highlighted by the ubiquitous 80's Trammell, Whitaker, Parrish Triumvirate. I'll start things off with the very neat back of the cards, which differ from year to year much more so than the fronts.

1981 ASG Program Insert (Back)	Alan Trammell	Lou Whitaker	Lance Parrish
Steve Kemp	Milt Wilcox

1982 All Star Program Inserts (Montreal) Now these are just plain cool. Same concept as the '81 versions but because the game was in Montreal, everything dual-written in English and French--even the positions. We also get the first, rather unbelievable error of the set, a card claiming to be Starting "LANC" Jack Morris, with a picture of someone else. I don't have time to dig through my 80s Tigers to find out who exactly, but Jack Morris it is not. I say that the error is somewhat unbelievable too because come one, these are All Star nominees, not the scrubs. Weak. Anyway, these '82s are my favorites of the ones that came in.

1982 ASG Program Insert (Back)	Kirk Gibson	Lance Parrish	Lou Whitaker
Chet Lemon	Alan Trammell	Jack Morris (Err.)

1983 All Star Program Inserts All in good time, my friends.

1984 All Star Program Inserts I don't have these either, although I'm excited to see the Tiger representation after their 35-5 start to that World Championship season.

1985 All Star Program Inserts (Minnesota) To the victors go the spoils. Of this I mean that with the Tigers' World Series win in '84 they were very well represented in the '85 All Star Game. We still get the same standbys as we had in the earlier sets, but with all sorts of new blood from that '84 team. One downer: no player profile on the backs. Just a name, team and ASG logo.

1985 ASG Program Insert (Back)	Jack Morris	Willie Hernandez	Kirk Gibson
Lou Whitaker	Alan Trammell	Chet Lemon	Dan Petry
Darrell Evans	Lance Parrish

A Champion's Stache: #1 Tom Brookens

And so, we have reached the end of our journey. In just a few moments, I will wipe away three weeks of hard work as I attempt to make myself look something like our #1 Tiger Mustache:

1984 Topps #14 Tom Brookens

I will say, this choice was shrouded in controversy when I made it, but I am happy with the selection. Tom Brookens has the classic 80's mustache--full and strong, while showing off his wild side. I think both the action shot and the posed picture inset wonderfully showcased his selleck-esque choice.



Am I right? Ooh, Tom Selleck is nothing if not manly! (That is actually true. It was the 80's though, so grains of salt, please)

Of course '84 began the low decline of Brookens, as he was platooned with a mustached-great-to-be, a young Howard Johnson, who certainly knew his way around some facial hair as well.


In just a few years, Brookens would still have his stache, but would look decidedly uncool. Later, he would unceremoniously be listed among the 40 Most Undeserving Starting Lineup Figures of All Time (H/T to Rob Neyer's Blog). That sounds about right, actually, considering that as I kid I LOVED Starting Lineup Figures, and not only didn't I not even think about picking up a Tom Brookens, but I didn't even know that his figure existed. I do love how the description of him in the starting lineup post even mentions his killer stache. What can I say, it was his trademark of on team, like Johnny Grubb's enormous glasses, or Chris Sabo's Rec Specs.

With all that, we are left with but one thought. We'll always have 1984. At the pinnacle of mid-80's coolness, Tom Brookens stands alone on the team, as a man among mustaches. And that, is why is is number one on our list.

A Champion's Stache: #2 Willie Hernandez

What more can be said about this guy than this: 1984 Cy Young, 1984 MVP.

1984 Topps Traded #51T Willie Hernandez

Oh, Guillermo. You turned out to be so much more than what we expected when the Tigers got you in a trade that brought in another follicularly endowed teammate in exchange for a great stache and another ok specimen.

If mustaches are power, you are He-Man (or for those who identify better with villainy, Hordak, at least). A great mustache fittingly fits the face of this hero of the Tigers' last World Series Championship. Pure domination. 1.92 ERA, 32 Saves, 112 Strikeouts and only 36 walks. Those were all good enough for me to give Lynn Jones the boot down from the 2 spot. I think I'm justified in that. Lynn Jones has a great stache, but he was no Willie Hernandez. He wasn't even close.

Unfortunately, despite his 1984 greatness, there was one postseason accolade that he just couldn't claim. Best mustache on the 1984 Detroit Tigers. The team that defined greatness, going 35-5 to start the season. Wire to wire champions. None of it could have happened without Willie, but our Mustache #1 takes the cake.

And that, my friends, will be revealed tomorrow.

A Champion's Stache: #3 Lynn Jones

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

1984 Topps #731 Lynn Jones

Lynn Jones is #1. Looking through my cards from ’84, Lynn Jones was the one that stuck out in my mind. He is the reason I decided to go forward with this list—so that people could see how awesome Lynn Jones’ mustache was, and to convince myself that maybe, with some good luck and dimoxonil that I too could end up looking as great as Lynn Jones did in 1984.

But I caved to the pressure. The more I thought about the list, the more hesitant I was to place Jones at the top. I bumped him down a spot, to a respectable number 2. Then, this morning, as I thought about writing the post for my previous number 3, I realized that I just couldn’t do it. Lynn Jones was getting bumped again.

This is all not to say that a number 3 spot is something to be ashamed of. If this we’re a batting order, he’d be the most feared hitter. If it were the Olympics, he’d be on the Podium. In fact, Lynn Jones should be thanking me, as I’m sure that this is his first inclusion on any Tigers related Top-10 list, except for possibly the Top 10 Tiger Players that you don’t remember from the early 80’s. In his 8 year career, the first five of which were in Detroit, the OF fill-in DH (!) hit .252 with 7 home runs and 91 RBIs. That’s his career, people. Baseball Reference compared him to legends like Wilbur Howard, Johnny Welaj and Boots Day—who, if you remember him at all, it was not because of his batting stats.

So really, I hereby honor Lynn Jones with the #3 spot on our list. He could have been #1 (after all, he did hit .292 as a rookie, his career high), but things just didn’t work out. It turns out, all other things being equal, that baseball is about more than just the mustache. You definitely need a mustache, but even one as great as Lynn Jones’ won’t take you the distance.
Stay tuned later today and tomorrow to see why Lynn Jones may be number 1 in our hearts, but not on this list.

Addendum: As I look at this card again, I continue to question myself. That picture of Jones taking batting practice is unbelievably awesome. Should he have been number 1? Let me know your thoughts--my ability to be objective has clearly been compromised.

A Champion's Stache: #4 Dan Petry

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

Number 4 on the list. The countdown heads into high gear.

1984 Topps #147 Dan Petry

There is a reasonably good chance that I end up looking like Dan Petry on Saturday around game time. There are worse things, I suppose. Dan Petry was ahead of his time. He is sporting an excellent mustache, but one that it better suited to, say 1987 or so, than 1984--at least based on the facial hair choices of the rest of the team. Still, Dan Petry carried that mustache with him for years to come, and looked very much like a family friend of ours also named Dan--raising some suspicion on my end. Turns out he was a scientist.

Petry was the last of our 1984 Starters, all of whom have been represented in this countdown. Tell me again the mustache makes no difference. That mustache makes him look like a Man. An accomplished man which, of course, he was. Dan Petry. With a mustache like that, how could he only be #4?

You'll just have to wait and see. #3 is coming early tomorrow morning, with #2 in the evening. #1 will be saturday morning, once I've shaved and know who's Champion Stache I've channeled for myself.

A Champion's Stache: #5 Kirk Gibson

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

I hear you. We should have ended this countdown with Chet Lemon because he was the man. Don't think that I didn't consider it. The thing is, there were still better mustaches on the team in '84. Hard to believe, I know.

Well, believe it.


Was Gibby perhaps the most beloved man in Detroit in the fall of '84? I think so. I've come to understand that Gibson participated in the 1988 playoffs as well--I think he hit a home run--but this is the essence of Kirk Gibson for me. Mind you, in that 1984 World Series, he hit .333 with 2 Home Runs, 7 RBI and 3 SB, following up his ALCS in which he batted .417 and won the ALCS MVP. I shouldn't even have to mention that both of those World Series home runs came in the deciding Game 5, including a three won shot off of none other than Goose Gossage to put the final nail in the coffin.

Of course, the famous story (from Baseball Reference): During his pivotal at-bat against Goose Gossage in Game 5, Kirk Gibson made a $10 bet (flashing ten fingers) with his manager Sparky Anderson that Gossage would pitch to him. Padres manager Dick Williams initially wanted Gossage, who had dominated Gibson in the past, to intentially walk Gibson. Gibson and Anderson successfully called the Padres' bluff as Gibson hit a game winning three run home run in what turned out to be the clincher.

That picture above doesn't do it for you? Here's his '84 Topps Card showing you that he and his mustache meant business.

1984 Topps #65 Kirk Gibson

Fortuitously, Thorzul just received a more Iconic Gibson card today (his most iconic, asks Thorzul)? I'll let you decide.


We are left with one bit of...unpleasantness to discuss. Kirk Gibson, in a former life, did a little bit of this and that. I have hoped to reduce the karmic implications of including him so high on this list by giving him mental demerits while I compiled the rankings. After all, this is a tribute to the fact that I and so many others are all growing mustaches to show our unity and support for the Michigan football team and to will them to victory this Saturday. As for Gibby, he will always be a Tiger to me.

A Champion's Stache: #6 Chet Lemon

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

What age were you when Chet Lemon was still playing?

1984 Topps #611 Chet Lemon

Oh boy did we all love Chet Lemon when we first started collecting. By that time, he was the long established centerfielder for our beloved Tigers, and he was the man. His name was Chet freakin' Lemon, oh and let's not pretend that his awesome mustache didn't add to his appeal. It was all part of the full package, man--like Dmitri Young's Fro, or Nook Logan's hilariously awesome nickname that hides his hilariously awesome real name (Exavier), or anything that had to do with Milt Cuyler (ok, maybe that one was just me).

In 1984, Chet hit a solid .287 (which would turn out to be his career high with the Tigers), and OPSed .852 with the help of 20 Home Runs and 34 Doubles. With his 76 RBIs (and despite only 5 SBs) he was quite the Grandy-esque player at the time, perhaps setting the stage for the future? He hit .294 in the world series with 2 SBs but no power, as the Tigers went on to victory.

And to my knowledge, that awesome mustache stands to this very day.

A Champion's Stache: #7, 8, 9 The Replaced and The Replacements

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

We start with our #9 Mustache, who is yet another player who wasn't actually on the team, but has a place in the '84 team set. This time though, he is actually a valuable piece of the puzzle.

You see, this guy:

1984 Topps #119 Johnny Wockenfuss

Was dealt in a package that included our number eight:

1984 Topps Traded #11T Dave Bergman

I say a net negative on the Mustache trade there--Wockenfuss really had one going. Although I will say, the vintage 80's glasses on the Bergman action shot certainly helps his cause. Oh, that and the fact that and he hit a solid .273 as the team's first baseman for the year. However, I'm not sure that the Tigers were convinced that they hadn't lost more they bargained for when Wockenfuss and his mustache left town.

Thank goodness for free agency:

1984 Topps Traded #59T Ruppert Jones

Ruppert, our #7 on the list, comes in to add that needed mustache support of the bench. .284, 12 HR, 37 RBIs and a full, traditional stache that accounted for at least two of those bombs. All in all, I say losing Wockenfuss and Glenn Wilson in a trade is well worth it when you get Dave Bergman and can get Mr. Jones off the free agent market. Oh, and let's not forget the other member of that key 1984 trade deal--where will Guillermo end up on the list? We'll just have to wait and see.

A Champion's Stache: #10 Rick Leach

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

I know, I missed yesterday's mustache post. I'm sorry. Expect another one later this evening to make up for it. In the meantime, we can all rejoice as we break into the Top 10. And what a better way to do so than with this guy:



Hail!

That also happens to be this guy:

1984 Topps #427 Rick Leach

Sadly, Ricky Leach is another in the line of great Mustaches that left the Tigers prior to the 1984 season, in this case via a release. Bummer. I'm getting a little down going through this 1984 team set, only to find that a bunch of the guys weren't even on the team that year. I guess that is the way it goes though. How many cards of Gary Sheffield have I had to endure this year, or guys like Dontrelle or Bonderman who've barely played at all. Sigh.

Still, although he wasn't on the 1984 team, the spectre of Leach as a great (ok, good) UM Mustache certainly must have had some impact on the squad. I refuse to believe that it was the jettisoning of mustachioed players from the team prior to 1984 was the cause for success. Rather, perhaps there is a critical mass of mustaches that leads to peak performance, but that once that level is reached, there is a worry of oversaturation. Clearly, with the addition of some players during the 1984 season (one player in particular) it is hard to say that the Mustache had no role in that season's success. Perhaps we just need to give up some of the lesser mustaches for the greater good.

Or, I should have done my research ahead of time instead of just looking at the cards and ranking players by how I saw them and put the guys who weren't actually on the team at the bottom of the list. Oh well. I was heading off to vacation at the time, and I do know that the remainder of the list is, for the most part, chock full of impact players with impact staches.

A Champion's Stache: #11 & #12 Rapid Fire Edition

Oh life, how you get in the way sometimes. Nonetheless!

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

Just as how you may remember our talented number 13 as the team leader in HR and RBI during the 1984 season, (interestingly, an article in the Free Press today indicated that neither the '68 or '84 championship teams had a player with 100 RBIs, and suggested that Miguel Cabrera's recent red-hot streak could change that if the Tigers make it to the World Series) you may remember our #12 for something else.

Catching the final out of the World Series. Sidenote: guess what there's not a good picture of. Larry Herndon catching the final out of the World Series. You'd think that that would be something that was captured and made available somewhere, but nope, note really. Weird. Anyway, he was fully stached when he made the catch.

1984 Topps #333 Larry Herndon

As for number 11, we get our first hispanic mustache of the team--Detroit's squad was a melting pot of styles and cultures, and Juan Berenguer was not one to be excluded.

1984 Topps #174 Juan Berenguer

The #4 starter on the squad had a pretty solid season, going 11-10 with a 3.48 ERA and 118 strikeouts. His ERA+ was a cool 113 so you know he was alright.

Adding in Herndon and Berenguer we've added another starter and another man from the rotation. Will the players on the list get more prestigious as their mustaches become more prominent and robust? That, my friends, remains to be seen. As we crack the top 10 tomorrow.

A Champion's Stache: #13 Lance Parrish

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

Up to this point, the mightily mustached 1984 Tigers have consisted of a rookie, some guys who weren't even on the team, and three of the five starting pitchers. With the starters aside, is it any surprise that these mustaches have rated lowest in the bunch? In history, mustaches have been a sign of military rank, battle-tested strength and prowess. As we move up the list, then, it is no surprise that we have our first starting position player.

1984 Topps #640 Lance Parrish

1984 was the third of five consecutive All Star seasons for Lance, and was the season in which he won the second of three consecutive gold gloves. He belted 33 home runs in '84 with 98 RBIs, but batted only .234 during the championship season. I always liked Lance. He was one of a handful of players on the 1984 team whose career I followed throughout my own collecting days, even though he was a California Angel at the time. A great catcher in his day, if not underrated as time goes on, we see here a man who's mustache is both powerful and understated like the man himself.

A Champion's Stache: #14 Enos Cabell

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

Back from vacation means no more prescheduled posts, and the return of non-mustache related content. Judging by the web stats, it is, well, not very popular. Nonetheless, I would feel quite silly showing the worst 5 mustaches of the team and just stopping there, so the daily mustache post must continue. Also, I'm going to make these a little more applicable as to how they affected the '84 team, instead of just an empty tirade about the power of the mustache. There's no place for that here--this is a sensible blog that values facts, analysis and aesthetic. I'll leave the rhetoric to these guys as I enter the final two weeks.

Today, Enos Cabell shows us how he hit a career high .311 in 1983 with the Tigers.

1984 Topps #482 Enos Cabell

He's got a pretty good stache going, but he was granted free agency after the 1983 season and didn't play for the '84 championship team. His loss, primarily at 1st Base, was more than made up for my Dave Bergman, as we will see later on in this list. Even more, Enos was a downgrade from the moment he became a Tiger. Sure, his numbers were better than his predecessor for whom he was traded in 1982, but do you really think that he could live up to this?

1981 Topps #27 Champ Summers

Whooo boy, that's a net negative right off the bat. Even with his .311 batting average, Cabell's career high (!) .769 OPS, 16 Walks, 5 Home Runs and 4 Stolen Bases compared to the 8 Caught Stealing just weren't the production that a team needs out of a 1B/DH (or out of anyone, really). So he was jettisoned and a man with greater lip fortitude took over as the primary first basemen during the 1984 campaign.

A Champion's Stache: #15 John Martin

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

Sometimes a mustache just isn't about being cool, right John?

1984 Topps #24 John Martin

John Martin serves an important role for us, he is the divider between the good and the bad. Up to this point, we've had role players, and back of the rotation types, with the exception, Jack Morris, just biding his time for appropriate hyponasal growth to occur. The '84 Tigers filled in the gaps with substandard Mustaches, because that is what winners do. They find pieces to the puzzle. A team doesn't start the year 35-5 out of the blue, do they?

A Champion's Stache: #16 Milt Wilcox

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

Oh, Milt. What can I say about you? Your mustache is full and well groomed, factors that should be the recipe for success. Sure, you're not on the path to Czardom, but you should be able to hang around in the upper-middle class of a mustached society. Yet something is amiss...

1984 Topps#588 Milt Wilcox

Maybe a mustache just isn't your thing. But you know what? It doesn't matter, because you made the best with what you had. You're still a champion, aren't you? How many others can say that. It should serve to inspire the rest of us, who can only dream of having a nice mustache like yours, but are betrayed by the bathroom mirror, or bad lighting, or a poorly taken photograph in which we think, "what color is that?" Maybe mine is a little redder than my hair. Maybe yours is a little blonder. Who cares, when victory is on the line?

A Champion's Stache: #17 Dave Rozema

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

It is not enough just to grow a mustache, you need to respect the mustache. If you take care of it, it will take care of you. Do more than just slap some extra hair on the face. A good mustache will enhance your face, make you appear stronger, tougher, smarter, more attractive even more accomplished. Just ask Dave Rozema. The year after the Tigers won the World Series, he was the cock of the walk, sporting his robust lip cover.



But not in 1984. There was no respect for the stache in 1984 from Rozema, when he thought a thinnish, measly mustache was the way to go.

1984 Topps #457 Dave Rozema

Winning Changes Everything. Don't half-ass your mustache or you will look like half an ass. Kickoff is in 17 days.

A Champion's Stache: #18 Glenn Wilson

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

So our bottom two are there by default--they are small, weak little mustaches still in the early days of growth. I've been there. So have these guys. It's OK. What's not ok is subjecting your face to the Glenn Wilson treatment.

1984 Topps #563 Glenn Wilson

That just screams Buckstache to me, something that we don't tolerate well around these parts. Heck, even a self respecting Texan like Wilson should know better than that.

A Champion's Stache: #19 Jack Morris

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

Even the All Time Greats need to grow it in sometime. We're talking about Jack Morris--the near (and maybe future) Hall of Fame Pitcher, who dominated the league to the tune of 19 wins in 1984. He was no longer a rookie, but he still needed to grow that mustache in.

1984 Topps #195 Jack Morris

We can't all be Hall of Famers from the get-go. Some of us need some time for everything to fill out properly. Of course, Jack went on to have an exceptional career, both for the Tigers and as the key mustached piece of the 1991 (Twins) and 1992 (Blue Jays) World Champion teams. How could anybody hope to stop this?



Let that mustache grow, and you too can be a champion.

A Champion's Stache: #20 Barbaro Garbey

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

1984 Topps Traded #41T Barbaro Garbey

There are 19 days to go. That means that you have enough time to grow a better mustache than Barbaro Garbey, who checks in at #20 on the list. Of course, Barbaro was just a rookie in that 1984 season and may have needed the confidence that only a mustache can bring as he played in 110 games on the way to the Tigers' first championship since 1968. It's small, and it's thin, but it is there. You have a choice. With 19 days to go, you can either be a Barbaro Garbey or a Dave Gumpert.

1984 Topps #371 Dave Gumpert

Don't be a Dave Gumpert.