1980 Calbee Large: A Scarce and Intriguing Set (Part 1)

 

1980 Calbee #94 in "70's size" (left) and "80's size" (right).

 

1980 Calbee is a unique and peculiar set in a several ways. The set contains a modest 296 cards, of which the first 96 were produced in the then standard 70’s size and the remaining 200 in a much smaller size that would become standard throughout the 80’s. More precisely, Block 1 cards (#1-49) come only in the large size, while Block 2 cards (#50-96) come in both large and small sizes.  This is to my knowledge the only vintage baseball card set with two completely different sized cards within the same set. Why the switch was made is unknown. It might have been a way to cut costs.

 

This set is quite scarce overall. I'd guess these are probably the rarest regular issue Calbee cards of the 70’s and 80’s, excluding the numerous short prints and regional issues that populate the those sets. The Block 2 Large cards are particularly rare given that Calbee made the size switch in the middle of its release, but regardless, production was clearly pretty low on these overall. I couldn’t say why. Maybe there was a comparative lack of interest. The Giants V9 era of utter dominance was over and a now middle aged Sadaharu Oh was in his last year as a player.

 

On that note, another (refreshing) peculiarity with 1980 Calbee is that the Giants don’t dominate the set. Remarkably, Yomiuri have “only” the third-highest number of cards, behind Hanshin and Hiroshima. Team representation is also fairly even overall. Another anomaly. Calbee sets to this point tended to heavily favor the Central League, and would indeed go back to Giants/Central League dominance for much of the 80s (1989 is another more even set).

 

In addition to two different sizes, 1980 Calbees come in four different backs.

Block 1 cards have a simple text back adorned with a bat-and-ball border if it is from the first printing, or plain if from a reprint. (From my observation being first printing or reprint does not affect the card’s scarcity or value). Block 2 cards come only with the borderless back whether large or small size. The rest of the set, cards #97-296, have backs with team logos in the upper left corner. Block 3 cards (#97-146) were produced with black ink backs in the first printing, while the second prints come in the typical magenta. Did you get all that?

Finally, each of the two blocks of the 1980 Large cards come with a tagline on the back. Block 1 cards are titled Fever Pitch! Opening Day Series, while Block 2 cards are something like... Clash! Certain Victory Series. The second one especially is just that particularly Japanese flavor of melodramatic that is hard to make not sound clunky in English. Block 1 cards have textless fronts while Block 2 cards contain the tagline along with the player’s name and team on the front

I am trying to collect all the 1980 Large cards. Block 2 in particular will pose a significant challenge. They are just not easy to find and when they come up generally go for around 2,000 yen or more a piece. Still, I think collecting and logging these provides a good opportunity to create a reference of a set that most Western collectors of Japanese cards have scarcely even laid eyes on.

I will be doing less translation for this run than I have with the ‘73 bat-backs. Most of the 1980 Block 1 cards contain only basic stats about the player and this routine info can get a bit tedious to translate. That and a lot of it can be inferred from the numbers alone. However, any card that has an actual write-up on the given player I will translate (and that alone).

#2  Hisashi Yamada - Pitcher (Hankyu)

A submarine pitcher, Yamada took the mound nearly 20 years for the Hankyu Braves. He was a three time Pacific League MVP and Japan Series MVP in 1977. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

#3  Tomio Tashiro - Infielder (Taiyo)

 

Tashiro hit 278 career home runs. He is currently a coach, now in his second stint with the Yokohama BayStars.

 

#4  Osamu Higashio - Pitcher (Seibu)

With a career 3.50 ERA and 1,684 strikeouts, Higashio’s numbers are fairly mortal, but the righty was very consistent for a very long time, picking up 5 championships and 2 Pacific League MVPs over nearly 20 years with the Lions. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.

 

#5  Shigeru Takada - Infielder (Yomiuri)

Takada was a starting outfielder for most of the Giants’ V9 Dynasty. He was Central League Rookie of the Year in 1968 and this card depicts him in his last year as a player.

 

#6  Hideji Kato - First Baseman (Hankyu)

Kato hit 347 home runs to go along with two batting titles (‘73, ‘79) for his career. Although not a Hall of Famer, he is in the Golden Players Club by virtue of having over 2,000 hits.