No Longer Unopened in My Collection: Three Packs of 1982 Fleer (Part 2 of 2)

I recently decided to open three packs of 1982 Fleer that were in the unopened part of my collection.  I showed Part 1 last week, in which I featured Phillies or Phillies-related players, with all the cards being related to either the 1980 or 1983 Phillies postseason runs.  In this post, I'll feature the rest of the cards that I found interesting.

Kirk Gibson and Bill Buckner.

Here we have Kirk Gibson and Bill Buckner.  They wouldn't have known it in 1982, but they would both feature in legendary World Series moments later in the decade.  No one will ever forget Gibson's Roy Hobbs-esque walkoff home run.  No one will ever forget that ball rolling through Bill Buckner's legs.  For both of these guys, those are the defining moments of their careers at least in public memory.

Bill Robinson and Gary Alexander.

I didn't get many Pirates, but here we have Bill Robinson and Gary Alexander.  Bill Robinson was part of the Pirates' 1979 World Championship team, and was one of their many reliable bats, with a .504 slugging average during the regular season (third among their starters after Stargell and Parker).  He went on to be the hitting coach for the 1986 Mets and for the 2003 Marlins, both of which won the World Series.  Gary Alexander had the Topps All-Star Rookie trophy on his 1978 card, but he exited the majors after playing 21 games with the Pirates in 1981.

Willie Randolph, Rich Dauer, and Charlie Moore.

I remember Willie Randolph as being a long-time Yankee, especially during the Yankees' futile period in the 80s.  It wasn't all futility, though, since Randolph was part of the team when winning their two 1970s World Series.  I also remember him as being a frequent candidate for managerial positions, before he finally got the nod to manage the Mets in 2005.  Rich Dauer was an infielder playing his whole career with the Orioles.  He was on the 1979 team which lost the World Series to the Pirates, and on the 1983 team which beat the Phillies.  He's in the Orioles Hall of Fame.  Charlie Moore I highlighted yesterday, since for some reason, I have three 1978 cards of the longtime Brewer.

Mookie Wilson, Dave Stieb, and Joe Niekro.

In reading The Bad Guys Won!, the story of the 1986 Mets, you learn that the Mets were really terrible people.  The biggest exception is Mookie Wilson, who was a good person and was not corrupted by the others.  The Blue Jays had any number of great players in their long run-up to their two World Series-winning teams of 1992 and 1993.  One of those is Dave Stieb, the second-winningest pitcher of the 1980s after Jack Morris.  Stieb was released during the 1992 season, so he didn't participate in that postseason; he's on the Blue Jays "Level of Excellence," reflecting the several team records he set.  Joe Niekro, of course, is Phil Niekro's brother, and as such, is part of some pitching records for brothers, such as wins by brothers (539 together -- 221 by Joe).  Niekro had a fatal brain aneurysm in 2006.

Orioles stickers.

Finally, I thought I'd highlight some of the stickers I got from these Fleer packs.  Not sure what I'll do with them, but I got Orioles stickers from two of the three packs.  The third sticker was of the Braves; I'll probably just throw that one away.