Sets in My Collection: 1987 Fleer Record Setters (Eckerd)

Continuing my Sunday series on boxed sets, mostly from the 80s, today we have the 1987 Fleer Record Setters.  My box didn't survive -- it must have fallen apart over the years and I got rid of it.  The only indication that these were sold at Eckerd, a now-defunct drugstore chain, was a few words on the box.  I probably did pick the set up at an Eckerd, as we used to go there all the time.

I've remarked before that I like sets that have a logic to them, rather than nonsensical ones.  This "record setter" set is of the nonsense variety, since they don't explain what record anyone has set, and there mostly isn't any such record.  Instead, we get the usual stars plus a few other players.

Joe Orsulak, Mike Schmidt, and Willie Wilson.

The standards followed for these sets seem to require including at least one player per team.  Not much worthwhile happened on the 1986 Pirates, and Joe Orsulak was tapped to represent the team among the Record Setters.  Orsulak played in the majors from 1983-1997, with a batting average of .273 and 405 career RBI.  He appears to have been a good outfielder, leading the AL in outfield assists in 1991.

The set isn't all players of Orsulak's caliber, as we also have here Mike Schmidt and Willie Wilson.  Schmidt had a good 1986, earning his third NL MVP award.  Wilson did ok in 1986, getting 170 hits, but his best year was clearly 1980, when his Royals lost to Schmidt's Phillies in the World Series.  In 1980, Wilson led the AL in at-bats, runs, hits, and triples; other good years were 1982, when he led the AL with a .332 batting average, and 1985 when the Royals defeated the Cardinals in the World Series.  Wilson ended his career in 1994 with a .285 career average and 2,207 hits.

Craig Lefferts, Eddie Murray, and Ben Oglivie.

Craig Lefferts pitched in the majors from 1983-1994, with a career 58-72 record and 101 saves.  In 1986, he led the NL with appearances in 83 games; according to Wikipedia, that is a Padres team record.

As I've remarked before, growing up in Delaware, Schmidt was the local hero, but Eddie Murray was the other local slugger (we were a little closer to Philly than Baltimore, but Newark, DE is almost halfway inbetween the two cities).  I remember Ben Oglivie from a league leader card, since he led the AL in home runs in 1980 with 41.  He played in the majors from 1971 through 1986.

Alvin Davis, Dwight Gooden, and Chris Brown.

I've said many times that I mainly didn't watch the AL, so Alvin Davis mostly escaped my notice.  His career lasted from 1984 to 1992, almost entirely with Seattle, and he was the 1984 AL Rookie of the Year.  Dwight Gooden helped the Mets to win the 1986 World Series, but according to my friend the Mets fan, he already wasn't the same pitcher who so dominated the league in 1984 and 1985.  Chris Brown I don't remember at all; he played 1984-1989, and was an All-Star in 1986.