1982 Union Oil Dodger Player Portraits - The Complete Set

It occurred to me recently that I had never bothered to scan and share this set on this blog - which kind of puzzles me.  After all, it's probably a set most Dodger fans in their late-30's or older remember the most, and in my opinion it is the one set all Dodger collectors should own.  Featured here (finally) are scans of the 1982 Union Oil Dodger Player Portraits featuring artwork by Nicholas Volpe.

As you may know, Volpe had lent his work to the Dodgers for several 1960's portrait photo sets, so this promotional item was meant to reintroduce the artist to the teams newest fans.  Check out my previous post on a couple of those sets here (1962 & 1969).  The set consist of 26 sheets and features a player portrait against a black background.  They measure 8.5" x 11", has a reverse filled with all kinds of biographical information (as seen below) and were distributed by Union 76 gas stations throughout the Southland.  If I remember right, you received a free portrait for every 8 gallon fill-up.  The set is very plentiful in the collectors market, so it shouldn't cost much to purchase.  My price guide indicates $15.00 for the set, but that's from over 10 years ago.  Still, I don't expect it to sell for much more than that today.

As you can see, the set I have has been autographed by every member of the team; including Vin Scully.  As you can imagine, this set is a favorite in my collection.

Below is the rest of the set. Click any pic to embiggen.  Go below the fold to check them all out.

Mark Belanger

Ron Cey

Terry Forster

Steve Garvey

Pedro Guerrero

Burt Hooton

Steve Howe

Ken Landreaux

Tommy Lasorda

Mike Marshall

Rick Monday

Jose Morales

Tom Niedenfeur

Jorge Orta

Jerry Reuss

Ron Roenicke

Bill Russell

Steve Sax

Mike Scioscia

Vin Scully

Dave Stewart

Derrell Thomas

Fernando Valenzuela

Bob Welch

Steve Yeager

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