1980 Charlotte O’s WBTV Checklist and Baseball Card Details
1980 Charlotte O’s WBTV baseball cards spotlight the Double-A Southern League affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. And while there are a couple of notable names on the checklist, there’s also one major one — Cal Ripken Jr.
This set represents one of the most coveted Ripken cards ever produced. Not only is it, along with the even more scarce 1980 Charlotte O’s Police set, one of the earliest cards for the Hall of Famer, but it’s also one of the most valuable. Today, copies can fetch thousands.
1980 Charlotte O’s WBTV sets were handed out as a local stadium giveaway on May 30, 1980. A total of 1,400 sets were produced but not all were handed out.
Kevin Haake wrote about the set in February/March, 2007 issue of Beckett Baseball Card Plus. In the article, Marshall Hester, Charlotte’s traveling secretary at the time, offered this first-person account, “The night the cards were given out either we had a sparse crowd or there was a distribution snafu because after the game there were hundreds of unopened packs left around the concourse. The GM wanted everything cleaned up that night before we left so, my kid brother and I and a clubhouse (attendant) got a spare grocery cart and went up and down the concourse chucking the cards into the cart.
“We filled the entire cart and into the dumpster it went. My brother may have stuck a set or two into his pocket, but I didn’t take any. It was no big deal.”
The Cards
Card fronts feature blue borders with posed color player photos. The player’s name and position appear in white letters across the bottom of the card with the team’s logo printed on the right and the sponsor’s logo printed on the left.
The back carries the player’s name, position, team, league, and biography. Backs are a little confusing as some appear to be numbered and others don’t. Numbers are believed to be attributed to the player’s jersey number.
Also, for Ripken, there’s an uncorrected error on the back with his name spelled “Ripkin.”
It’s worth noting that for years, this set went by the title 1980 Charlotte O’s W3TV instead of the correct WBTV. So it is possible you will see them referred to that way.
How to Check for a Counterfeit 1980 Charlotte O’s WBTV Cal Ripken Jr.
Not surprisingly, given the popularity of the 1980 Charlotte O’s WBTV Cal Ripken Jr., fakes exist. Going with graded cards is one of the safest routes at this point given the card’s cost.
However, you can do a first check as well. The giveaway is in the white frame around Ripken’s photos. Authentic copies of the card have a couple of flaws in the top and bottom. At a glance, the look straight, but upon closer inspection, a couple of slightly uneven spots are noticeable. On counterfeit copies, the lines are sharp. Check out Ripken in the Minors for more tips on how to avoid fake 1980 Charlotte O’s WBTV cards.
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1980 Charlotte O’s WBTV Checklist
28 cards.
Check 1980 Charlotte O’s WBTV baseball card values in the Beckett Price Guide.
Larry Anderson
John Buffamoyer
Brooks Carey
Doc Cole TR
John Denman
Tommy Eaton
Kurt Fabrizio
Will George
Jose Gonzales
Drungo Hazewood
Marshall Hester
Dave Huppert
Minnie Mendoza CO
Edwin Neal
Russ Pensiero
Billy Presley
Luis Quintana
Dan Ramirez
Cal Ripken Jr. UER – misspelled “Ripkin” on back
Willie Royster
John Shelby
Tommy Smith
Don Welchel
Cat Whitfield
Jimmy Williams MGR
Cover Card
O’s Team Photo
The Pepper Girls
