2009 BBM Sadaharu Oh Tribute Set

Back in Janary, BBM put out a box set as a tribute to Sadaharu Oh. I picked up an opened set (no autograph or memorabilia card) the other day. It's an amazing 89 card set set filled with great photography that covers his 50 years as both player and manager of the Giants and Hawks.

The set basically contains five subsets. The first of these is the nine card "Legend Of Sadaharu Oh". These cards have borderless photos on both sides that depict events in Oh's career such as his 756th and 800th home runs, and managing the 1999 Nippon Series champion Hawks. There's also a card of him with Shigeo Nagashima and one showing him practicing his swing with a samurai sword. Here's the front and back of the card celebrating his 756th home run (#01):



The next subset is the nine card "Flamingo" subset. The front of each card depicts Oh in his iconic flamingo batting stance. The back of the cards forms a sequence showing his swing when the cards are laid out sequentially. Here's the front of card 18 and the sequence created from the backs of cards 16, 17 and 18:



The next subset is the largest - the 53 card "History" subset devoted covering his career. Here's a couple cards showing him working out as a pitcher in 1959 (#21), celebrating home run #800 in 1978 (#49) and his farewell last October (#71):




The next subset of nine cards is the "Face" subset. The front of the cards show pictures of Oh's face. The backs are labeled "Smile" and show pictures of Oh smiling. Here's the front and back of card #80. That looks like Wally Yonamine in the "Smile" picture:



The final subset is another nine card subset entitled "Big One Shot". These show some more great photos. Here's card #81, showing Oh and Shigeo Nagashima: