My little town in Southwest Georgia had some shortcomings when it came to eateries. There were a couple of local joints that were pretty good but they had weird hours. Then there was a Krispy Chik, Pizza Hut and Hardee’s. The McDonald’s and Subway came in my early teens. But my favorite place to eat in town was always Dairy Queen. I knew the owner and his family, the food was great and their ice cream was a kid’s dream come true. One of my fondest memories of Dairy Queen was the nights after city league softball or baseball when we would stop by and get a vanilla scoop in a mini batting helmet. Companies try to replicate that from time to time but nobody does it like DQ did in the late ’80’s!
In addition to their mini batting helmet promotional, DQ also partnered with Topps to release a baseball card set for the upcoming 1992 Team USA. In the set, they commemorated the 1984 and 1988 teams as well. The 1984 team produced one of the most sought after and memorable cards from my youth while providing a couple more star power cards. The team also won a Bronze Medal. The 1988 team had several hot rookies that would show up in 1989 Donruss and be hot commodities for a while. They went on to win a Gold Medal. The ’92 squad did not provide the same level of stars as the previous two teams but had some names that were very collectible at that time. Unfortunately, they didn’t Medal, finishing 4th with a 5-2 record.
The cards came in a 33 card set and had a very classic Topps look with a white border and red trim. At the top of the card, a Stars and Stripes banner read “Team USA”. The bottom of the card had the age old Dairy Queen logo and then a name box in the bottom corner with the players name, position and the year he was on Team USA. I really like the back of the cards. They continue the red, white and blue theme and provide all of the vital personal info at the top of the card. The bottom of the card includes a highlight from their time on the team. But the best part is how the stats are broken down. There are actually three separate stat boxes; (1) the complete MLB stats up until 1991, (2) the complete stats for the Team USA tour and finally (3) the complete stats for the Olympic Games. Topps did a great job with the breakdown. Let’s take a look at some of the big names.
Mark McGwire 1984 – This is the card mentioned in the opening that was so iconic when I started collecting in the late 80’s. The original McGwire Team USA card was right there with the Canseco ’86 Donruss on most collector’s want list. McGwire started his MLB career on a tear with 175 home runs in his first 5 seasons. But he was only getting started and was a key part of the great homerun race in 1998 with Sammy Sosa. Despite all of his faults when it came to his association with PED’s, I think baseball owes a lot to McGwire for bringing a level of excitement to the sport that had been missing since the ’94 strike. The homerun chase was one of the most exciting events I can remember in sports. He probably won’t ever get into the Hall of Fame unless the writers opinions of that era change but he was a tremendous boost to the game when it really needed it. And while I still don’t own the ’85 Olympic card, I at least own the ’92 reprint.
Will Clark 1984 – One of McGwire’s teammates was another 1B that would go on to have a very good MLB career. While McGwire had a good Tour in 1984 with a .391 average and 6 home runs, “The Thrill” bested him by .001 in the average (.392) and more than doubled his home runs with 13. McGwire really struggled in the Olympic Games with only a .190 average and no home runs. But Clark actually improved from the tour and hit .429 with 3 home runs in 5 games. These two stars would go on to face each other in the famous 1989 World Series that was delayed by an earthquake in California. Oakland would sweep the Giants to take the series 4-0. 
Barry Larkin 1984 – Another star from the ’84 team was Barry Larkin. However, Larkin did not have an original Olympic card in any previous sets. Like McGwire, Larkin played extremely well on the Tour with a .328 average and 3 home runs but really struggled in the Olympics with a paltry .143 average. However, Larkin is the only one of the three who has made it into the Hall of Fame at this point. Larkin is a 3x Gold Glover and 9x Silver Slugger to go along with his 12 all-star appearances. He was also the NL MVP in 1995 and won a World Championship in 1990 with the Cincinnati Reds, the only team he would ever suit up for in the majors. Larkin is one of the greatest middle infielders to ever play the game!
Jim Abbott 1988 – Abbott was well known for his rise to major league fame despite only having one hand. His pitching style was analyzed by many and displayed a quickness that was often missed with the naked eye. He got his start with Team USA in 1992 and was stellar in that run with a 7-1 tour record with a 2.59 ERA and then pitched a complete game win with a 2.25 ERA in the Olympics to finish 1-0. Abbott would go on to have a good, but not great, MLB career that included a no-hitter in 1993.
Ben McDonald 1988 – Big Ben (6’8) was one a hot 1990 rookie that everybody wanted a piece of. Part of that was because of his dominance in the Olympics with a 2-0 record and 1.00 ERA. He gave up 5 runs in 18 innings and pitched 2 complete games. His prospects never translated to the big leagues where he would finish his career with a 78-70 record and a 3.91 ERA, which was cut short by a rotator cuff injury.
Robin Ventura 1988 – Mr. Ventura was a highly touted ’89 rookie and actually turned in a solid career, which is sort of rare for the ’89 highly touted. A few had stellar careers but more than a few totally bombed. Ventura would go on to play in 2 All-Star games and win 6 gold gloves at 3b. He hit nearly 300 home runs (294) and hit .267 over a 16 year career. My favorite card of Ventura is his ’89 Topps where he is pictured in his college jersey. Unfortunately, he may be most known for the poor judgment he showed on the night of August 4, 1993 when he decided to physically challenge The Ryan Express after being walloped with a fast ball. He was then walloped by a few overhand rights and the video will live forever. Still, I always liked Ventura.
Charles Johnson 1992 – Johnson was another one of those prospects who had very hot cards when he was brought up to the big leagues. He was a terrific defensive catcher with a rifle for an arm but could also hit for power, as evidenced by his 26 homers as a freshman and sophomore at Miami. He would go on to play 12 major league seasons and average 23 home runs over his career. But his .245 career average was a killer. Still, he won a World Series ring in 1997, played in 2 all-star games and won a gold glove 4 times. Solid career but not what may have been expected in 1992.
Jason Giambi 1992 – The final player I’ll profile here was no stranger to the long ball. The Giambino, as he was frustratingly called in NY, hit 440 home runs over a 20 year career, including 3 seasons of 40+. Unfortunately, he was unable to do it without the allegations of steroids dragging him down. He went from a scrawny 6’2, 195 as an Olympian to a 6’3, 250 pound major leaguer that was mashing balls out of stadiums. But even as an Olympian, he hit .323 with 2 home runs in 8 games. He even had a triple in there. Makes you wonder what he could’ve done if he had stayed clean.
Team USA has produced a large amount major leaguers over time, and even several superstars. There are also many memorable cards that show players donning the red, white and blue. This set by Dairy Queen commemorates the teams from my youth and was filled with nostalgia. It was also very cheap as I purchased it for $2.75 plus shipping on eBay. It’s probably over produced much like the rest of the products from 1992 but I think it’s a fine add to the PC at that price. Overall, I’ll give it a 3 on the Dub-O-Meter for value and some star power. If the set came with a helmet sundae, it would have easily been given a 5. Speaking of, I’m going to get a blizzard!
Dub Score – 3
Scoring Scale
1. Let me be the sacrificial lamb so you don’t have to buy these cards. Just read the post and thank me later.
2. There is worse but there is much better – not worth the effort though.
3. Middle of the road – I wouldn’t talk you into buying these but I certainly wouldn’t talk you out of them.
4. You should probably go out and buy a box and enjoy the rip – I did! It has some downside but worth the ride.
5. Stop reading and find a box to buy and get to Breaking! What are you waiting on?