Nothing says collecting fun like battleship gray! Now that that's out of the way, I came across my first 1970s when my friend Karl and I raided his older brother's closet in about 1980 or so. That day, I came into possession of some VERY badly abused '70s including Ron Hunt, Hal Lanier, Bob Burda (all Giants, curiously) and the Yankees team card. I recall picking up a card of Diego Segui at one of the first card shows I attended and wondering "who the heck were the Pilots?". I started assembling the set in a serious way in the early 1990s, and completed it when I picked up Ron Santo sometime around 1995.
Aside from its drab design, one of the other stand-out features of the set is its inclusion of cards of the Seattle Pilots (see the highlighted Steve Hovley above). The Pilots, a 1969 expansion club, went to spring training in 1970 with an uncertain future. Seven days before opening day, they were purchased by a Milwaukee car dealer named Bud Selig and moved to that city as the Brewers to start the season. Because the first, second and probably third series cards had already been printed, Topps stuck to its guns and ran off the rest of the set with the Pilots instead of switching mid-stream, marking the first and only time a set was issued featuring a club which no longer existed.
Card fronts are bordered in gray. The player's name appears in black script on the bottom left, and his position in red type on the bottom right. All cards except those in the first series feature a small vertical white bar between them. The team name is in large, bland lettering at the upper right of the image.
Card are printed on a white stock. Backs are printed in bright blue and yellow and feature a tidbit of trivia about the player illustrated by a small cartoon.
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The 'insert' wrapper came with an ad for a camera for 250 Bazooka comics, or 50 cents and just 10 comics.
'All star poster' wrappers could also be found with the camera ad, but also with one for a initialed 22kt gold-plated ring for 175 comics or 35 cents and 5 comics, an 'exploding' battleship toy for 250 comics or 50 cents and 10 comics, and a whale's tooth charm for 300 comics or 60 cents and 10 comics.
Wax packs contained 10 cards (plus a stick of gum) and sold for 10 cents each. Boxes contained 24 packs, and cases held 24 boxes.
Wax wrappers came in two basic designs - one advertising an unspecified insert inside, and another advertising a poster inside.
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Boxes came in 4 varieties - one announcing the presence of an unspecified insert in each pack, and three specifically advertising the poster, scratch-off and booklet insert sets. It is remembered that posters came in early series packs, scratch-offs in mid-series packs and booklets in later series packs but, other than the scratch-offs definitely being including with the 4th series, additional specifics are not available.
Cases bore different commodity codes - at least those shown here, 404 on the left and 402 on the right - which identified the type of boxes and packs it contained.
Early series packs contained one of a set of 24 posters which included one player from every team.
Mid-series packs contained one of a set of 24 scratch-off game cards.
Later series packs each held a booklet, really a mini-comic book, which detailed a player's career. Backs offered a checklist of the series. There were 24 in all, one player from each club.
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Grocery packs were issued with both types of wrappers. The cardboard backing to the left seems as though it has printed advertisements on the reverse as in other years, but the sample below is blank-backed.
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Cello packs contained 33 cards and sold for 25 cents each. They were packed 24 per box. For 1970, Topps packaged each cello inside its own little box.
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Rak packs contained 54 cards and sold for 39 cents. As in most years, raks from higher series would sometimes contain cards from more than one series.
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As usual, vending boxes of 500 cards were available, and came packed 24 per case.
At 720 cards, the 1970 set was Topps' largest yet. Split across 7 series, 581 are basic player cards. The remainder belong to a number of subsets as broken out below.
Included among the 581 basic player cards are 9 players from the 1969 Topps All Star Rookie team. Each is designated by a small gold trophy on their card.
166 - Al Oliver, Pirates 1B
174 - Ted Sizemore, Dodgers 2B
645 - Don Money, Phillies SS
238 - Jose Laboy, Expos 3B
288 - Larry Hisle, Phillies OF
18 - Carlos May, White Sox OF*
321 - Lou Piniella, Royals OF 232 - Bob Didier, Braves C
39 - Mike Nagy, Red Sox RHP
377 - Bill Butler, Royals LHP
A full checklist of the 1970 set, including printable formats, can be found at the Trading Card Database HERE.
* - May's card is not designated with a trophy for unknown reasons.
Series 1: 1-132
Each series was printed on a 264-card full sheet which was divided into 2 individual 'slits' or smaller, 132-card half sheets. Series 1 is laid out such that each slit has two blocks of 66 unique cards - 6 different rows printed one of top of each other.
Of the 132 unique cards in series 1, 103 are basic player cards (including the Nagy All Star Rookie, above) and the remaining 29 belong to one of several subsets.
Cards 61-72 depict the top 3 performers from each league in six statistical categories - HR, RBI, Batting Average, ERA, Strikeouts and Pitching (aka Victories) - from 1969. Card backs list the top 50 in each category.
Series 1 contains a single team photo card (Mets, #1) which differs from those in later series in that rather than the team name on the front, the notation "World Champions" appears in recognition of the club having just won the 1969 World Series. Team photo card backs provide the clubs' all time batting and pitching leaders and pennant history (for newer clubs, a year-by-year won-loss record).
Series 1 contains four manager cards including Charlie Metro/Royals, Harry Walker/Astros, Lum Harris/Braves and Don Gutteridge/White Sox. ,
Card backs provide the manager's career professional managerial record.
Series 1 includes ten 2-player Rookie Stars cards featuring youngsters with little or no MLB experience. Included are cards of the Indians, A's, Reds, Phillies, Angels, Pilots (Brewers), Cardinals, Expos, Orioles and Dodgers.
Series 1 includes the checklist cards for both Series 1 and Series 2.
A variation exists for the second series checklist. Card 226 can be found with and without a period after the "R" in "R. Perranoski". It is not currently know which version was printed with the 1st series and which was printed with the 2nd.
Series 2: 133-263
Series 2 was printed in the same format as series 1, with each slit having 2 blocks of 6 unique rows of 11 cards printed one over the other. However, because it includes another copy of the series 2 checklist, a 1st series card, series 2 has only 131 unique cards. Of these, 110 are basic player cards (including All Star Rookies Oliver, SIzemore and Didier), with the remaining 21 belonging to one subset or another as described below.
Cards 195-202 are dedicated to the 1969 NL (195-198) and AL (199-202) championship series, the first ever played. Each game has it's own summary card featuring a partial box score on the reverse, and each series has a 'celebration' card which features the victorious clubs' composite series stats on the back.
Series 2 includes four manager cards - Earl Weaver/Orioles, Sparky Anderson/Reds. Ted Williams/Senators and Walter Alston, Dodgers.
Series 2 has eight 2-player Rookie Stars cards. Included are cards for the Pirates, Senators, Braves, Yankees, Tigers, Astros, Royals and Padres.
Series 2 includes the 3rd series checklist, which would also be printed as part of the 3rd series. A variation exists where on one version of the card the bat and cap bill on the player image remain in red, like the background (right) and on the other where they are the intended brown and white. black border (left) on one version than the other (right). The brown/white version was printed with the 2nd series cards and the red version with the 3rd.
Series 3: 264-372
Series 3 was laid out such that it contains ten 11 card rows, which yield 110 cards, including both 3rd and 4th series checklist. But, because the 3rd series checklist is actually a 2nd series card, series 3 contains 109 unique cards. Of these, 94 are basic player cards (including All Star Rookies Hisle and Piniella) while 15 belong to one subset or another.
Of the 10 rows, 6 are printed twice, and 4 are printed 3 times, making 44 cards 50% more common than the remaining 66.
Pedro Borbon, Reds (358)
Cesar Gutierrez, Tigers (269)
Cecil Upshaw, Braves (295)
Twins Rookies, Hill/Ratliff (267)
Johnny Edwards, Astros (339)
Ron Hunt, Giants (276)
Larry Hisle, Phillies (288)
Paul Doyle, Angels (277)
Rod Carew, Twins (290)
Amos Otis, Royals (354)
Red Schoendienst, Cardinals (346)
Fred Talbot, A's (287)
Barry Moore, Indians (366)
Bobby Wine, Expos (332)
Dodgers Rookies, Jenkins/Buckner (286)
Curt Blefary, Yankees (297)
Claude Raymond, Expos (268)
George Brunet, Senators (328)
Angel Bravo, Reds (283)
Gerry Arrigo, White Sox (274)
Jack Baldschun, Padres (284)
Red Sox Rookies, Conigliaro/Alvarado (317)
Those series 3 cards which are 50% more common than the others are:
Mike McCormick, Giants (337)
Russ Snyder, Indians (347)
Dan McGinn, Expos (364)
Al Ferrara, Padres (345)
Luke Walker, Pirates (322)
Clay Dalrymple (319)
Skip Guinn, Astros (316)
World Series Game 1 (305)
Bob Burda, Giants (357)
Tony Taylor, Phillies (324)
World Series Game 4 (308)
World Series Celebration (310)
Leo Durocher, Cubs (291)
Tommie Aaron, Braves (278)
Fred Lasher, Tigers (356)
Lou Brock, Cardinals (330)
Ray Jarvis, Red Sox (361)
Rod Gaspar, Mets (371)
World Series Game 5 (309)
Dave Boswell, Twins (325)
Brant Alyea, Senators (303)
Wally Bunker, Orioles (266)
Cards 305-310 depict highlights from the 1969 World Series. Each of the 5 games gets its own card (with a partial box score on the reverse) and there is a series summary card that features the composite offensive and pitching stats for both the Mets and Orioles on the reverse.
Four manager cards are included in series 3 - Ralph Houk/Yankees, Leo Durocher/Cubs, Mayo Smith/Tigers and Red Schoendienst/Cardinals.
Series 3 has four 2-player Rookie Stars cards featuring the Twins, Dodgers, Red Sox and Mets.
Series 3 includes the first printing of the 4th series checklist. As with the 3rd series checklist, a version exists with no coloring in the bat and hat bill. And as with the series 3 checklist, this incorrect version was printed on the series 3 sheet and the version printed with series 4 was properly colored.
Card 303 of Brant Alyea can be found both with and without a baseball visible in the cartoon on the reverse.
This piece of original artwork for Alyea's card shows the ball was part of the design from the beginning.
Series 4: 373-459
Series 4 is formatted such that each slit contains 4 11-card rows repeated 3 times each. This gives the series 88 cards, 87 of which are unique to series 4, as one is the repeated series 4 checklist from series 3. As a result, each card is printed 3 times and there are no short- or over-prints. Of the 87 unique cards, 62 are basic player cards (including All Star Rookie Butler) and the other 25 belong to a subset.
Cards 450-459 feature the first half of the Sporting News All Stars series, the publication's picks for the best players at their positions for 1969. 10 players are depicted in series 4 (1B, 2B, 3B, SS and OF, 1 from each league).
Card backs contain a cartoon depiction of some significant fact from the player's 1969 season.
Series 4 includes six team photo cards including the Orioles, Yankees, Dodgers, Royals, Phillies and Astros.
The four manager cards included with series 4 are Lefty Phillips/Angels, Gil Hodges/Mets, Bill Rigney/Twins and Gene Mauch/Expos.
Series 4 features four 2-player Rookie Stars cards - A's, Giants, Cubs and White Sox.
The 5th series checklist can be found with the word BASEBALL on the front printed in the correct yellow or the incorrect white. Cards printed with the 4th series have the yellow variant and those printed with series 5 are white.
Series 5: 460-546
Series 5, like series 4, is formatted such that each slit contains 4 11-card rows repeated 3 times each. This gives the series 88 cards, 87 of which are unique to series 5, as one is the repeated series 5 checklist from series 4. As a result, each card is printed 3 times and there are no short- or over-prints. Of the 87 unique cards, 62 are basic player cards while the other 25 belong to a subset.
Cards 460-469 continue and conclude the Sporting News All Stars series which began in series 4. Again, 10 players are depicted (OF, OF, C, RHP and LHP, 1 from each league) .
Included in series 5 are team photos of the Braves, White Sox, Expos, Angels, Twins and Reds.
Series 5 includes four manager cards - Eddie Kasko/Red Sox, Preston Gomez/Padres, Alvin Dark/Indians and Danny Murtaugh/Pirates.
Series 5 includes four 2-player Rookie Stars cards - Orioles, Astros, Yankees and Phillies.
The series 6 checklist debuted in series 5.
Series 6: 547-633
Series 6 continues the formatting trend of having each slit contain four 4 11-card rows repeated 3 times each. This gives the series 88 cards, 87 of which are unique to series 6, as one is the repeated series 6 checklist from series 5. As a result, each card is printed 3 times and there are no short- or over-prints. Of the 87 unique cards, 74 are basic player cards while the other 13 belong to a subset. Series 6 cards are a bit harder to find than those in previous series.
Series 6 includes six team photo cards - the Cardinals, Red Sox, Tigers, Cubs, Pirates and A's.
Just two manager cards appear in series 6 - Dave Bristol/Pilots (Brewers) and Clyde King/Giants.
Series 6 includes four 3-player Rookie Stars cards, representing the Royals, Padres, Senators and Braves.
The series 7 checklist appears in series 6 and is available in two versions - one with card #666 spelled correctly as "Adolfo" Phillips, and one misspelled as "Adolpho" Phillips. The correct spelling was printed as part of series 6, and the incorrect in series 7.
Series 7: 634-720
In series 7, each slit again contains four 11-card rows repeated 3 times each (the image on the right is a mock-up of what that slit might have looked like based upon available miscuts and is the result of some great detective work over at the Net 54 Baseball Forum). Series 7 contains 74 basic player cards (including All Star Rookie Money) with the remaining 13 belonging to a subset. Series 7 cards are a quite scarce compared to cards from series 1-5 and are a harder to find than those in series 6 as well.
Five series 7 team photo cards round out the full assortment of 24 MLB clubs with the Indians, Padres, Senators, Giants and Pilots (Brewers).
The current slate of MLB managers concludes in series 7 with Frank Lucchesi/Phillies and John McNamara/A's.
As is common with high-numbers series, series 7 offers a variety of Rookie Stars cards - there are four 3-player cards representing specific teams (Angels, Reds, White Sox and Cardinals) as well as one each containing American League rookies and National League rookies from a mix of clubs.
While no current Hall of Famers debut in the set, Thurman Munson (189) may yet get there. He is joined by other freshmen Vida Blue (21), Jerry Reuss (96), John Mayberry (227), Bill Buckner (286), Larry Bowa (539) and Darrell Evans (621).
Not only do no Hall of Famers make their final appearance in the 1970, only two veterans of note do - Twins' slugger Bob Allison (635) and Yankee favorite Tom Tresh (698).
As of 2024, 1970 is the only set prior to 1999 to not feature a single Hall of Famer making his first or final appearance.
