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mchenrycards
Featured Contributor, Vintage Corner, Senior Membe
The 1973 Topps baseball set holds a special place in my heart as this was the first set of trading cards I was exposed to as a nine year old child. I cannot remember where I was when I first saw them but once I did I knew I couldn’t get enough of these card board gems, dusted with gum residue and the faces of my heroes staring back at me. I can remember buying pack after pack that summer and using all the money I earned from grass cutting to buy a candy bar and as many packs as I could afford. I thought I hit the mother load when, in the fall of that year I saw a full box of the high series cards marked .10 cents a pack at my local Five and Dime. I didn’t have enough money to buy them all and I remember begging my mom to “loan” me the money so that I could own the whole box. I would eventually get the coveted packs but I remember doing extra chores to pay off my moment of impulse.
The 1973 baseball set has been described by many as bland and boring with its lack of interesting designs and boring player silhouettes on the front of each card. When compared to the psychedelic design of the previous year there is no doubt this set pales in appearance. But what it lacks in looks it makes up for interesting collector pursuits and tougher to find high series rookie cards of some of the game’s best and greatest. This set also boasts a great crop of clean action photos that enhance the sets collectability.
For starters, this set features the final cards of baseball greats Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. The Clemente card is somewhat bittersweet as one only wonders how many more years Topps would have been able to produce card board images of the Pirates outfielder had he not been killed in an airplane crash the previous winter. This set also features the first cards of Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and Rich Gossage with rookie cards of other of the game’s best players from that era such as Dwight Evans and Buddy Bell.
In the early days of sports cards, Topps issued their cards in a series with new cards being released at regular intervals throughout the summer. Each series typically consisted of 132 cards and were highly anticipated by collectors. Issuing cards in a series helped to keep demand for the product high as kids chased the new series every four weeks to complete their sets. The last series was normally printed in lesser quantities each year as the demand for new cards normally slowed down as the baseball season would draw to a close. 1973 was no exception to this rule but this season would be the last that Topps would offer its cards in the series format. Card numbers 529-660 are considered high numbers and will command a premium over the other cards in this set as they were printed in lesser quantities. A large majority of the high numbers contain rookie cards that feature three player photos on one card and is where you will find the crown jewel of this set, the Mike Schmidt rookie card.
What this set lacks in style it makes up for in action photos. I have always thought the Henry Aaron card was one of the coolest cards in the set and the Reggie Jackson being an intriguing, yet odd photo. Check out the photo of Johnny Bench. While the photo may show him going after a foul pop up with his back towards the camera, the feeling of action just jumps right off of this card. Does he make the catch? Does he tumbled into the dugout area? And who is the Giant’s player who is making no effort to help Mr. Bench?
The set also contains an all-time great sub set where you can see the likenesses of Cobb, Ruth, Gehrig and many other greats of yesteryear mixed in which photos of current stars. Card number one is a subset unto itself in that it celebrates the fact the Henry Aaron was on the brink of overtaking Babe Ruth for the all-time home run crown. This card also featured the top three round trip hitters of all time in Ruth, Aaron and Mays of this all-important first card. There is a premium value on this card if found nicely centered and with great corners. Besides being the first card in the set which typically will be one of the most damaged cards due to youngsters using rubber bands to hold their stacks together, the card features baseball’s most iconic power hitters together.
This set also has a Boyhood Photos subset in which a number of players from that year had a large photo of themselves as little leaguers on the front with a much smaller photo near the corner of the player in present day. There are also the League Leaders sub set as well as the post season recap cards that chronicle the Oakland Athletics eventual run to the World Series championship.
One of the downfalls of this set is that it seems to have been made of inferior paper when compared to previous Topps sets. This fact makes it tough to complete in higher conditions but this has not slowed down collectors. Player selection, action photography, decent rookie cards and a high number challenge have all enticed collectors even 40 years after its issue. To me, this set represents a different time and takes me back to that nine year old boy who couldn’t find enough lawns in the neighborhood to mow in order to buy those high series packs. Do a search on Google or even Ebay and check this set out. It is an affordable and rewarding set to assemble and one I am sure you won’t regret putting together for yourself. With great rookies and the last cards of some of the game’s all-time best, it is a set that screams “collect me”.
Courtesy of COMC.com
Courtesy of COMC.com
Courtesy of COMC.com
Courtesy of COMC.com
Courtesy of COMC.com
The 1973 baseball set has been described by many as bland and boring with its lack of interesting designs and boring player silhouettes on the front of each card. When compared to the psychedelic design of the previous year there is no doubt this set pales in appearance. But what it lacks in looks it makes up for interesting collector pursuits and tougher to find high series rookie cards of some of the game’s best and greatest. This set also boasts a great crop of clean action photos that enhance the sets collectability.
For starters, this set features the final cards of baseball greats Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. The Clemente card is somewhat bittersweet as one only wonders how many more years Topps would have been able to produce card board images of the Pirates outfielder had he not been killed in an airplane crash the previous winter. This set also features the first cards of Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and Rich Gossage with rookie cards of other of the game’s best players from that era such as Dwight Evans and Buddy Bell.
In the early days of sports cards, Topps issued their cards in a series with new cards being released at regular intervals throughout the summer. Each series typically consisted of 132 cards and were highly anticipated by collectors. Issuing cards in a series helped to keep demand for the product high as kids chased the new series every four weeks to complete their sets. The last series was normally printed in lesser quantities each year as the demand for new cards normally slowed down as the baseball season would draw to a close. 1973 was no exception to this rule but this season would be the last that Topps would offer its cards in the series format. Card numbers 529-660 are considered high numbers and will command a premium over the other cards in this set as they were printed in lesser quantities. A large majority of the high numbers contain rookie cards that feature three player photos on one card and is where you will find the crown jewel of this set, the Mike Schmidt rookie card.
What this set lacks in style it makes up for in action photos. I have always thought the Henry Aaron card was one of the coolest cards in the set and the Reggie Jackson being an intriguing, yet odd photo. Check out the photo of Johnny Bench. While the photo may show him going after a foul pop up with his back towards the camera, the feeling of action just jumps right off of this card. Does he make the catch? Does he tumbled into the dugout area? And who is the Giant’s player who is making no effort to help Mr. Bench?
The set also contains an all-time great sub set where you can see the likenesses of Cobb, Ruth, Gehrig and many other greats of yesteryear mixed in which photos of current stars. Card number one is a subset unto itself in that it celebrates the fact the Henry Aaron was on the brink of overtaking Babe Ruth for the all-time home run crown. This card also featured the top three round trip hitters of all time in Ruth, Aaron and Mays of this all-important first card. There is a premium value on this card if found nicely centered and with great corners. Besides being the first card in the set which typically will be one of the most damaged cards due to youngsters using rubber bands to hold their stacks together, the card features baseball’s most iconic power hitters together.
This set also has a Boyhood Photos subset in which a number of players from that year had a large photo of themselves as little leaguers on the front with a much smaller photo near the corner of the player in present day. There are also the League Leaders sub set as well as the post season recap cards that chronicle the Oakland Athletics eventual run to the World Series championship.
One of the downfalls of this set is that it seems to have been made of inferior paper when compared to previous Topps sets. This fact makes it tough to complete in higher conditions but this has not slowed down collectors. Player selection, action photography, decent rookie cards and a high number challenge have all enticed collectors even 40 years after its issue. To me, this set represents a different time and takes me back to that nine year old boy who couldn’t find enough lawns in the neighborhood to mow in order to buy those high series packs. Do a search on Google or even Ebay and check this set out. It is an affordable and rewarding set to assemble and one I am sure you won’t regret putting together for yourself. With great rookies and the last cards of some of the game’s all-time best, it is a set that screams “collect me”.
Courtesy of COMC.com
Courtesy of COMC.com
Courtesy of COMC.com
Courtesy of COMC.com
Courtesy of COMC.com
