BY MARK A. LARSON
There’s usually a story behind each card or subset included in Topps’ annual set. The 1970s are no exception. Among the 720 cards making up the set, several stand out …
• Mets Team (#1): The Amazin’ Mets lead off the 1970 Topps set. Appropriately, “World Champions” is emblazoned across the front of the card, instead of the usual team name. This was the first time Topps did this.
• Vida Blue/Gene Tenace (#21): This rookie card is only valued at about $5, but these two players were indispensable to Charlie Finley’s championship A’s teams of the early 1970s. Blue won 17 or more games for Oakland five times between 1971-76. The A’s also finished first five times during that period. Tenace was World Series MVP for Oakland in 1972 and belted more than 100 homers between 1973-76.
• League Leaders (#61-72): Hall-of-Famers abound on the Leader cards from the 1970 set. Two cards exclusively feature members or sure-to-be members of the Cooperstown elite: N.L. ERA Leaders (#67) with Juan Marichal, Steve Carlton and Bob Gibson; and N.L. Pitching Leaders (#69) with Tom Seaver, Phil Niekro, Fergie Jenkins and Juan Marichal. The latter four won a combined 1,156 major league games.
• Jerry Reuss (#96): Three bucks isn’t bad for the first card of a pitcher who won 220 games over a long career.
• Ralph Garr (#172): Many collectors forget Ralph “The Roadrunner” Garr hit .300 or better five times between 1971-77. He topped the .340 mark twice and won the N.L. batting crown in 1974 with a .353 average. In three of those seasons, Garr garnered 200-plus hits. Like Reuss, his 1970 Topps rookie card is just $3.
• Sparky Anderson (#181): This was Sparky’s first card as a manager. It goes for $2. (He appeared as a player in the 1959-60 Topps sets. Those two cards go for $38 and $9 respectively.) In his initial year as field boss of the Big Red Machine, Cincinnati went 102-60 en route to the National League pennant.
• Thurman Munson (#189): The Yankees’ No. 1 backstop of the 1970s batted .300 or better in five of his nine full seasons before a plane crash took his life in 1979. Munson’s first card is $100.
• Playoff Cards (#195-202): This subset appeared for the first time in the 1970 Topps offering. Card #195 features Hall-of-Famer Tom Seaver with the headline “Seaver Wins Opener!” Card #197 blares “Ryan Saves the Day!” as Nolan Ryan pitched seven innings of excellent relief to clinch the N.L. title for the Mets.
• John Mayberry (#227): Big John belted 255 career round-trippers, including eight seasons of 20 or more. A buck will buy you one of his 1970 rookies.
• Paul Ratliff (#267): The Twins catcher may hold the record for the number of years between an active player’s first and second Topps cards. Ratliff appeared on a Rookie Stars card in 1963, but didn’t pop up again until the 1970 set.
• Bill Lee (#279): “The Spaceman” landed in a Topps set for the first time in 1970. Lee almost single-handedly redefined the word “flake” … at least among ballplayers. But the flake was no fluke, as he won 17 games for the Red Sox three years in a row. His 1970 card is $2.
• Bill Buckner (#286): Known mostly for “the one that got away” in the 1986 World Series, Buckner had a fine 22-year career. He hit .289 lifetime with over 2,700 hits and 1,200 RBIs. His 1970 rookie card goes for about $9.
• Bill Russell (#304): The Los Angeles shortstop’s first card in 1970 is $3. But it could go up if he takes over for Tommy Lasorda as Los Angeles manager in a few years. In 18 seasons, Russell played nearly 2,200 games in Dodger blue.
• World Series Subset (#305-310): A Mets fan’s delight. New York beats Baltimore four games to one in the 1969 Fall Classic.
• Bobby Bonds (#425): Like his rookie card from the year before, Bonds’ $6 second-year card has more than doubled in the past two years. Much of the price increase is based on his son Barry’s achievements, but old man Bonds was a bonafide star in his own right. In his 14-year career, Bobby smashed 332 home runs and stole 461 bases. Ten times he topped 90 runs scored in a season. And he reached the 30/30 level (30 homers and 30 stolen bases) a record five seasons.
• All-Stars (#450-469): For the third year in a row Topps included “The Sporting News All-Star” subset. Eight Hall-of-Famers appear, including Hank Aaron, Rod Carew and Frank Robinson. Potential Cooperstowners Reggie Jackson and Pete Rose are also featured.
• Rollie Fingers (#502): Fingers, perhaps one of next year’s Hall of Fame inductees, has his second card in this set ($32).
• Larry Bowa (#539): Bowa’s first card is $4. In addition to his recent managerial career, his 16 major league seasons and his 2,200 hits, Bowa was involved in a significant trade in early 1982. The Phillies dealt Bowa to the Cubs for another shortstop, Ivan DeJesus. Since DeJesus was seven years younger than Bowa, the Cubs wanted another player from the Phils to sweeten the swap. That additional player’s name? Ryne Sandberg.
• 6th Series (#547-633) & 7th Series (#634-720): Like many sets before it, the last two series in 1970 were printed in smaller quantities and command a premium. Common cards from the 6th series run about $3 each, while 7th series commons are $6. Commons from the first five series are $1-2 each.
• Darrell Evans (#621): At $22, Evans’ rookie card may be slightly higher-priced due to it being in the tougher 6th series. However, Evans did play in the majors for 20-plus seasons, ending up with over 400 homers and 1,350 RBIs.
• Oscar Gamble (#654): Remembered for the way his sprawling Afro hairstyle sprang from under his cap (see 1976 Topps Traded #74T for the best example), Gamble played parts of 17 seasons in the majors with nine teams. He ended up with an even 200 lifetime home runs. His 1970 rookie is $7.
• Nolan Ryan (#712): At $475, this third-year card of “The Express” is far and away the most valuable in the set. Being part of the last series helps push up its value considerably.
• Pilots Team (#713): The one and only team card of the ill-fated Seattle Pilots. It’s become popular with collectors, especially those who like unique cards. It was issued approximately four months after the Pilots took off from Seattle and bolted to Milwaukee.
The overall value of the 1970 Topps set is $2,250 and sure to rise. It’s not chock full of top rookie cards, but like all sets it has its quirks and interesting sidelights.
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See related article on BaseballCardFun.com entitled:
“BASEBALL HOBBY NEWS — 1970: Improved Photos and Gray Borders”
Click Link Here
• Originally Published in July 1992 “Baseball Hobby News” •
THIS ARTICLE FROM “BASEBALL HOBBY NEWS” MAGAZINE IS REPRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF BOTH THE EDITOR/PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR. IT HAS BEEN RETYPED, BUT NO CONTENT HAS BEEN CHANGED (EXCEPT FOR VERY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS, CORRECTIONS TO TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND CHANGES TO GRAPHICS). COMMENTS OR INFORMATION IN THE ARTICLE MAY BE OUT-OF-DATE.
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