BY MARK A. LARSON
“I have to have that card.”
How many times have collectors heard that obsessive phrase? How many times have they uttered those half-dozen little words themselves?
Well, those were the very words that came out of this writer’s mouth back in September 1969. The object of my desire was Reggie Jackson’s first card … the ’69 Topps.
Jackson was the talk of baseball for most of the summer of 1969. During the first half of the season he swatted the ball out of the park at a record pace. And although his home run production slowed down after the All-Star break, he still ended up walloping 47 round-trippers. Not bad for a 23-year-old.
Although the term “rookie card” had yet to rear its head among the members of my collecting circle, as a 10-year-old baseball card junkie I wanted – I needed – Jackson’s first card. I just had to have it. Underline “had.” Even though 1969 was perhaps the peak card collecting year of my youth, I missed getting Jackson’s card in a pack when it was issued in the third series early that summer.
Now it was September. We were back in school, starting the fifth grade. A scenario familiar to many other young collectors began to take shape. I met a kid in class who said he was into baseball cards too. But really his enthusiasm for baseball and his card collection was nothing compared to mine – or so I conceitedly thought.
Soon we got together and began to compare collections. And yes, you guessed it, he had a 1969 Topps Reggie Jackson rookie card. And yes, again, he wouldn’t part with it. He may not have been much of a collector, but he wasn’t a dummy either.
As in most situations such as this, I didn’t get the card on the first try, nor the second. But finally, I did. Although I can’t recall exactly what I gave up for it, it must have been substantial … at least substantial to me.
I do, however, vividly remember when I got the card home. It was off-center and worn down the left side, but I didn’t really care. I brought it to my room, set it down and just stared at it for the longest while. Totally in awe of Reggie’s presence in my room and in my fast-growing collection. It was one of the few card collecting deals from more than 20 years ago that I remember so well. Hallelujah! Reggie was now mine.
Interest in Jackson’s cards cooled off considerably over the next three seasons as his power numbers – both home runs and RBIs – never came close to those ’69 stats (he had 118 RBIs in 1969). But by 1973, the Oakland A’s were World Champions and Jackson was back on track, winning MVP honors that year. Interest in his cards picked up again and it has never diminished since, as he went on to star on 11 division-winning ballclubs, six pennant-winning teams and five World Championship clubs. Not to mention his 563 career homers, which places him sixth on the all-time list.
“Mr. October” appeared on approximately 300 cards, inserts and related sports collectibles in the 22-year period between 1969-90. His first three regular Topps cards in 1969, 1970 and 1971 show him without that familiar mustache. Although he played for the Orioles for one season in 1976, his Topps card from that year still showed him with Oakland.
In 1977, he began playing for the Yankees and his card shows an airbrushed helmet and uniform with the New York insignia. (Some proof cards from ’77 show the same photo with no airbrushing and Baltimore logos, but these were never released to the public.) Jackson’s 1978 Topps card is perhaps his best. It’s a game action, full-body view, with Reggie just finishing up a mammoth swing … perhaps a home run swing.
Over the years, Jackson appeared on 10 Topps League Leaders cards, with the first included in the 1970 set. He was featured on four Topps All-Star cards. Again, the first was in the ’70 set. Other Topps cards of note include: In-Action cards; an A.L.C.S. card; World Series cards; Record Breaker and Highlights cards; two Topps Traded cards – in 1982 and 1987; a Super Veteran card in 1983; Turn Back the Clock card in 1987; and an MVP card in the 1975 set.
Some of the more interesting sets that included Jackson over the years were:
• MILTON BRADLEY: Jackson appeared in three sets issued by the Milton Bradley game company in 1969, 1970 and 1972. The cards were designed to be used with a baseball board game and this is evident in their stark design. They were done in black-and-white, feature air-brushed caps (no logos) and backs include only information necessary to play the board game.
• KELLOGG’S: Issued with Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes and Raisin Bran between 1970-83, the Kellogg’s sets were among the most consistent issues – other than Topps – during their 14-year run. Jackson appears in 11 of the 14 Kellogg’s sets. All, with the exception of 1973, were done in a 3-D format, with thick plastic over the front of the cards. Backs carried year-by-year stats and a detailed biographical write-up.
Kellogg’s were usually issued one-per-specially-marked box of cereal and generally included about 60 cards per set. Except for 1971, complete sets were also available through a mail-in offer.
• HOSTESS: Connoisseurs of Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, Ho-Hos, Suzy-Q’s and Cup Cakes could also get their fill of baseball cards between 1975-79. During that period, Hostess issued 150-card sets in panels of three cards on each box bottom of its products. Jackson is featured in each of these sets.
• SSPC (Sports Stars Publishing Company): The 630-card “SSPC” set was meant to rival Topps’ annual issue. However, Topps took the company to court and SSPC was ordered to cease production and distribution. It was nicknamed the “Pure Card” set because its design duplicated the popular 1953 Bowman’s “no frills” front – with only the player’s photo and nothing else. Backs included a biographical write-up, but not statistics. Jackson is one of many Hall-of-Famers and future Cooperstowners in the set.
• SCORE: A five-card Reggie Jackson subset was included in Score’s initial 660-card offering in 1988. Each card featured Jackson with a different team in chronological order. For instance, the first card shows the slugger in his early years with the A’s. The second card highlights his one-year stint with Baltimore. (This was a rare glimpse of Jackson in a Birds uniform.) The final three cards included his years with the Yankees, Angels and return to the A’s.
• UPPER DECK: Jackson, who now works for Upper Deck, was the company’s first player to be featured as a “Hero.” The 10-card Reggie Jackson Heroes set was issued as an insert in high series packs of Upper Deck’s 1990 baseball. Each card covered a different portion of his career. The first one was entitled “1969 Emerging Superstar;” the second one, “1973 An MVP Year,” etc. In addition to the 10-card Heroes insert set, 2,500 limited edition autographed Reggie Heroes cards were also inserted into Upper Deck packs that summer.
Like other superstars of his era, Jackson was featured in dozens of sets throughout his career, including those issued by: Donruss, Fleer, O-Pee-Chee, Leaf (Canadian), Burger King, Sportflics, Permagraphics, Squirt, Drakes Bakeries, K-Mart, Nestle, Ralston-Purina, Seven-Up, Smokey the Bear, Circle K, General Mills, Dorman’s Cheese, Jiffy Pop Popcorn, Quaker Oats, True Value, Woolworth’s, Classic, Mother’s Cookies and Pacific Trading Cards’ Legends series.
The Hall-of-Famer was also included in several specialty sets issued by Topps in the 1970s and ’80s: 1970 Candy Lids, 1970 Story Book Inserts, 1970-71 Supers, 1971 Coins, 1971 Greatest Moments, 1971 Tattoos, 1973 Comics, 1973 Candy Lids, 1973 Pin-Ups, 1974 Deckle Edge, 1974 Puzzles, 1974 Stamps, 1977 Cloth Stickers, 1979 Comics, 1980-81 Supers, 1981 Stickers, 1981 Scratch-offs, 1984 Rub-downs, 1987 Coins and a host of others.
Story Booklet
Baseball Heroes
• • • • • •
To see the related article “BASEBALL HOBBY NEWS —
A Dozen Reggie Jackson Card Bargains”
Click Link Here
• Originally Published in Aug. 1993 “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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