Topps Recycles Photos Again and Again and … (Part 1 of 8)

BY MARK A. LARSON
Editor & Publisher

Long before recycling became an environmental mainstay, Topps reused card photos more times than many collectors might imagine.

It was not unusual for Topps to use the same photo on different cards from different years. They just repeated an old photo with that year’s new design. This was most noticeable in the mid-1950s (1954-56) when the company often repeated a headshot in two or three consecutive sets. Although used less often after 1956, Topps still utilized the practice – primarily from 1958-72, but even in the 2020s. And they could be very sneaky.

The folks at Topps would sometimes crop (reframe) the photo differently – usually using a tighter crop which made the old picture seem closer. … Other times they would airbrush the cap and maybe even change the logo on it. … Or in some cases (see 1969 Larry Haney below), flip the negative to show a mirror image. In Haney’s case, it turned out to be ridiculous as it made him look like a left-handed catcher.

Once in a while Topps would dig deep into their archives for an ancient photo to recycle. Like dig really, really deep. The Tommie Aaron and Birdie Tebbetts cards below use the same photo six and seven years apart respectively. … In addition, Topps would repeat photos across product lines — like using the same shot that appears on a base set card and again on a coin or poster.

Over this 8-part series of articles, we will take a random look at many of Topps’ repeat photos from the late 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and sometimes beyond. This is by no means a complete list. In fact, I didn’t work off anyone’s list. Many years ago, I just began to make notes when I noticed recycling. Although these articles show over 200 repeat photos, there may be dozens – possibly hundreds – more.

Each part of this series offers a unique look at photo repeats. Some highlights include: Part 5 which will show Topps’ extensive use of recycled photos on “Leader” cards; Later, Part 8 focuses on photos that weren’t exact repeats, but were most likely snapped at the same photo shoot.     

• BUT BEWARE •

When looking at the following cards side-by-side, you may feel like you’re experiencing double vision. But don’t worry, it’s just crafty, old Topps hoping collectors – of all ages – won’t notice their recycling efforts.

– 1967 • 1969 –

– 1960 • 1961 –

Many of the 1960 manager photos were re-used in ’61. (Note: Blacked out cap.)

– 1971 (Front & Back) –

How cheap could Topps get? … The same photo on both the card front and back? … Really.

– 1961 • 1962 –

– 1960 • 1961 –

– 1967 • 1969 –

– 1963 • 1969 –

In 1969, Topps reached back six years for their Tommie Aaron photo. Talk about a moldy oldy.

– 1955 Bowman • 1962 –

Even moldier and oldier than Tommie Aaron, Topps bought Bowman in 1956 – including their photo files. (They just took the old photo, changed the cap logo and whited out the front of the uniform.)

– 1958 • 1959 –

– 1967 • 1968 –

– 1963 • 1964 –

– 1974 • 1975 Hostess –

Starting in 1975, Topps prepared cards for Hostess which issued them on boxes of
Twinkies and other tasty products. (Hostess issued 150-card sets for five consecutive years.)

– 1968 • 1970 –

– 1963 • 1964 –

Since the 1963 photo is so small, it’s somewhat hard to determine
if an exact duplicate was used in 1964, but it seems to be the same.

– 1958 • 1959 –

– 1971 • 1972 –

Topps included subsets of “Boyhood Photos of the Stars” in both their 1972 and 1973 sets.

– 1967 • 1969 –

– 1968 • 1969 –

Topps outdid themselves by flipping the 1968 Larry Haney negative – making him a left-handed catcher.

– 1964 • 1964 Coin –

An exact duplicate the same year. As will be seen throughout this series of articles, not that unusual. Topps coins were included in packs of 1964’s and were one of the company’s best inserts.

– 1967 • 1969 –

– 1960 • 1961 –

– 1957 • 1958 –

Just the beginning of many recycled photos on All-Star cards.

– 1961 • 1962 –

– 1963 • 1964 –

– 1968 • 1968 –

Even checklists didn’t escape the repeat-photo syndrome.

This is just the first of eight articles exploring Topps’ recycyled photos.
~~~~~
(Expect 1-2 new articles in this series to be added to BaseballCardFun.com every week.)

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