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Saturday Night Five: 1976 Topps Baseball
A few weeks ago, I asked you guys the following question...
I spent a solid 90 seconds staring at the Bench and the #5 card on my list. Johnny'scard is definitely iconic with the stare and the dust... but I got a little sentimental with my selection.
Palmer was one of my favorite pitchers when I was a kid and I felt too guilty leaving this card out of my Top 5. I just wish they would have centered the photo better, so his right foot wasn't cropped out.
#4 Dave Concepcion
1976 Topps #48
Conception wasn't really known for his power... but is there any doubt in your mind that he launched one in this photo?
I can only imagine how popular this card was back in 1976. Just prior to the release of this card, Lynn became the first player in MLBhistory to win both the AL MVP Award and the AL ROY Award in the same year. Add the beautiful action shot and the Topps Rookie Cup and you have damn near perfection.
#1: Dave Parker
1976 Topps #185
Happy holidays and sayonara!
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What are some of your favorite cards that would be museum wall worthy?
A couple of 1976 Toppsbaseball cards were mentioned, so I headed over to COMC and started browsing their images.
I have always been a fan of this set's design, because of the bright colors and the little positional figure in the lower left corner. But I was truly surprised by some of the action shots in the set. In fact... the set was so impressive, I headed over to eBay to see what complete sets sold for.
I estimated that they would be around $150 to $200 and was surprised to see a few sets sell for under $100. This definitely caught my attention and eventually I found a pair worth bidding on. I ended up winning the complete 660 card set + 43 card traded set for $115.28 + $13 shipping. Talk about cutting things close... my maximum bid was $117.
Tonight... I'll countdown my five favorite. But before I begin, let me preface things by stating that this was not an easy task. I primarily based my picks on Topps'photo selection, but also took into consideration the player and team. It took me about an hour to flip through the set and make my selections.
Then I had the task of ranking them. It honestly felt like the weekly rankings in baseball, because certain cards went up or down depending on that particular moment's mood. And with this particular set, nobody stands out so much that they'll be on top forever.
With that being said... let's start off with my honorable mentions:
I have always been a fan of this set's design, because of the bright colors and the little positional figure in the lower left corner. But I was truly surprised by some of the action shots in the set. In fact... the set was so impressive, I headed over to eBay to see what complete sets sold for.
I estimated that they would be around $150 to $200 and was surprised to see a few sets sell for under $100. This definitely caught my attention and eventually I found a pair worth bidding on. I ended up winning the complete 660 card set + 43 card traded set for $115.28 + $13 shipping. Talk about cutting things close... my maximum bid was $117.
Tonight... I'll countdown my five favorite. But before I begin, let me preface things by stating that this was not an easy task. I primarily based my picks on Topps'photo selection, but also took into consideration the player and team. It took me about an hour to flip through the set and make my selections.
Then I had the task of ranking them. It honestly felt like the weekly rankings in baseball, because certain cards went up or down depending on that particular moment's mood. And with this particular set, nobody stands out so much that they'll be on top forever.
With that being said... let's start off with my honorable mentions:
I spent a solid 90 seconds staring at the Bench and the #5 card on my list. Johnny'scard is definitely iconic with the stare and the dust... but I got a little sentimental with my selection.
#5: Jim Palmer
1976 Topps #450
1976 Topps #450
Palmer was one of my favorite pitchers when I was a kid and I felt too guilty leaving this card out of my Top 5. I just wish they would have centered the photo better, so his right foot wasn't cropped out.
#4 Dave Concepcion
1976 Topps #48
Conception wasn't really known for his power... but is there any doubt in your mind that he launched one in this photo?
#3: Sal Bando
1976 Topps #90
1976 Topps #90
If you ask me to rank these guys tomorrow... I might just put this card on top. There aren't a lot of fielding action shots in the set... and only the Bench and this card are museum worthy in my mind. Unfortunately, Bench didn't play for the Oakland A's and Sal Bando did.
#2: Fred Lynn
1976 Topps #50
1976 Topps #50
I can only imagine how popular this card was back in 1976. Just prior to the release of this card, Lynn became the first player in MLBhistory to win both the AL MVP Award and the AL ROY Award in the same year. Add the beautiful action shot and the Topps Rookie Cup and you have damn near perfection.
#1: Dave Parker
1976 Topps #185
Now this is what a baseball card should look like. Whoever photographed this card timed it perfectly. If I were a Piratesfan, I'd have this card blown up and framed in my garage.
Well... that's a wrap.
Well... that's a wrap.
What'd ya think about my list and what are some of your favorite 1976 Topps baseball cards?
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