One of the recurring themes on my blogs has been “That’s just Topps being Topps”, where I highlight (or more correctly, lowlight) their many blunders, whether it be including the wrong player on a card (’66 Dick Ellsworth, ’69 Aurelio Rodriguez), using capless photos long after they had the chance to get a new photo of a traded player, wretched airbrushing techniques, failing to secure a licensing arrangement with the ’68 and ’69 Astros, failing to consider back-loading the 1968 Athletics’ and 1969 expansion teams’ cards until later in the year to give themselves time to take photos, or just incorrect text on the back of a card (or nonsensical text, as with Dave Bennett’s 1964 card – “This 19-year-old right-hander is just 18 years old!”).
Anyway, I’m going to show some examples of their tendency to use capless photos well past a logical time point, and will only focus on the Phillies. (This could apply to all 20 teams, but even I reach a point of overkill.)
First, I will start off with the 1967 Dick Hall card, Topps’ version of “even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes”. Hall joined the Phillies before the start of the 1967 season, but somehow managed to get a current photo of him for that year’s set.
1967 Bob Buhl
Ok, now we are seeing their true colors. Yes, Buhl’s card is in the 1st series, but he was acquired on the same day in early-1966 as Larry Jackson, and they managed to get a new photo of Jackson for his 1967 card.
1968, 1969 Turk Farrell
Farrell re-joined the Phillies in late-May 1967, and was their top reliever for the next 2+ seasons. Surely there was an opportunity to take new photos before the ’68 and ’69 cards went to press. If not, why not re-use a photo from his early-1960s stint with the Phils? It’s not like they were against using old photos. Just look at Jim Grant’s 1969 card, wearing an Indians’ uniform from his pre-1965 years with Cleveland.
1967 Ruben Gomez
Gomez rejoined the Phils in early 1967 for a few games, and appears in a Phillies uniform in a 5th series card. Topps, you’re not getting credit for this one – he looks about the same age as he did on his 1960 and 1961 Phillies’ cards. Why didn’t you also re-use an old photo of Farrell?
1967, 1968, 1969 Don Lock
Topps! Don Lock joined the Phillies in the 66/67 off-season. Get off your ass!
1968, 1969 Woody Fryman
Fryman joined the Phillies before the 1968 season, but if they couldn’t get a Turk Farrell photo for these 2 sets while also having most of 1967 to do so, there’s little reason to expect they would for Fryman.
1968, 1969 Mike Ryan
See Woody Fryman.
1969 Jerry Johnson
Johnson didn’t join the Phillies’ organization until November 1967, and made his debut with them in July 1968. Yet he has a card in an early-season 1969 series. Were Farrell, Lock, Fryman, and Ryan all hiding from the photographer?
1970 Larry Hisle
Topps already used good photos of Hisle in the ’68 and ’69 sets. Topps, this was one of your All-Rookie Team cards. WTF?
1970 Ron Stone
Ol’ Ron is depicted in his 1966 Kansas City A’s vest. Stone only played 26 games for the A’s that year. He played over 100 games for the 1969 Phillies, but here we are with a capless 4-year-old photo. Stone was a major news item during Spring Training in 1969, tearing the cover off the ball and anointed a Spring Phenom. You would think Topps wanted to get in on the ground floor for the next “superstar”.
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