Collectibles On SI

The Impossible Baseball Cards of the 1970s

So what if your mom threw away your 1970s card collection. At least she didn't throw out any of these rarities!

Jason Schwartz

Collection of 1970s-style custom trading cards
Collection of 1970s-style custom trading cards / Author's personal collection

If you collected cards in the 1970s, there's a good chance your collection included classics like the 1975 Herbie Washington pinch-runner card or the 1976 Oscar Gamble card with the giant Afro. You might have even had rookie cards of Mike Schmidt, George Brett, and Eddie Murray, though you had no idea at the time they'd eventually be worth serious cash. Either way, this isn't an article about the cards you had. This is an article about the seven cards you definitely didn't have!

RELATED: The Ten Essential Topps Baseball Cards of the 1970s

1970 Topps Cloth Stickers Nolan Ryan

The first card on our list is one of several Topps "test issues." Roughly speaking, a test issue is a set that Topps tried out for a limited time in a particular geographic region. In other words, kids in Boston might have seen some packs for a few weeks or so, but most kids wouldn't have even known the cards existed. That said, some test issues never even made it that far!

While all Topps test issues are tough, the toughest of all may well be the 1970 Topps Cloth Stickers set. Just how rare are these stickers? For one thing, the size of the set is unknown. The "Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards" lists 20 cards while the PSA website indicates that "only 15 subjects are known." As for the individual stickers, their total population (including ungraded) is estimated to be somewhere between one and three cards apiece!

While many of the cards in the set are "common players," the set does include base cards of three Hall of Famers (Willie McCovey, Phil Niekro, and Juan Marichal), as well as 1969 NLCS cards featuring Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan. Search eBay for the next ten years and it's doubtful you'll find a single one, though there are plenty of "throwback" versions thanks to Topps Heritage.

Modern throwback featuring Shohei Ohtani
Modern throwback featuring Shohei Ohtani / Click image for eBay listing

1971 Topps All-Star Rookies Thurman Munson

The 1971 Topps Greatest Moments set is another tough Topps test issue, though not nearly as rare as the 1970 stickers. Though "Greatest Moments" has no shortage of Hall of Famers, one of the more popular cards in the set is the Thurman Munson. Still, this Munson can be had in tolerable condition for "only" a few hundred dollars.

If we want to talk IMPOSSIBLE, the 1971 Munson you really want to pursue is from an ultra-rare collection of All-Star Rookies artist proofs. How many are known to exist? Exactly one!

1972 Topps Dick Allen proof

While test issues can be hard to find, an even rarer type of card is a "proof." Unlike test issues, proof cards were never intended to hit the street. Of course, some collectors are lucky enough to get their hands on one regardless, and some collectors may even score doubles!

1973 Topps Al Kaline (Bandage Variation)

This next card was neither a test issue nor proof but available to all collectors lucky enough to buy at just the right time. It looks just like the far more common version of Al Kaline's card, only the Tigers legend has a Band-Aid on his forehead.

Partly because many collectors are unaware of the "bandage variation" and partly because the Band-Aid's appearance is somewhat subtle, this is occasionally a card collectors may luck into dirt cheap. Provided they have the patience and stamina to scroll 1973 Topps Al Kaline listings all day, the enterprising collector may just land one of the rarities for a few bucks!

1974 Laughlin Old-Time Black Stars Josh Gibson

Some of the greatest sets of the decade (if not ever!) came from artist-collector Bob Laughlin, who independently produced many of his own sets in addition to occasional collaborations with Fleer. While you once might have ordered his entire 1974 set of Negro Leaguers for a couple bucks back in the day, times have most definitely changed. How tough are these cards today, particularly the top shelf Hall of Famers like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson? Let's just say this listing may be a steal right now!

1974 Laughlin Josh Gibson
1974 Laughlin Josh Gibson / Click image for eBay listing

1977 Topps Reggie Jackson Orioles Uniform proof

Similar to the Dick Allen card profiled earlier, this Reggie card is another Topps proof. In fact, it's probably the most famous Topps proof in history, owing not only to the popularity of Mr. October but also because at one point this was the only Topps card to depict Reggie as an Oriole. Though this card is a nearly impossible find, the good news for collectors is the price might be going down!

1979 TCMA Rickey Henderson

If you have any minor league cards at all from the 1970s, it's likely you have Mike Aronstein of TCMA to thank. Though his minor league sets were considered novelties at the time, many of them are red hot nowadays, particularly if they happen to include the very first card of a popular Hall of Famer. One such set is the 1979 Ogden A's, home of the Rickey Henderson pre-rookie card.

No matter how many trips you made to the corner store as a kid, chances are you didn't end up with a single one of the cards profiled in this article. In fact, only two of the cards ever even made it into packs at all. On the other hand, if you're lucky enough today to own even one of these cards, good chance it's one of the absolute centerpieces of your collection. And if not, holy cow do you have an insane card collection!

Published |Modified
Jason Schwartz
JASON SCHWARTZ

Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.

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