Two of the most sought after cards in the 1968 set are the cards of the NL Rookie of the year, Johnny Bench and the runner up, Jerry Koosman. Koosman's card is valuable because he shares it with Nolan Ryan. The one thing that bothers me about Bench's card in 1968 is that he is wearing the vest style uniform that Cincinnati stopped wearing before he made his Major League debut in 1967. In 1967 the Reds wore the pinstripe uniform Bench is wearing on this card. By 1968 the pinstripes were gone. But on both Bench's regular and all-star card in 1969 he is wearing the vest and two-tone cap. In 1970 Bench is pictured wearing a pinstripe uniform from 1967. Topps obviously had this picture in 1967. Why did they wait until 1970 to use it.
I sense a new '68 Topps Nolan Ryan in the offing.
ReplyDeleteI think Topps' photographers went into a deep sleep early in 1967, and didn't snap out of it until midway thru spring training in 1969. By then, they only had time to visit the Expos, Padres, Pilots, Royals, and Athletics.
ReplyDelete(See my opening rant in the Mike Ryan post on my 1970 blog.)
I like it. I wish Topps would use the regular format when making archive cards of rookies. All of their current practices are lame.
ReplyDelete