Topps Topics: Studies in Uncut Sheet Arrays - 1969 to 1972

 

Presenting part five of an ongoing series examining the use of short prints and double prints by Topps in their vintage era; part one can be found HERE, part two HERE, part three HERE and part four HERE. Today Mark Pekrul is looking at the 1969 to 1972 press sheets for the annual Topps Baseball sets, a time when more cards were added in each successive year and also brought Topps just about to the end of issuing sports cards in series.  Mark, who posts as “deweyinthehall” on Net54 Baseball  has dug into these along with a couple of other stalwarts over there and worked to reconstruct most of the print arrays for all Topps Baseball series from roughly 1955 to 1970 (1971 and 1972 are mostly known but will be covered here nonetheless).  This work has essentially been compiled independently of anything I’ve posted previously. Mark maintains a website that covers Topps Baseball sets from 1965 to 1994 in some commendable depth as well,  CLICK HERE to be transported.

As a reminder, from 1957 through 1995, all Topps standard-sized (i.e. 2.5 x 3.5 inches) sets, sports and non-sports alike, were printed on sheets containing two large blocks of cards, 11 columns by 12 cards each.  This created discrete groups of 132 cards, in many cases giving us complete set counts which are very recognizable today – 132, 264, 396, 528, 660 and 792.  Some early hockey and football sets, as well as many non-sports sets, had only 66 cards – exactly half of 132.

Therefore, when we hear the term “uncut sheet” today, we typically think of a roughly 2' x 4' array of 132 cards. However, a full standard-sized uncut sheet was twice as large, and had 2 groupings of 132 cards (as above).  The outside margins were white (even for sets with colored borders, such as 1971 or 1962) and contained various notations including positioning and cutting guides and other errata.  They eventually even featured commodity codes, just like Topps used for cases, boxes and packs.

Down the middle ran a thick white space called the “gutter” – full sheets were sliced down the gutter before each half-sheet, or ‘slit’, was then fed into a cutter. 

Each slit contained 12 rows of 11 cards.   For ease of reference, we can label the rows A-L and columns 1-11. Any card position can then be designated as A-1 (far upper left), L-11 (bottom right), and so forth, as shown below.

             SLIT A                                                                      SLIT B

Let's take a gander at the (almost) end of an era...

1969 Topps Baseball – 664 Total Cards in Set

In 1969, MLB added four new clubs, and Topps’ set that year was its largest yet – 664 cards.  This only permitted an average of just more than 16 cards per new club, but not to worry – their sets in the coming years would make up for this.    

Series 1: 1-109, 109 different cards plus an extra 1^st series checklist

Series 2: 110-218, 109 different cards plus a repeated series 2 checklist from series 1

Series 3: 219-327, 109 different cards plus a repeated series 3 checklist from series 2

Series 4: 328-425, 98 different cards plus a repeated series 4 checklist from series 3

Series 5: 426-512, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 5 checklist from series 4

Series 6: 513-588, 76 different cards plus a repeated series 6 checklist from series 5

Series 7: 589-664, 76 different cards plus a repeated series 7 checklist from series 6

Because it contained only one 88-card series, six of the seven series in the 1969 set feature print count disparities.

One of the series 1 slits feature this row pattern: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, D, E.  Rows D and E are over-prints, and while we don’t know what the other slit looked like card counts make it plain the other two over-printed rows were F and G:

D:

Jim Lonborg (109)

Russ Gibson (89)

Bill Stoneman (67)

N.L. Strikeout Leaders (12)

Walter Alston (24)

Sonny Jackson (53)

Ken Suarez (19)

Fred Gladding (58)

Tommy Harper (42)

Luis Aparicio (75)

A.L. Batting Leaders (1)

 

E:

Lew Krausse (23)

Twins Rookie Stars (99)

Hank Aaron (100)

Milt Pappas (79)

Roberto Clemente (50)

Zoilo Versalles (38)

Jesus Alou (22)

Orioles Rookie Stars (66)

A.L. Strikeout Leaders (11)

Dick Schofield (18)

Jack Billingham (92)

 

F:

Chico Salmon (62)

Danny Cater (44)

N.L. RBI Leaders (4)

Joe Morgan (35)

Denver LeMaster (96)

Preston Gomez (74)

Paul Popovich (47)

Woody Fryman (51)

A.L. ERA Leaders (7)

Clay Carroll (26)

Dave Morehead (29)

 

G:

N.L. Home Run Leaders (6)​​​​

Jimmie Hall (61)

Bill Monbouquette (64)

Mike Marshall (17)

Al McBean (14)

N.L. Pitching Leaders (10)

Al Dark (91)

Rich Nye (88)

Maury Wills (45)

Ernie Banks (20)

2nd Series Checklist (107)

 

Series 2 featured the following row patterns:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, A, B, I, J

Slit B: H, A, B, I, J, C, D, E, F, G, E, F

Rows A, B, E and F were over-printed:

A:

Carl Yastrzemski (130)

Rico Petrocelli (215)

Donn Clendenon (208)

Woody Woodward (142)

Andy Kosco (139)

Ron Reed (177)

Stan Williams (118)

Johnny Edwards (186)

Tommy Davis (135)

Don Pavletich (179)

World Series Game 6 (167)

 

B:

Joe Nossek (143)

Cardinals Rookie Stars (136)

Tommie Aaron (128)

Jim Britton (154)

Jim Bunning (175)

Ollie Brown (149)

Jim Fairey (117)

Phillies Rookie Stars (206)

World Series Game 4 (165)

Vada Pinson (160)

Don Shaw (183)

 

E:

Bob Gibson (200)

World Series Game 3 (164)

Lee Stange (148)

John Purdin (161)

Ray Sadecki (125)

Dave Baldwin (132)

John Odom (195)

Leo Durocher (147)

Astros Rookie Stars (156)

Wally Bunker (137)

John Donaldson (217)

 

F:

Rick Reichardt (205)​

Larry Haney (209)

Ted Uhlaender (194)

Pete Rose (120)

J.C. Martin (112)

Dave May (113)

Wilbur Wood (123)

Clay Dalrymple (151)

Joe Gibbon (158)

Don Cardwell (193)

Jerry Stephenson (172)

 

Reconstructions show us that the row patterns for series 3 were likely:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, H, I

Slit B: B, C, F, G, H, I, J, A, B, C, D, E

Rows B, C, H and I were over-printed:

B:

Ken Harrelson (240)

Sparky Lyle (311)

Jim Grant (306)

Jack Fisher (318)

Jose Vidal (322)

Larry Miller (323)

Jose Cardenal (325)

Rusty Staub (230)

Don Mincher (285)

Sandy Alomar (283)

Dodgers Rookie Stars (266)

 

C:

Jim Hunter (235)

Expos Rookie Stars (284)

Ken Johnson (238)

Bob Johnson (261)

Fred Patek (219)

Tom Dukes (223)

Alex Johnson (280

Padres Rookie Stars (304)

Hal Lanier (316)

Dal Maxvill (320)

Manny Mota (236)

 

H:

Dave Ricketts (232)

Duane Josephson (222)

Bill Landis (264)

Willie Crawford (327)

Ron Herbel (251)

Ed Stroud (272)

Ted Kubiak (281)

Gene Oliver (247)

Tigers Rookie Stars (324)

Roger Nelson (279)

Reggie Jackson (260) – Small mercies?

 

I:

Chuck Cottier (252)

Darrell Brandon (301)

Bruce Look (317)

Tony Perez (295)

Cal Koonce (303)

Dave Leonhard (228)

Walt Williams (309)

Jerry Johnson (253)

Frank Johnson (227)

Jim McAndrew (321)

Jose Tartabull (287)

 

Series 4 is unique – it is Topps’ only 99-card series:

     

It offers these row patterns:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, A, B, C

Slit B: F, G, H, I, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H

For the first time since 1957, a Topps series contains genuinely short-printed cards.  Rows D, E and I appear only twice each across a full sheet, while the other rows make 3 appearances each.  D, E and I are therefore short-prints:

D:

Bubba Morton (342)

Frank Quilici (356)

Jim Roland (336)

Lee May (405)

Dan Frisella (343)

Gene Brabender (393)

Joe Horlen (328)

Chris Short (395)

Bob Burda (392)

Ken Boswell (402)

Dick Williams (349)

 

E:

Tito Francona (398)

Randy Hundley (347)

Pilots Rookie Stars (394)

Stan Bahnsen (380)

Jeff Torborg (353)

Carl Taylor (357)

Del Unser (338)

Casey Cox (383)

Tom Egan (407)

Bill Freehan (390)

5^th Series Checklist (412)

 

I:

Ed Kranepool (381)

Lou Johnson (367)

Frank Linzy (345)

Roland Sheldon (413)

Dick Kelley (359)

Bill Mazeroski (335)

Phil Ortega (406)

Harmon Killebrew (375)

Bob Bailey (399)

Adolfo Phillips (372)

4th Series Checklist (314)

  

Series 5 is arranged in the typical 88-card pattern.

Series 6 was arranged:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, A, F, G, B, C, D, E

Slit B: C, D, A, G, H, B, C, D, E, A, G, H

Rows A, C and D are over-printed:

A:

Pirates Rookie Stars (567)

Ted Shows How (539)

Bird Hill Aces (532)

Dodgers Rookie Stars (552)

Tigers Rookie Stars (544)

Yankees Rookie Stars (519)

Ron Swoboda (585)

Bob Veale (520)

Jim Northrup (580)

Dave Nelson (579)

Bob Chance (523)

 

C:

Dick Green (515)

Cardinals Rookie Stars (559)

Mike Lum (514)

Bob Aspromonte (542)

Joe Verbanic (541)

Ron Davis (553)

Earl Wilson (525)

Expos Rookie Stars (524)

Hoyt Wilhelm (565)

Bill White (588)

Cesar Tovar (530)

 

D:

Marty Pattin (563)

Joe Rudi (587)

Ed Kirkpatrick (529)

Hector Torres (526)

Bob Watson (562)

Brooks Robinson (550)

Claude Osteen (528)

Dick Farrell (531)

Willie Stargell (545)

Gary Nolan (581)

A's Rookie Stars (556)

 

Each series 7 slit has been reconstructed, making these row patterns almost certain:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E

Slit B: E, F, G, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D

Cards in rows C, D and E were over-printed:

C:

Gus Gil (651)

Ed Sprague (638)

Dave Wickersham (647)

Dooley Womack (594)

Harry Walker (633)

Eddie Watt (652)

Len Gabrielson (615)

John Boozer (599)

Chuck Hartenstein (596)

George Culver (635)

A.L. Rookie Stars (658)

 

D:

Al Jackson (649)

Lee Maye (595)

N.L. Rookie Stars (641)

John Kennedy (631)

George Brunet (645)

Braves Rookie Stars (611)

Barry Moore (639)

Dick Bosman (607)

Gene Mauch (606)

Dick Simpson (608)

Jesse Gonder (619)

 

E:

Cubs Rookie Stars (602)

Red Sox Rookie Stars (628)

A.L. Rookie Stars (597)

Expos Rookie Stars (646)

White Sox Rookie Stars (654)

Astros Rookie Stars (614)

Mack Jones (625)

N.L. Rookie Stars (624)

John Hiller (642)

Chuck Hinton (644)

Aurelio Rodriguez (653)

 

​

 

1970 Topps Baseball – 720 Total Cards in Set

Topps upped its card count by 66 (there’s that key number again) in 1970 to better accommodate the expanded MLB, and for the first time crossed the 700-card threshold.

Series 1: 1-132, 132 different cards (extra series 1 checklist eliminated)

Series 2: 133-263, 131 different cards plus a repeated series 2 checklist from series 1

Series 3: 264-372, 109 different cards plus a repeated series 3 checklist from series 2

Series 4: 373-459, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 4 checklist from series 3

Series 5: 460-546, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 5 checklist from series 4

Series 6: 547-633, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 6 checklist from series 5

Series 7: 634-720, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 7 checklist from series 6

 

Series 1 and 2 each feature 12 different rows arranged in the following patterns:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, F, A, B, C, D, E, F

Slit B: G, H, I, J, K, L, G, H, I, J, K, L

Individually, each slit gives the appearance of a typical 66-card series, with both slits being necessary for a full series.

Series 3 was arranged as follows:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, A, B, C, D, E, D, E

Slit B: H, I, J, K, I, H, I, J, K, I, J, K

It is unusual that the over-printed rows (D, E, J and K) were repeated so close together, particularly on slit A:

D:

World Series Celebration (310)

Leo Durocher (291)

Tommie Aaron (278)

Fred Lasher (356)

Lou Brock (330)

Ray Jarvis (361)

Rod Gaspar (371)

World Series Game 5 (309)

Dave Boswell (325)

Brant Alyea (303)

Wally Bunker (266)

 

E:

Mike McCormick (337)

Russ Snyder (347)

Dan McGinn (364)

Al Ferrara (345)

Luke Walker (322)

Clay Dalrymple (319)

Skip Guinn (316)

World Series Game 1 (305)

Bob Burda (357)

Tony Taylor (324)

World Series Game 4 (308)

 

J:

Fred Talbot (287)​

Barry Moore (366)

Bobby Wine (332)

Dodgers Rookies (286)

Curt Blefary (297)

Claude Raymond (268)

George Brunet (328)

Angel Bravo (283)

Gerry Arrigo (274)

Jack Baldschun (284)

Red Sox Rookies (317)

 

K:

Pedro Borbon (358)​​

Cesar Gutierrez (269)

Cecil Upshaw (295)

Twins Rookies (267)

Johnny Edwards (339)

Ron Hunt (276)

Larry Hisle (288)

Paul Doyle (277)

Rod Carew (290)

Amos Otis (354)

Red Schoendienst (346)

 

At 88 cards each, series 4-7 broke with the typical 88-card pattern, which was:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, A, B, C, D

Slit B: E, F, G, H, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H

Instead, they each featured this pattern:

        

Slit A: A, B, C, D, A, B, C, D, A, B, C, D

Slit B: E, F, G, H, E, F, G, H, E, F, G, H

Each slit contained a single block of four rows, repeated three times each.

FUN FACT: when looking through your 1970 Topps cards, have you ever noticed a thin white line running along the top or bottom?  Sure you have.  This is a seam between blocks of rows.  It is only visible in the 1962 and 1970 sets.  It should have appeared in 1971, which features a colored background and repeated blocks, but doesn’t for unknown reasons. 

This line can be seen below in this blown-up section of series 6, slit A.  If they are even slightly off-center downward, the line will be visible on two of every three Willie Mays cards:

                                                       

 

1971 Topps Baseball – 752 Total Cards in Set

Series 1: 1-132, 132 different cards

Series 2: 133-263, 131 different cards plus a repeated series 2 checklist from series 1

Series 3: 264-393, 130 different cards plus a repeated series 3 checklist and coins checklist from series 2

Series 4: 394-523, 130 different cards plus a repeated series 4 checklist and coins checklist from series 3

Series 5: 524-643, 120 different cards plus a repeated series 5 checklist from series 4

Series 6: 644-752, 109 different cards plus a repeated series 6 checklist from series 5

Topps again upped its card count in 1971, and also reduced the number of series to six.

Series 1 and 2 were arranged precisely as series 1 and 2 had been in 1970.

 

Series 3 and 4 were arranged in the same way, but featured something of an oddity.  In 1971, Topps included its final insert set of the vintage era – a collection of 153 metal coins.  51 were issued in series 2, 51 in series 3, and the final 51 in series 4.  Series 2 contained a checklist card (#161) for the coins set.  Because the coins continued to be issued in the next two series, each also contained a reprint of the coin checklist. 

 

At 121 cards (a first for a Topps series) series 5 featured 11 different rows arranged quite differently across the two slits:

 

    

 

Slit A: A, B, C, A, B, C, D, E, F, D, E, F

Slit B: G, H, I, J, G, H, I, J, K, I, J, K

Rows I and J on slit B were over-printed (three times to the other cards’ two) in order to fill out the full sheet:

I:

Amos Otis (610)                                                           

Jack Aker (593)                                                         

Pat Dobson (547)                                                       

A.L. Rookie Stars (633)           

Indians Team Photo (584)                                                       

Frank Howard (620)                                               

Hector Torres (558)                                                       

Luke Walker (534)                                                     

Joe Lahoud (622)                                                     

Ray Jarvis (526)                                                           

Bob Miller (542) 

 

J:

Mike Ryan (533)

Yankees Team Photo (543)

Don Mason (548)

Ken Tatum (601)

Mets Team Photo (641)

Carl Yastrzemski (530)

Marty Martinez (602)

Larry Hisle (616)

Jim Wynn (565)

Ron Hunt (578)

Ken Suarez (597)

 

Series 6 featured the following row patterns:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, A, B, C, D, E, C, D, E

Slit B: F, G, H, I, F, G, H, I, J, H, I, J

Rows C, D, H and I were over-printed:

C:

Milt Ramirez (702)       

Jim Rooker (730)                

Pete Ward (667)              

Andy Kosco (746)            

Gary Neibauer (668)          

Jose Azcue (657)                 

Bob Moose (690)                

Dick Drago (752)

Bill Hands (670)

Skip Guinn (741)

Juan Pizarro (647)

 

D:

Ken Szotkiewicz (749)

Dick Billings (729)

Bill Butler (681)

John Morris (721)

Bob Heise (691)

Joe Niekro (695)

Jim Britton (699)​​​

Bob Reed (732)

Dave Boswell (675)

Dave Leonhard (716)

Sonny Siebert (710)

 

H:

Terry Harmon (682)

Braves Team Photo (652)

Jerry Morales (696)

Ray Culp (660)

Royals Team Photo (742)

George Thomas (678)

N.L. Rookie Stars (747)

Don O'Riley (679)​​

Fred Lasher (707)

Marv Staehle (663)

Frank Baker (689)

 

I:

Bob Garibaldi (701)

Mike Kekich (703)

Curt Motton (684)

N.L. Rookie Stars (728)

Expos Team Photo (674)

Matty Alou (720)

Paul Popovich (726)

Jose Martinez (712)

Billy Wynne (718)

Tommie Reynolds (676)

Moe Drabowsky (685)

 

 

1972 Topps Baseball – 787 Total Cards in Set

Series 1: 1-132, 132 different cards

Series 2: 133-263, 131 different cards plus a repeated series 2 checklist from series 1

Series 3: 264-394, 131 different cards plus a repeated series 3 checklist from series 2

Series 4: 395-525, 131 different cards plus a repeated series 4 checklist from series 3

Series 5: 526-656, 131 different cards plus a repeated series 5 checklist from series 4

Series 6: 657-787, 131 different cards plus a repeated series 6 checklist from series 5

Not only was the 1972 set the largest ever yet for Topps (and the most gaudy), but in a victory for orderliness, all six series in 1972 featured the same row patterns:

Slit A: A, B, C, A, B, C, D, E, F, D, E, F

Slit B: G, H, I, G, H, I, J, K, L, J, K, L

For the first time since Topps adopted the 11x12 half-sheet format in 1957, a Topps set featured no over- or short-printed cards. 

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There's more to come!