Card front (blank back)
This isn't Jose Lopez, the former Seattle and Colorado infielder. Instead, it's Jose Angel Lopez, a Venezuelan native who spent 7 years in the Houston and St. Louis farm systems (minor stats at B-R.com). It was nigh-impossible for fans to track multi-country prospects in those days, but MLB.com news provides a steady stream of "winter league" player updates.
Aqua on yellow? Must be 1972 Topps
Venezuela capital-L loves baseball and locals printed cards as far back as 1916. Many post-war designs imitate Topps sets and their 1972 issue took a stab at its psychedelic arches, with high-contrast borders and player name on the bottom edge. Card numbers move to the front, since they're really blank-backed stamps destined for mounting in team albums. TCDB provides its 249-card checklist.
Value: Mr. Lopez cost $10 on eBay a few years ago. Venezuelan cards are affordable if you avoid the big league stars.
Fakes / reprints: Haven't seen many foreign fakes in the market and it'd be tough to make money reprinting 1970s Latin American sets.
2 comments:
wow, fascinating stuff...I had no idea that these sets existed
They're quite a collection of pictures and styles! Check the research work done at the Topps Archives, if you want more details.
Topps Venezuelan posts at the Topps Archives
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