1969 Topps Team Posters and A Padre To Be Named Later

Introduction

In mid-May 2024, Sports Collectors Daily published Roy Carlson's deep dives into 1969 Team Posters, one of my favorite vintage sets for sheer size and displayability. I profiled its #5, the Baltimore Orioles, back in 2012.

12"x20" at full, unfolded size

Each of Roy's articles shares original design mockups and quantifies how Topps coped with an absence of fresh photos for that year's cards.

• Part 1: Big, Bold, & Borrowed
• Part 2: Giant Size! Assembly

Close inspection of Roy's work highlights how Topps made the best of an expansion era defined by rapid player movement. 1969 posters impress both in size and breadth of lineup, even for new squads in Montreal, KC, Seattle, and San Diego.

1969 Topps issues: Which came first? The chicken, egg, or team posters?

Topps added every animal to their barnyard in 1969, if you include standard and test issues.

• 664-card base set (#5 is AL HR Leaders)
• Stamp sheets with accompanying albums (#5 Atlanta Braves)
• Rub-on decals (unnumbered)
• Black-and-white deckle edge (#5 Jim Fregosi)  
• 4-in-1 sticker sheets (unnumbered)
• Super Baseball (#5 is Yaz)
• Team posters (as above)

I bet fan interest during an expansion year inspired this burst of marketing enthusiasm, in spite of the players union refusing to pose for new photos in 1968, pending better compensation from Topps. Their boycott led, in part, to infamous goofs like batboy Leo Garcia (left) standing in for Aurelio Rodriguez (right). Check out #653's profile from Collecting 1969 Topps to learn everything worth knowing about this card.

Keith Olbermann shared similar insights into 1969 images for SCD in 2010. If Topps bought their rookie Reggie Jackson and "Aurelio Rodriguez" photos from legendary photographer George Brace, #653's mistaken identity could stem from his own goof.

San Diego's expansion year poster shows further impact from players refusing to pose for Topps cameras: 10 hatless headshots and one airbrushed bill for Ron Davis. The Padres even traded Ron to Pittsburgh on March 28, so a proper hat logo would've been out of date by opening day.

The circled Padre, Bill Davis, achieved a measure of hobby fame by appearing on five straight multiplayer "rookie stars" cards, 1965-69, an unbreakable record given how Topps handles RCs today. Bill remained on the verge of breaking out for years, thanks to minor league power and fan popularity. Read Hope Springs Eternal for a look at every Davis base card.  (Don't confuse 1966 cardmate Tom Kelley with Minnesota's manager of similar name.)

San Diego acquired Bill in October 1968 for the classic "player to be named later" (PTBNL). This 1969 cardmate, Clarence "Cito" Gaston, is the future manager who led Toronto to back-to-back titles in 1992-93.

That Padres poster marked Davis's final Topps appearance, once again sharing the spotlight with (many) others. San Diego waited six weeks before sending former AL MVP Zoilo Versalles to Cleveland as their PTBNL, creating some interesting 1969 checklist anachronisms.

 

Note Zoilo's 1969 stamp says "San Diego shortstop" and his autograph graces their album, if upside-down. That tells us Topps designed and produced this set before they could react to late 1968 trades.

His first series card (#38) splits the difference, with Padres on the front and trade to Cleveland on the back! This shows Topps locked series one card fronts by December 1968, when San Diego sent him to Cleveland, and back text sometime later. (It should also say "N.L." under league, since Zoilo played for the Dodgers.)

Zoilo's hatless image from his "S.D. Padres" stamp appears on Cleveland's poster, so these came together sometime after that December swap. In echoes of Ron Davis, Cleveland shipped 😮 Lou Johnson to California on 4-April, so his poster and card team became out-of-date by opening day.

Card #367 fails to mention Johnson's trade, so Topps locked their poster layouts and third series of cards sometime between December & April. Zoilo and Lou each appear in multiple 1969 sets as players on teams they never quite played for.

INSIDE BASEBALL: Some collectors call these almost-played-for-you-but-didnt cards "Flood Warnings," in honor of Curt Flood's refusal to report to the Phillies after being traded in 1969, defying baseball's reserve clause and providing key inspiration for the establishment of free agency by 1975.

"Not just no, hell no."

Why did Topps invest in such gaudy team posters?

I think 1969's lack of fresh photos exacerbated a general laziness Topps showed toward their 1960s team cards. This 1961 White Sox card offers one mediocre option. So many shadows! Such red background!

Did someone realize there had to be a better way? Perhaps Topps hoped a larger, headshot format could satisfy fans, at least in regional markets, even as they dropped team cards from 1969's otherwise huge base set of 664 cards.

No logo-less caps here!

Also consider how 1969 marked the end of Mantle's career, a mainstay for Topps since 1952. He appears on the Yankees poster, its stamps and albums, rub-on decals, Super baseball, 4-in-1 stickers, and base card #500, all of them released after his April retirement announcement.

I wrote before about how superstars like Stan Musial & Ted Williams inspired Topps to make major set changes, like launching All-Star cards in 1958. If Mantle's gotta go out, these serve as terrific salutes!

Contemporary legend Hank Aaron missed out on that capstone, apart from being a post-retirement figure on 1977's Brewers team card. Just one more way Mantle stands out in Topps history.

In summary

I think 1969 team posters served at least three purposes for Topps.

• Test alternative looks for team photos in lieu of cards in their base set
• Help fans in expansion cities get familiar with new rosters
• Give more Mick to Yankee fans during an otherwise moribund era for their franchise

Peccadilloes of offseason transactions like Bill-for-Zoilo show how Topps did their best to match current lineups to a production schedule that took several months to prepare 1969 releases. All these extra sets helped dust off dozens (hundreds?) of hatless photos from company archives, distinguishing that year from any other in hobby history. Thanks again to Roy's work for inspiring further research. If any other details stand out to you, let me know in the comments.

Baseball's Best Fifth Round Draft Picks 1970 - 74

Thanks to Immaculate Grid game #212's new category (first round draft pick) for inspiring me to bone up on MLB's Rule 4 amateur draft, which kicked off in 1965. Baseball Reference's statistical history includes Rule 4's complete record, broken down by draft phase and pick. I already covered 1965-69 in my prior post and will keep looking at five-year blocks until we run out of steam.

Two of these names from the top of 1970's fifth round found similar overall success, right around WAR's break-even point.

Pat Scanlon, who shares his name with an uncle of mine, played parts of four seasons for Montreal and San Diego. He appeared on a pair of standard cards, one SSPC...

...the other, 1978 Topps, airbrushed his Montreal cap and uniform with a foreshortened SD.

Thanks to dedicated blogger and image updater WthBalls, we can enjoy one more Scanlon, based on a real Padres photo.

As good as those three cards turned out, Pat's -0.3 career WAR sits well below our best choice for 1970.

1970: Rick Waits (14.2 WAR)

Rick turned into a Cleveland innings-eater for five years before slowing in 1982 and closing his career as a Milwaukee reliever. His first appearance (September 17, 1973, for Texas) gave him a save that might not be granted today. He pitched the ninth, gave up one run, and finished ahead by seven runs.

Easy to pick my favorite Waits card, a "waiter" card, as marked up by BaseballCardVandals.com.

1971: Charlie Moore (10.3 WAR)

Charlie's name feels more familiar than most, as a Wisconsin native and 1980s card collector. Milwaukee's "tools of ignorance" looked great in blue and gold, with Moore wearing them on cards at least twice.

Moore also spent a lot of time in right field and batted well during a 1982 postseason that brought his Brewers to the World Series against St. Louis.

1972: Randy Jones (17.8 WAR, 1976 NL Cy Young, 2x All-Star)

Randy fell a few votes short of back-to-back Cy Young awards, finishing second to Seaver in 1975 before winning the following year. His flip side Jim Palmer managed that feat, joining the cadre who won at least two in a row.

These two cards show the significance of a great mid-1970s hairdo, whether you're feeling Randy or feeling Jim.

1973: LaMarr Hoyt (12.1 WAR, 1983 AL Cy Young, 1985 All-Star)

Hoyt also led the AL in wins twice (1982-83) and picked up a Cy Young of his own. He followed Randy's example with lofty curls and classic, vintage uniforms.

As inscribed by his own hand, LaMarr started that 1985 All-Star Game (for San Diego) and took the win-plus-MVP in a 6-1 NL victory.

1974: (tie) Steve Henderson (11.5 WAR), Jim Morrison (12 WAR)

For my first time so far, two players vie for the trophy. While Henderson remains closer to my heart as a former Mariner, I prefer his Buntin' Cub 1983 card's more interesting composition.

Jim Morrison started his teen years about when the famous Jim Morrison peaked and I bet he rode a rollercoaster of seeing that name in the papers, for reasons good, bad, and ugly. In an echo of Mr. Mojo Risin's animal magnetism, Topps used portraits of Jim's handsome mug on several cards.

I give the "best pick" edge to Jim over Steve for his three scoreless pitching appearances as a 1988 Brave. Remember his name the next time IG asks for an Atlanta Brave with season ERA under 3!

The Immaculate Grid and Baseball's Best Fifth Round Draft Picks, 1965 - 69

I'm a consistent Immaculate Grid player and use whatever cards litter my desk as "original sources" to plug in names. On Halloween 2023, the grid-makers added a curveball for game #212 with "First Round Draft Pick," something they introduced on earlier versions for football and basketball. I filled in six squares with familiar names and then observed the 1940s and 50s cards on my desk lacked any draft info, leaving me cold. I threw in three guesses, missing on Rick Ankiel and Keith Hernandez, and counted myself lucky to get Barry Zito.

One problem with high picks: many first show up as low picks in earlier years. Barry Zito's "first round pick" (Oakland, 1999) came after earlier attempts in the 59th (Seattle, 1996) and third (Texas, 1998). Many skilled draftees delay signing to play college ball or otherwise develop their skills, reentering the draft in later years.

Draft picks do show up from time-to-time on baseball sets, including something I pinched myself for forgetting, the 1985 Topps subset of active #1 picks.

Check out 30 Year-Old Cardboard's subset profile for all 12

I've used Shawn Abner for Immaculate Grid before at the intersection of Padres, Angels, or White Sox and the trick is that he never played in the bigs for New York. A trade of multiple players, including Kevin McReynolds, moved Abner to SD, where he debuted in 1987. Donruss went all-in by giving Shawn his own "Baseball's Best" card after just 16 games the prior year. The weight of great expectations!

Any memory of Abner's #1 pick card would've helped my IG score, since 2% is far better than the 100-point penalty for missed guesses.

My "what if" Mets row

Interesting that Abner qualified as a Met, since other Immaculate Grid categories require players log at least one team appearance in that uniform. It appears their "first round draft pick" considers selection alone, opening up more obscure answers for MLB draftees who reached the bigs with other clubs. (Most first-rounders get at least a cup of coffee, given how much teams commit to that pick.)

Roger moved fast, from 1983 #1 pick to 1984 in Boston

1985 Topps, and others like it, knit draft status into that tiny bio text. MLB's current amateur selection process ("The Rule 4 Draft") started in 1965 and Topps added relevant info to card backs a decade later in 1976.

1976 card for one member of the inaugural Rule 4 draft 

Those top-tier picks often achieve great things, in terms of stats and accolades, so let's hunt for hidden treasure by finding our best fifth-rounders from the amateur draft's initial years, 1965 to 1969.

1965: Amos Otis (42.8 WAR, 5x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove)

Otis ranked among baseball's best 1970s outfielders and helped KC reach the postseason five times. His cards also show off how good those powder blues can look, year after year.

1966: Dave Cash (25.6 WAR, 3x All-Star, 1971 World Series champ, "Action Dog" nickname)

Dave played almost every day 1971-78, first for Pittsburgh's title winners, and then for an improving Phillies team that won the NL East in 1976. Teammates often mentioned his reliable defense and esprit de corps in the clubhouse.

Dave appears at card shows these days and a trading friend came away with a dollar bill signed by Cash & (Don) Money at the same National. They each seemed amused by the pun.

1967: Dave Goltz (23.1 WAR, 1981 World Series champ)

Dave lingered in the low minors for several years before debuting in 1972 for a 77-77 Twins club by going 3-3. Goltz registered .500 W/L records three more times in the next four years before breaking through with 20 wins in 1977 and still ranks in Minnesota's franchise top-10 for strikeouts. (Remove numbers from the Washington Senators and he'd be even higher.)

My favorite Goltz cards hail from the same 1978 Topps set, first autographing something for a fan and then sharing space with three other excellent hurlers.

1968: Burt Hooton (35.5 WAR, 1981 All-Star, 1981 World Series champ)

Hooton split the 1970s between Chicago and LA, where he and Goltz ended up as teammates on the title-winning 1981 Dodgers squad. Burt spread his 151 career wins across 15 seasons and spring training card photos from Dodgertown, Florida come to my mind first.

His last name's pronounced /WHO-ten/, which led to a 1975 Hostess "Hooten" error, later corrected.

1969: Dwight Evans (67.2 WAR, 3x All-Star, 8x Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger)

"Get yourself someone who can do both," as the saying goes, and Evans sure could hit and flash leather in the outfield. He rates best of these 1965-69 fifth-round picks and many say Cooperstown-worthy. (Hall of Famers Al Kaline, Billy Williams, and Tony Perez all rank in Dewey's top-10 similarity scores.)

My favorite Evans cards sport the bushy mustache, eyebrows, and/or eye black. While one last year in Baltimore "spoiled" his 19 years in Boston for Red Sox fans, he continued to get on base ~40% of the time and ranks #29 all-time in walks (1391), leading the AL three times.

More picks coming!

I'll continue this theme and see what kind of team we can build from fifth-round draft picks, given this solid starting five.

• SP: Goltz, Hooton
• RP: TBD
• C: TBD
• 1B: TBD
• 2B: Cash
• 3B: TBD
• SS: TBD
• OF: Otis, Evans, TBD