Most and least attractive card design in the 70's

MajorDanby · January 31, 2005 5:03AM

What Topps issue in the 70's was the most attractive and ugliest? The 70's is not known for its aesthetic style and beauty...and the baseball cards of that era show it!

My vote:

Most attractive: I'll go for the 1973 set. I like the design...simple yet has a smoothness to it. I also like the back. Plus, the mike schmidt rookie gave the set a premier rookie to look for.
Least attractive: 1972, bar none. Boy, that set was attrocious!

Axtell · January 31, 2005 5:05AM

Best:

1971...the black borders and all lower case...clean and mean looking.

Least:

tied between 1972 and 1975...not sure what it is, but man those cards I just can't get around to liking.

Pinkcatfish · January 31, 2005 5:08AM

Personally, got to love the '72 design- layout, colors, etc. Maybe '75 as the next best.

charliehustle14 · January 31, 2005 5:16AM

Most Attractive: 1975 Topps. Different color border schemes make for variety and attractive set. Neat idea with the MVP cards. I was fascinated by these back when I was 7 and getting Mays and Mantle cards out of the pack....1971 is a close runner-up for me

Least Attractive: 1970 Topps with drab gray borders and lower case g's, j's, q's, y's, and z's that dip too close to the bottom edge.

Dallas88 · January 31, 2005 5:21AM

My esteemed vote for best-looking set goes to 1975 Topps - 1973 second place, and 1978 third place (I'm biased here)

Worst-looking set is 1974 - just plain blah....followed closely by 1979.

Dal

koby · January 31, 2005 5:28AM

Best
1971 w/ the mini 1975 following a close second

Worst
1974

Brian48 · January 31, 2005 5:32AM

The '72 set absolutely opitimizes the '70's in all it's eye-sore, superfly, "oh-my-god-what-was-I-thinking" glory. Best looking? No way, but it's definitely the most appropriate.

For me, I like the clean look of the '71's as well. I look at overall photo quality as well as card design. If you can look past the varying colors of the '75 set, that's a fairly clean looking and attractive set too. I would have voted for the 1970 set as well, but that's technically the last set of the 60's vs the first set of the 70's.

larryallen73 · January 31, 2005 5:35AM

I like all the in-action cards and other extra cards (i.e. boyhood photos) of the '72 set.
I also like '74, but that's soley because it was the first year I actively bought cards so I have fond memories.

Not a huge fan of '78. Ok but nothing exciting.

Also, I think '75 is overrated. I wasn't a Partridge Family fan so am not a fan of the '75 set!

tennesseebanker · January 31, 2005 5:37AM

Personally I like the 72's and 75's the best the color scheme is great on those cards. The least would be the 79's and those darn ugly 70's cards.

CON40 · January 31, 2005 5:42AM

I think this topic is worthy of a rank:

10. 1979 Topps. Boring. Think driver's license boring. Yes, that boring.
9. 1970 Topps. Again, dull as dishwater. In fact, the backs are nicer than the fronts!
8. 1974 Topps. Clean design, but uninspired. Lack of good photos to make up for the sterile layout.
7. 1973 Topps. Marginally better than '74 because of the little silhouettes for the positions.
6. 1978 Topps. The pastel coloring of the photos, borders and type in this set is unique, but still bland overall.
5. 1977 Topps. Nice clean design overall. But those double line black borders around the photos really suck.
4. 1972 Topps. Funky disco design and colors was a first for Topps and it sure makes for a set with personality.
3. 1975 Topps. Topps brought back the funky colors, but did better than in '72 by coloring the borders instead and keeping the photos clean. Love the All Stars!
2. 1976 Topps. Probably the most underrated design of the '70s. Wonderful color schemes, great photos, and you can't beat those little player icons.
1. 1971 Topps. A classic. The soft colors of the type against the dark black borders is killer. Plus, the first set to include action shots!

tennesseebanker · January 31, 2005 5:44AM

Good ranking ! And yes the 76's are waaaay underatted some of the best photos ever taken. I love the Bench card in 76, a cloud of dust and........

baseballcardsonly · January 31, 2005 6:17AM

Ok! here is my rankings....

1) 1972
2) 1975
3) 1971
4) 1977
5) 1976
6) 1978
7) 1970
8) 1973
9) 1974
10) 1979 (by a mile)

denwd1 · January 31, 2005 6:45AM

best 1972 , worst 1977,1978, 1979 tie!

dallasactuary · January 31, 2005 6:54AM

Best: 1972

Worst: 1971

I like how the 1971's look on the front, but the backs only showed stats for the prior year. As a kid already hooked on stats in 1971 that absolutely ruined that set for me. Including SB and TB made up for it a little, but not enough.

magellan · January 31, 2005 8:30AM

Ok, 1 through 10

1. 1971
2. 1977
3. 1976
4. 1973
5. 1978
6. 1970
7. 1974
8. 1972
9. 1975
10.1979

metsfan · January 31, 2005 8:50AM

Best-1972
Worst-1979
I remember opening 1972 packs and I thought the colors were great. I also liked the In Action cards.The only thing I didn't like were the fact I coudn't find the high numbers. My local stationary was selling football cards by then. But that is what makes them valuable.
1979 was just a boring year.

jaxxr · January 31, 2005 9:38AM

Of course this is ALL subjective, and somewhat based on what we collect, if by choice or by chance.

A really sharp copy of any 70s card, a high-end 9 or a good 10 looks very nice.

71s are the most expensive and toughest because of the black borders, does that really make them the most attractive ? Is a woman who is fairly old and worth a lot, more attactive than a poor 19 year old ?
Is Dinero a better actor than Brando ? Is poker better than chess ? Is red better than blue ?

But answer the original question, my worthless opinion might be;

Good: 71, 72, 78
Good+: 74, 76, 79
Good++: 70, 73, 75, 77

softparade · January 31, 2005 10:22AM

I am very partial to the 78's

WhosYourVladdy · January 31, 2005 10:49AM

I love 1976. They were the first year that I collected, and still is an awesome set for me. For some reason I really like the 1972 set because of all of the psychedelic colors. I am putting together a 1977 set and I do like that set as well. In my opinion the ugliest and worst set of the 70's would have to be 1979. They are just awful. Just my humble opinion.

David

Lothar52 · January 31, 2005 12:57PM

correction...1956's were the first set to have action chots....just look at willie mays card and tell me that aint action

loth

helionaut · January 31, 2005 1:48PM

I've become enamored of the 78 set. The color frame and white border with an uncluttered design make the pictures look bigger somehow. The script team name is nice, and the little baseball for the position is a perfect detail. I think when you've got a really sharp 9 or 10 with a snow-white border, perfect centering, and a great photo, they are just about the nicest cards you could imagine. Honorable mention to 1975 Topps and 1971 Topps Greatest Moments.

My least favorite is one of the Kellogg's sets. They started out nice in 1970 and 1971, but by about 1975 they stated to go crazy with the borders and stars and such, often covering up way too much of the picture. I guess it was easy to make the designs move than the photos, which was the point of the lentricular cards, but they didn't make it a great card design.

Stone193 · January 31, 2005 1:57PM

<< I've become enamored of the 78 set >>

Helio
I agree but the centering on most cards is really bad. Would you do the set raw or graded? For sets in the hundreds, the grading fees makes collecting the set really expensive IMO. Mind you, I'm speaking as a collector and not an investor.
I have most sets in raw and they look really great in a binder. In fact, the Roops look so good with printing on the outside, that I was considering purchasing them.

your friend
Mike

phreakydancin · January 31, 2005 2:01PM

Best: 1975, with 1971 close behind. Did you know? Topps employed the same 1975 design in their English and Scottish "Footballer" (soccer) sets that year, their first entries into the UK market.

Worst: 1972 - I absolutely agree with the opening post by majordanby... "attrocious" pretty much sums it up. 1976 in second place.

The rest of the decade featured unoffensive, simple designs for the the most part. 1970 and 1974 imparted a classy design. 1973 reminds me of a classic 60s set, with the round-cornered windows of the 1969s with positional icons similar to 1963 Fleer. 1977, 1978 and 1979 all employed very minimalist, largely forgettable designs.

goudeygold · January 31, 2005 5:13PM

Best: 1971... Solid black borders with bright team names is killer. also the first card I ever bought.

worst: 1972... The only nolan ryan I never bought as a kid because i just couldn't see spending that much money on such an ugly card... and i'm still missing it.

the 75s are a close runner up for the best. but i can't even picture them without the print dots and the off centered cards.

GG

jskirwin · February 1, 2005 12:57AM

I collect through 78.
1970 is by far the ugliest. Even high-grade cards look washed out because of that grey border.
1971 is the best (though the single year stats is a problem). However it's a nightmare to collect because the black border is so fragile.

While the 72 is gaudy, it does have one of my favorite cards of all time: The 1972 Clemente. That's a piece of art...

Blackborder · April 8, 2007 7:00AM

10. 1975 (sorry, i can't stand the gaudy colors)
9. 1972 (again, too gaudy, reminds me of an old theater marquee)
8. 1970 (gray borders just don't look good, almost looks like a newspaper)
7. 1979 (not outright ugly like the previous three but uninspired)
6. 1977 (again, not outright bad, but uninspired)
5. 1974 (clean and simple design that works. I like the 74's, more than the 78's which I ranked higher)
4. 1978 (great design with the scripted lettering and baseball)
3. 1976 (great photos and simple design with the position logo)
2. 1973 (I'm biased here. I love the set for the bad photography. It does have a simple clean design though even if the player silhouettes remind me of the Charlie's Angles logo)
1. 1971 (you can't beat a black bordered set for simplistic beauty)

TraderShea · April 8, 2007 7:10AM

Honestly, my vote would go to the 1972 Topps set for both...

I think the 72 set was so ugly that its cool, making it not only the worst design we saw but also one of the more loved (as we have seen from this thread ~ it gets it share of love!). Add in the great "in action" cards and white borders so the cards dont show horrible marks which is a blessing for set builders some 30 years after and we have a winner with this loser of a design.

Gotta love um:

ArnyVee · April 8, 2007 7:28AM

Here's my rank from my favorite design to worst....

1st - 1971's classic basic design is one of my favorites of all time.
2nd - tie 1975 & 1972 .... love the funky designs on each.
3rd - 1976 ... love the photography and agree that it's underrated.
4th - 1977 ... have always been a fan of this issue.
5th - 1978 ... simple, clean...gotta love it.
6th - 1973 ... cool pics with weird pics mixed in make for a cool issue.
7th - 1974 ... nice photography and simple design.
8th - 1970 ... gray borders make for a boring design in my opinion.
9th - 1979 ... like the cards, but have to rank them at the bottom because the design is just not that good.

grote15 · April 8, 2007 7:58AM

Best (and most expensive in high grade): 1971

Worst: 1979 (poor card stock that year and a ho-hum design)

I also like the colorful 1975 set, and the backs of the 73 cards were cool with the gold and black--also lots of horizontal action shots with some strange backgrounds, too. (I can't recall the card off-hand, but there's one with a parking lot with a station wagon in the background).

ORANGE · April 8, 2007 8:19AM

Best 72 Really super cool cards. Great photos great vintage look. Straight out of 20s look with far more colors than any other card and a tip of the cap to the great airbrushing job on the rarely seen Ryan card.

Worst 79

Blackborder · April 8, 2007 8:35AM

<< Best (and most expensive in high grade): 1971

Worst: 1979 (poor card stock that year and a ho-hum design)

I also like the colorful 1975 set, and the backs of the 73 cards were cool with the gold and black--also lots of horizontal action shots with some strange backgrounds, too. (I can't recall the card off-hand, but there's one with a parking lot with a station wagon in the background). >>

The 1973 Alvarado. Probably my favorite card in the set.

grote15 · April 8, 2007 8:36AM

The 1973 Alvarado. Probably my favorite card in the set.

That's the one! Thanks for the pic, blackborder!

Blackborder · April 8, 2007 8:39AM

<< The 1973 Alvarado. Probably my favorite card in the set.

That's the one! Thanks for the pic, blackborder! >>

I love that card. It defines the 1973 set and it's classic bad (or strange) photography. In fact, I have an icon of it I'm going to upload on icon day!

Estil · April 8, 2007 8:39AM

I personally like bold, colorful designs, so the 1975 set (which is like my ultimate goal for after I finish my other projects below) gets my vote with the 1971 being a very close second (but even a mid-grade set is way out of my price range right now). The 1973 and 1977 designs aren't really bad, but they just aren't as interesting as the others that decade.

The best back design goes to 1977; I love the clever billboard design, though it does not look right at all on a miscut or hairline borders, so for that set especially, back centering is important too.

perkdog · April 8, 2007 8:44AM

1974 is my favorite, 1973 a close second. 1971 and 1972 are my least favorites, I know there is a huge following in the '71 set but not for me.

Estil · April 8, 2007 9:04AM

I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes the 1974's. I'm not sure why, I guess they just have their charm, not to mention it's about the oldest set that's still affordable in NRMT condition ($300 at BBCE, and most top grade raw sets sell in the $300's or so).

TJMAC · April 8, 2007 11:03AM

Here is my list:

#10 - 1978 - I always thought it was a bland set. Other than the Reggie Jackson, Nolan Ryan, Dave Parker and a few others, it seems like there are alot of head shots of the stars i.e Brett, Eckersley, Brock etc.

#9 - 1973 - I think it is a nice looking card design, but some of the photography is terrible. On some of the cards it is tough to find the correct player.

#8 - 1974 - Better effort than the 73's, but their are still a few rough photos. Overall, I still think it is a great set. I love some of the star photos like the Fisk, Morgan, Bench, Rose, Yaz, Ryan, Nettles and Seaver. The Yankee cards are also cool from that year with the black coloring.

#7 - 1976 - Great looking photos and solid overall design. Certainly one of the classic sets. The Brett card is my favorite by far.

#6 - 1975 - The gaudy colors really stand out and it was a nice change of pace from the typical cards we see from year to year. Definitely fits the era. My favorite card is Robin Yount.

#5 - 1972 - Another great looking gaudy design. The team names at the top are also very appealing. My favorite cards from this set are the Garvey and Carew.

#4 - 1977 - Very simple design and in my opinion an underrated set. Very hard to find centered and the quality wasn't the greatest. The thin borders allow for a larger picture, which was nice. My favorites from this set are the Lou Brock, Steve Garvey and Rod Carew.

#3 - 1971 - The black borders are striking and the action shots are great. The best card for me is a no brainer - Thruman Munson. I also like the Roberto Clemente and Brooks Robinson. The Nolan Ryan card would be great if you could see him.

#2 - 1979 - I know this set gets no love, but I think the action photography is head and shoulders better than its more popular predecessor the 1978 set. The actons shots of Carlton, Morgan, Fisk, Seaver, Brett, Carew, Stargell and Rose are awesome. I even like the Ozzie Smith and Paul Molitor. Truly one of the best sets. It is also cool how a lot of the Pirates are decked out in the yellow uniforms.

#1 - 1970 - The grey borders were different and the simplicity of design stands out to me. The photographic quality is top notch too. The Tony Perez, Willie Mays, Harmon Killebrew, Nolan Ryan, Johnny Bench, and several others look great. I have the top 30 cards in this set and pretty much all the others in the 1970's PSA graded and I think this one displays the best in a case. Just my 2 cents, but I figure someone should speak up for the 1970 and 1979 sets.

I really don't hate any of these sets. I have an appreciation for all these designs and look at each year as a piece of history everytime I thumb through them. Though, I do have my favorites.

BobaFett72 · April 8, 2007 11:40AM

honestly i really like the 1974 set, its very appealing; i also like the sweet colors and bold borders on the 1972 <my birth year> set

1973 is fugly, also dislike the 1979 issue.

Darin · April 8, 2007 12:12PM

1971 is my least favorite, by far. Even as a 7 year old kid, I knew the first letter in both your first and last name was supposed to be capitalized. I wondered why the good folks at Topps didn't even know that. Also in a lot of the photos the players weren't even wearing a cap, and the black borders are just plain dullsville.

1975 is the best.

jskirwin · April 8, 2007 12:15PM

Wow people are pretty much all over when it comes to their love/hate for design.
As a 70s collector I love the '71 set even though its borders are a bear to collect 36 years later in anything higher than ExMT.
Second best: The '72 set. Yeah, it gaudy but it begins to grow on you after awhile.

Worst:
1970 - Dull as dishwater. While the photography was top notch and the quality control better than later sets, it's just a boring set to look at.
Second worst: 1975. Two-tone cards just didn't work.

Publius · April 8, 2007 1:11PM

Love the 78 football cards. The all pro logo looks cool across it

.02 worth

ryaneversole · April 8, 2007 4:15PM

I like most of the 70's pretty well. I've been trying to rank it myself lately and all I come up with is that 1981 really annoys me... enough to jump into my thoughts about the 70's. 1981 and 1994 really chap my arse. 1994 for the horrid gloss and terrible scheme. I respect Topps for 1952-1992 + the heritage issues of the last few years.

fiveniner · April 8, 2007 6:45PM

My Favorite is 75s by a landslide followed by 71s.Worst by far 72s.

Stingray · April 8, 2007 11:06PM

73s had some great images, my favorite, look at the people in the stands, even the security guard is watching!!

Blackborder · April 9, 2007 12:40AM

<< 73s had some great images, my favorite, look at the people in the stands, even the security guard is watching!! >>

That's a great card! Even if he manages to tag him with his glove, he's got the ball in his other hand!

originalisbest · April 9, 2007 12:47AM

That's funny fiveniner; I love the '75s and the '72s! Also '71s.

Worst is a tie between '73 and '74.

detroitfan2 · April 9, 2007 5:20AM

That Freehan card is SWEET. I posted this one in a different thread, but since it's quite possibly the best action shot of all-time, I'll repeat it here. If only Topps could have positioned MacArthur's head a bit closer to the top . . .

softparade · April 9, 2007 6:04AM

1. 1978 - Just a great classic design and my all time favorite set
2. 1971 - Thos black borders are beautiful when mint
3. 1973 - I just like the design and the off the wall shots
4. 1975 - Funky equals GREAT
5. 1972 - PERFECT hit on what early 70's were like
6. 1974 - Basic, clean, crisp design
7. 1976 - See ABove
8. 1977 - Never liked this issue .... Team names too in your face
9. 1970 - Boring
10. 1979 - Easliy the worst 70's issue BY FAR. Ugly and Fugly ..... but thats just me

Stingray · April 9, 2007 6:11AM

<< That Freehan card is SWEET. I posted this one in a different thread, but since it's quite possibly the best action shot of all-time, I'll repeat it here. If only Topps could have positioned MacArthur's head a bit closer to the top . . .

>>

Everytime I see that card it reminds of this Bugs Bunny character:

downgoesfrazier · April 9, 2007 6:17AM

I like the card designs that are most appropriate of their era. I like '72 & '75 because they are SOOOO 70's.
#6: 1970
#5: 1975
#2: 1978 & 1972
#1: 1977 & 1971 These sets look the best in my opinion in high-grade--awful in off-grade...go figure! There's nothing quite like the 71 Vida Blue!

Frazier's Top 10 Cards of the 1970's...
01. 1978 Reggie Jackson
02. 1971 Vida Blue
03. 1976 Johnny Bench
04. 1977 Mark Fidrych
05. 1972 Roberto Clemente
06. 1977 Jim Palmer
07. 1972 Thurman Munson
08. 1970 Willie McCovey
09. 1977 J.R. Richard
10. 1976 Bill Madlock
Of course, I like thousands of others. I excluded ALL horizontal cards like the 74 Seaver & Gavey, 71 Munson (grogeous photo) as I just don't care for horizontal cards.

RonBurgundy · April 9, 2007 9:02AM

Here's my ranking from 1-10, 1 being the best and 10 being the worst:

1. 1971: Don't have many of 'em, but it's an outstanding set. Beautiful cards in high grade.
2. 1975: Epitomizes the 70's, more so than the 72's in my opinion. Great set with tons of stars.
3. 1970: A big classic set, with some tough high numbers.
4. 1973: Love the clean look to these, the horizontal action shots, & one of my all time favorite cards (Clemente).
5. 1978: First year collecting cards for me, these are a sentimental favorite.
6. 1972: Another big set, with tough highs. Would rank them higher if the quality control was better (too many tilts).
7. 1974: Not much to these, but some decent action shots, and the Washington Nat'l League makes 'em interesting.
8. 1977: The only thing that keeps this set from being ranked lower is the fact that many cards are tough in 9 or better.
9. 1976: Drab, uninteresting, and dull.
10. 1979: Just plain godawful. The height of the Topps monopoly, and it showed. Terrible cards.

Stay classy,

Ron

Most and least attractive card design in the 70's

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