"Must have" 1970's cards

[Vintagevault13]

I started collecting in 1974 so the 70's cards are near and dear to my heart as they bring back many great memories. I was wondering what are your top ten "must have" or most iconic cards from the 70's.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by Vintagevault13

I started collecting in 1974 so the 70's cards are near and dear to my heart as they bring back many great memories. I was wondering what are your top ten "must have" or most iconic cards from the 70's.

Hmmmm....
Immediately come to mind:
1973 Topps Mike Schmidt
1975 Topps/Mini George Brett
1975 Topps/Mini Robin Yount
1972 Topps Fisk/Cooper
1971 Topps Thurman Munson (not his rookie, but great shot and the All-Star Rookie Cup logo)
1978 Topps Eddie Murray
1974 Topps Dave Winfield
1978 Topps Trammell, Molitor

Others in my top 10:
1976 Topps Kurt Bevacqua (bubble gum blowing champ!)
1971 Topps Ernie Banks (love that smile!)

[brewing]

This would be my list
1970 Ryan or Bench
1971 Dick Allen (1st mustache on a Topps card)
1971 Thurman Munson
1972 Roberto Clemente (love the ball in the air, plus it was my first Clemente)
1973 Mike Schmidt
1974 Tom Seaver (great photo of the best pitcher)
1974 Hank Aaron
1975 Topps/Mini George Brett
1975 Topps/Mini Robin Yount
1978 Reggie Jackson (cool card)

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by brewing

1974 Tom Seaver (great photo of the best pitcher)

This card was the evidence in the CSI: Las Vegas episodes centering on Paul Milander.

I like some of yours, and would also have to add any Oscar Gamble card with that phenomenal 70s afro. The '72 sliding into 2nd or offset by the pink and yellow groovy 75 borders?

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by swarmee

This card was the evidence in the CSI: Las Vegas episodes centering on Paul Milander.

I like some of yours, and would also have to add any Oscar Gamble card with that phenomenal 70s afro. The '72 sliding into 2nd or offset by the pink and yellow groovy 75 borders?

Actually, it's the '73 Oscar that shows him sliding into second. Cool card.

[39special]

'71 Nolan Ryan

[Vintagevault13]

Originally Posted by brewing

This would be my list
1970 Ryan or Bench
1971 Dick Allen (1st mustache on a Topps card)
1971 Thurman Munson
1972 Roberto Clemente (love the ball in the air, plus it was my first Clemente)
1973 Mike Schmidt
1974 Tom Seaver (great photo of the best pitcher)
1974 Hank Aaron
1975 Topps/Mini George Brett
1975 Topps/Mini Robin Yount
1978 Reggie Jackson (cool card)

Glad to see the 74 Seaver on your list. I think that is one of the best action cards ever made. I admit I am biased toward the 1974 set, but I don't think that set gets enough love. There are some great action shots in addition to the Seaver. The Ryan and Reggie cards come immediately to mind.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Vintagevault13

Glad to see the 74 Seaver on your list. I think that is one of the best action cards ever made. I admit I am biased toward the 1974 set, but I don't think that set gets enough love. There are some great action shots in addition to the Seaver. The Ryan and Reggie cards come immediately to mind.

Absolutely agreed!! The '74 set has so many great shots in it -- action packed and others, like the Frank Robinson. A while back there was a thread that I believe was started by me(?) that lauded it (titled something along the lines of "Why no love for 1974's?"), but I can't for the life of me locate it and now it's driving me bananas!! Ugh. The group scans I still have on my HD date from July 2013. Don't wish to hijack this thread, but it should definitely be revisited. It probably doesn't receive it's proper due simply because the whole set was released at the same time and waaaay overproduced. Still an awesome set, though!!

[4reals]

I only collect Dodgers...off the top of my head my top10 in the 70's would be:

1970 Bill Russell RC
1971 Steve Garvey RC
1971 Baker/Paciorek/Baylor RC
1972 Traded Frank Robinson
1973 Schmidt/Cey RC
1973 Walt Alston (first Tom Lasorda appearance since '54)
1974 Steve Garvey
1976 Dodgers Team Checklist (last Walt Alston appearance)
1977 Dale Murphy/Kevin Pasley
1979 Pedro Guerrero RC

[KCRfan1]

My top 10 would be:

1970 Bench
1971 Munson, Ryan
1972 Rose
1973 Clemente, Mays, Schmidt
1974 Aaron
1975 Brett, Yount

I have always liked the 70 Bench, plus it's an MVP year for him. The 71's of Munson and Ryan are great action shots, and as we all know the 71's can be difficult to find in great condition due to the black borders. The 72 Rose is just a nice looking card imo. For the 73's, I like Mays and Clemente as those are the last cards for each player, and the Schmidt card is the rookie card to have from any set of the 70's. The 74 Aaron is the first card in the set, and a great tribute to the new home run champion. From the 75 set, and final two cards, Brett and Yount. HoF's from one of the most popular sets in the 70's, and after the Schmidt rookie, these are probably the next two rookie cards to have from the 70's.

Fun topic, and lots of opinions.

[mrmopar]

That surprises me that it took 20 years for Topps to catch a moustache on a card (perhaps that was intentional), but it makes sense I suppose. By the 70s, it would be hard not to find someone without one.

I like that card as it is Allen's only Dodger card and a SP as well. I debated over this or the 65T when I sent a card to him to have signed several years back when he did a signing with MAB for $35 (i could only manage to convince myself to pay the fee for one card), but I needed the trophy card for my set and I still have not added the 71 with a signature.

Originally Posted by brewing

1971 Dick Allen (1st mustache on a Topps card)

[SMPEP]

1) 1973 Aaron
2) 1973 Aaron
3) 1973 Aaron
4) 1973 Aaron
5) 1973 Aaron
6) 1973 Aaron
7) 1973 Aaron
8) 1973 Aaron
9) 1973 Aaron
10) 1973 Aaron

As they say in poker ... that's the prettiest card in the deck.

And you have to go back to 1956 to find a card to compete (in my opinion). Boy were those sets from the 1960s ugly.

[Exhibitman]

[brewing]

I missed the 1972 Carew on my list, that's a good one.

Great call on the Burger King Tigers, those are great.

[VoodooChild]

Here's my favorite iconic cards:

[JTysver]

Iconic and great cards are two different categories.

The most iconic (hobby hype) are...

1975 Topps George Brett
1973 Topps Mike Schmidt
1978 Topps Eddie Murray
1972 Topps Carlton Fisk
1974 Topps Hank Aaron
1975 Topps Robin Yount
1975 Topps Jim Rice
1975 Topps Gary Carter
1976 Topps Dennis Eckersley
1977 Topps Dale Murphy
1979 Topps Ozzie Smith

The tragedy is that the hobby wasn't too big until the mid 1980s. That has kept the value on some of these cards down. For example, until Beckett started coming out with monthly price guides, the hobby hype focused on Mike Schmidt more than it did Nolan Ryan. In fact, Ryan was not even the ace of his team.
The Brett card and the Schmidt card were more sought after by the early 1980s and the Ryan card became sought after later in the 1980s. In 1982 or 1983 it could be had for about $25. I remember trading it away for a 69 Mantle Game card- straight up book value around 1983.

Had the hobby taken off in 1980 for example, Brett's rookie cards would be higher.

When the glut of cards came along in the late 1980s, that was because there was also a glut of collectors. They are the ones who pushed Ryan's value up.

If I were to choose the best cards from the 1980s (star power, hype- either then or now, and or image), I'd choose. Let's not forget Hank Aaron- who essentially was the biggest name in the mid 1970s after surpassing Ruth, is on here because of his sought after cards in 1974 and 1975.

1973 Topps Bench- awesome action shot
1970 Kelloggs Clemente- really beautiful card
1977 Renata Galasso Joe DiMaggio- common but something different
1977 Burger King Lou Pinella- rare card
1976 Topps Traded Oscar Gamble
1973 Topps Aaron/Mays/Ruth
1973 Topps Aaron
1974 Topps Hank Aaron and Aaron record breakers
1975 Topps Hank Aaron
1975 Hostess Hank Aaron
1978 Topps Pete Rose- big hit streak
1975 Kelloggs Jim Hunter (A's or Yankees)- error card