1968 Topps Milton Bradley Cards

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Posted By: Paul

In 1968, Milton Bradley produced a game that included 1968 Topps baseball cards (and 1967 Topps football cards) as part of the game. They are catalogued in the Standard Catalog under "Topps". The fronts of these cards are identical to the regular Topps cards. The difference is supposed to be the backs, which are supposed to be a lighter shade of yellow than the regular cards.

I just picked up my first two of these cards -- the Seaver and Mathews shown in the top middle row below. Next to these I have placed a standard Seaver and Mathews. The difference is a little more subtle than I expected, but it is noticeable. But look at the Kaat and Lolich cards I have included in the scan. They are as light as the Milton Bradleys. And Kaat and Lolich are not in the Milton Bradley set at all.

So my question is this: are the Milton Bradley cards really distinguishable from the Topps cards at all? Or is there so much variance in the ordinary Topps cards that the cards are all basically interchangeable?

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Posted By: Paul S

But I don't really have an answer. I just checked all mine, re the variation of regular issue Topps. I have no MBs. I pulled a few hundred from wax packs in the year of issue. Most backs have that rich peach color and then I'll run across one or two that are partly drained of that richness, like a spicey mustard (getting hungry here) quality, numerically right between the rich ones. A couple of years surrounding '68 are like that too.

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Posted By: Dave Hornish

I think it depends upon which Topps series (1, 2, 3, 4 etc.) you are talking about. I agree, though, there is a great deal of confusion on these. I'll try to look at my notes tomorrow but I don't think there is much real info. Bob Lemke I am sure has a few details or at least did back in the SCD days. Bob?

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Posted By: Red

The yellow back of the MB cards is a different shade of yellow from the range of shades you'll find regular 68's in from other series.

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Posted By: Paul S

So then I guess the thing to do now is to line up all the regular series yellows by shade, rich to drained, or light to dark, then take the MB and see where it places as the odd one out.

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Posted By: Paul

I'll try to post better scans later in the day, but it seems to me that my Jim Kaat is indistinguishable from my 2 Milton Bradleys.

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Posted By: Randy Trierweiler

This Milton Bradley set is really starting to increase in popularity. My Dad actually bought me the Win-a-card board game in 1968. I remember telling him how bad I wanted to get a Bob Gibson, my favorite player. He said, "now don't get disappointed if you don't get him, there's only so many cards in there". A couple seconds later, "BOB GIBSON!!!" My Dad couldn't believe it.

This set has only in recent years been check-listed in SCD and the Beckett Almanac. The only cards from this set are from the 1st and 2nd series. In addition to Gibson, it includes Aaron, Seaver, and the Nolan Ryan Rookie. The only difference between the regular issue and the Milton Bradley version is the brighter yellow card stock. Some cards however will be miscut to show 1967 Topps Football cards, and Hot Rod cards, which were also issued with the game. These are definitely Milton Bradley versions. Some 1968 Topps cards will show a thin white border which indicates it probably a Milton Bradley version.

I believe Beckett is the only company grading these at present. Randy

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Posted By: John Moran

I picked up the Carew in a lot of 1968 cards unexpectedly, saved these from a ebay auction a few years ago

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Posted By: Paul

Here are some enlarged scans of my Milton Bradley Mathews and my ordinary Topps Lolich. I just can't see much of a difference in the back colors. My Lolich is lighter than most other Topps cards, but it seems like the Milton Bradleys fit within the range of ordinary shades for regular Topps cards.