The most attractive 1956-1980 Topps Baseball cards

[Eric72]

I saw the "iconic" lists on the main page. It got me thinking. The Topps monopoly ran from 1956 through 1980. During that time, they released 25 base sets and more than a few inserts. Some of them, such as the '61 Wes Covington and '56 Mickey Mantle, look great to me. Some of the '64 Topps stand-ups also catch me eye.

What are some of your favorites?

Pictures encouraged, but not necessary.

[deweyinthehall]

This is a great idea for a thread.

Because I could easily go into a deep rabbit hole with something like this, I limited it to those sets I own (1965-1980) and memory alone - if I started going through albums it'd never end.

I tend to like cards that offer nicely framed action shots or posed shots where the player is expressive.

From 1980, Mario Guerrero - nice image of him turning the DP and those A's whites are some of the nicest unis ever....

[deweyinthehall]

From 1979, this shot of Gossage is one of their best action shots ever, IMHO.

[deweyinthehall]

I have always LOVED this image of Rice...

[deweyinthehall]

A great, gritty action shot of Pudge...

[deweyinthehall]

Hal McRae...loving every minute of it...

[Lucas00]

I know many n54ers don't like the 58 headshots but the 58 Mays is one of my absolute favorite standard topps cards ever.

I also really adore the 61 Aaron, the combination of colors pleases my eye so much.

[Zach Wheat]

1956 Topps Mantle - pic provided. One of my favorites with the guysin red duplicated.

[gonzo]

Two favorites of mine:

1971 Topps Thurman Munson - the clean, timeless 1971 card design, with a great action shot, play at the plate, headfirst slide, both helmets off, a cloud of dust, Munson as immovable as a fire hydrant, and the classic Topps All-Star Rookie trophy. It’s a 70s callback to Cobb sliding into Austin.

1977 Topps “1976 Championship” with Pete Rose busting for third past Larry Bowa, Garry Maddox in the background following through on a throw, red, black, white, and grey on an almost abstract background of green outfield fence plus green AstroTurf, separated by a slender warning track. It’s a work of art that captures the feeling of a mid-70s baseball playoff game.

[toppcat]

1971 Topps is my favorite front design and this is my favorite card image from the set. Sometimes a picture really does say a thousand words:

[icollectDCsports]

The first one of these I ever saw was the one I got out of a pack in 1974. Such a surprise to see this cool, special design. I still love the look of this card.

[deweyinthehall]

Originally Posted by toppcat

1971 Topps is my favorite front design and this is my favorite card image from the set. Sometimes a picture really does say a thousand words:

When I first saw that card as a kid I thought - was he playing in a desert?? The angle makes the infield dirt seem endless.

[G1911]

Always love this one of Wes Covington at the bat rack. 1961 had some terrible photos with the expansion and the large number of capless headshots, but its a clean card design and when they used a good photo, they came out great.

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by G1911

Always love this one of Wes Covington at the bat rack. 1961 had some terrible photos with the expansion and the large number of capless headshots, but its a clean card design and when they used a good photo, they came out great.

Two thoughts on the '61 Covington (which is a fav of mine also):

• The more lumber on a card, the better
• I wonder if any of the bats on that card survived until today