Hope Everyone’s Having A (Topps) Super Weekend!

The oversized Topps Super cards from 1970 and 1971 were on my shopping list the last time I went to a show, and also during a couple of COMC shopping sprees. I love oversized cards, and these can be found cheap, especially if condition isn’t a major concern.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Topps Super cards, these cards were issued in 1970 (baseball and football) and 1971 (just baseball). They are 3.125″ x 5.25″ in size and as thick as several baseball cards.

One of my favorite recent Supers is a well-loved 1971 Tom Seaver I got. The card has a bit of damage on the front, but it ain’t no big thang. The backs, as you can see below, are very similar to the regular Topps cards of the same year.

This Rusty Staub is from 1971; Rusty is one of the players who made it into both Super sets.

Rusty played in 2,951 games in his career. The only players to play more games and not be in the HOF are Pete Rose, Barry Bonds and Omar Vizquel.

This Reggie Smith, also from 1971, was just over a buck; I couldn’t say “no” to that!

Reggie is an often-overlooked player from that era;  he was a 7-time All-Star, won a gold glove and played in four World Series…  100 RBI in 1974… .489 career slugging percentage… I could go on, but you get the idea.

1970 Tommie Agee

Tommie was a 1969 Miracle Met, and that’s all the introduction he needs in my book. He was also the 1966 A.L. Rookie Of The Year, two-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove.

This last card was the first 1970 Topps Super Football card I’d bought intentionally. My other 5 cards were unexpected surprises in a box of cards I bought last year, a box I called “The Unholy Mess”. I wrote about those 5 cards here.

When I saw the jersey worn by Tom Woodeshick, I thought he played for the Jets, but it turned out he was a Philadelphia Eagle. I don’t remember the Eagles having those “UCLA stripes” on their jersey, but I was just a wee little Shlabotnik in 1969 when this photo was likely taken.

Woodeshick played 10 years in the NFL and is in the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame, but what really caught my attention was the fact that he had an uncredited appearance in the movie M*A*S*H as a football player for the 325th Evac.

According to IMDB.com, there are a lot of uncredited football players in that movie, including two other guys I have on 1970 Topps Supers:

Johnny Unitas…

…and Fran Tarkenton…

Someone with a better vintage football collection than I could make a really interesting post about the professional football players who were in M*A*S*H.

HINT… HINT…

The full cast list, including uncredited football players, can be found on IMDB here.

…HINT…