Night Owl Cards

Although the Fan Favorites sets are fantastic in a wide variety of ways, it's easy to spot the cards that are a little bit off. Topps is basically a victim of its success here. It has created sets and designs that are so familiar that collectors notice immediately when something is not quite right. One of the most significant issues is with the 2003 Fan Favorites Monte Irvin card. Irvin is on the 1952 design, but his signature is missing in the box. There is another version with the autograph. But I won't be pursuing the other version. But there are other examples of some "not quite right" cards that weren't corrected. In many cases they are small things, but I notice this stuff, as I'm sure other collectors do, too. The Fan Favorites cards with the 1985 design always looked a little off to me, but I thought it was only because the letters in the team box were too small. I guess they are a little smaller than the letters on the actual 1985 ...

The 1963 Topps set contains a lot of elements that I like. It's extremely colorful. It features not one, but two images on each card. It is the inspiration for 1983 Topps, which is, hands-down, the greatest '80s set of all-time. Unfortunately, when you put it all together, the 1963 set just doesn't do it for me. Some of the cards are filled with so many bright colors it's off-putting. I know that's weird for someone who loves 1975 Topps so much to say, but it's how I feel. Also, the inset photo looks rather primitive, especially when Topps was trying to airbrush an "L.A." on a tiny cap. I'm also sure the full-bleed card bottoms drove collectors crazy. Other than that, I don't have much else to say about the fronts. In fact, I don't have much to say about the backs either. Except to say that I like them. Sure, yellow isn't the greatest color, but the backs are very neat and clean. Very readable and all of the information is r...