1968 Topps Baseball

 

Card 278 Checklist 4th Series (for cards 284-370)

I was going to make this a post about just one card I had gotten recently (Jim Brewer), but I figured I'd talk about the whole set for this particular year. 1968 Topps Baseball. I think I had a ton more of these things when I was a kid than I do even now with buying what seems like a ton of them one or two cards at a time every few months. I'm not sure exactly which year was the first year I personally ripped open a trading card wax pack, but I do recall 1968 as being one of the first years I remember having cards from. I think 1970 or 1971 was the first year I personally opened a pack, or "bought" one. When you are a kid your "purchases" are usually really your parents or an older sibling "buying" the item for you while you wait impatiently to rip open whatever package it is you are about to get. I also recall that for the '68 cards the background pattern for some of the cards was really funky. the detail in the pattern of the dots or splotches seemed to vary. I couldn't decide if they were going for the look of a cork bulletin board or burlap sacks.

 298 Jim Brewer Dodgers

The most recent '68 card I've acquired.

114 Ron Swoboda Mets

Yes my card is cut off like that on the bottom (miscut)

 159 Don Kessinger Cubs

 235 Ron Santo Cubs

Ron also appeared on card #19 in the 

Insert Game cards Topps Released in 1968

(That is for another post)

While I'm mentioning Ron Santo Cards

1971 Topps 220

 1973 Topps 115

2010 Topps Baseball Million Card Giveaway

TOPPS GIVEAWAY CARDS

As part of the promo for the 2010 Baseball cards Topps is giving away One Million Vintage to last year cards. As they say "The cards your mom threw out". Topps randomly inserted some "Million Card Giveaway Code Cards" into packs. There are ten different styles of these they are numbered TMC 1 - 10. Each front shows a highly sought after vintage card or a Hall of Fame player card and on the back they have a code.

Back of Giveaway Code Card

(Code rubbed out in scan on purpose. Code redeemed)

These codes are used on Topps website http://www.toppsmillion.com After you register you type in the code from your giveaway card to "unlock" a random card you have won. The codes are good from now (they started on Feb 15th? I think) until 1 Feb, 2011. Once unlocked you can "flip" the card by virtually turning it in and pulling another card, you can trade the card with another member, or you can redeem the card and have it sent to you. I think eventually all the cards will be redeemed (Starting March 15 I think).

For my first box breaking session I had bought a blaster and 3 Jumbo Rack Packs. I pulled 4 of the Million Card Giveaway cards (TMC 6, 7, 8, & 9 - I plan on getting the others and keep the 10 as a subset used codes or not). So for my first 4 cards, hopefully of many more to come, I pulled two cards from 1975 and two cards from 1973.

These are the cards I unlocked/pulled in this order (I entered my codes in ascending order 9 - 6)

1975 Jon Matlack - Mets #290

1975 Burt Hooton - Cubs #176
1973 Reggie Smith - Red Sox #40
1973 Stan Bahnsen - White Sox #20

I was pleased as I like the earlier 1970s cards and I am currently building the 1970 - 1976 sets. I am mostly concentrating on 74 and 72 with 73 and 75 close behind. I have a long way to go in all of them, even though I used to have many of the 74 and 75s back in the day. Most of my original 75s were foolishly traded away in a card flipping/tossing game with a friend who was a shark at the particular style we played.

My second foray into entering some Million Card Giveaway codes, I hung back a day or two and watched the averages of what were pulled. I looked and saw lots of 1978s and 79s the later 70s are my least favorites of that decade. Then later in the night I saw some earlier 70s and some 60s. So then I went for it. With My TMC cards 7, 8 & 10 yes now I have number 10 so I have the last 5 cards, I need to get TMC 1 - 5 now for the subset. I unlocked some 1960s cards.

1962 Chris Cannizzaro - Mets #26

1967 Ron Swoboda - Mets #264*

1968 George Brunet - Angels #347

* While editing some of my scanned images of cards acquired in the last say 6 months or so; I noticed I had a 1968 card of Ron Swoboda. I had gotten it from a sportlots.com auction of some 60s cards (or maybe a Mets lot). It is off-centered running down to the bottom, his name is partially cut off at the bottom. Other than that it is a a pretty good conditioned card.

1968 Topps Ron Swoboda Mets #114