Game On

It's a lazy Boxing Day around the Main Topps Archives Research Complex kids (I write in advance usually) and I decided to do some maintenance on the blog. This mainly consists of fixing incorrect tags and little typos as I find them.  In the midst of this very low-level work I realized I had never devoted a full post to one of my favorite Topps insert sets of all time - the 1968 Baseball Game cards, which should really be referred to as Batter Up cards. I've touched on this set in a couple of "overview" posts, namely one on rewraps and another on the link between Topps and Ed-U-Cards but never on its own.

The set is widely known and collected of course, with Mantle and Clemente being the key cards in a set of 33 that features well composed color portraits of each player. One card was inserted into mid-series wax and cello packs:

Is it just me or does that look like Yogi Berra?  The game is pretty self explanatory but just in case...

You were on your own with the rules if you got your cards in the cello packs:

I'm sure many cello packs have the card inserted face out but that seems to be the prevalent side from what I can tell.

Great look to these:

I chose Davis as my example for a reason, which we will get to momentarily. You can see how the game worked just by looking at the card. You can also see the typical Topps funky cut at what is almost the apex of the card.  Centering issues plagued Topps for decades and their insert sets were even worse in this regard than the regular issues.  You can see the Davis is well off center, the reverse tells the tale too, although it's quite interesting in any event:

I love the little Topps baseballs.  The design resembles but does not mimic the 1951 Blue Backs. 

I linked above to the Batter Up game that Topps sold as a standalone set but will show the box proof here again as it's a beaut:

Yes, two different price points on the same sheet! Either is difficult, I think the 10 cent variety is the tougher of the two but it's quite hard to find either. I don't have the box myself but Friend o'the Archive Bob Fisk sent me a scan of one yonks ago, 15 cent variety:

The box back indicates it was printed no later than 1969, given the Brooklyn address and we can narrow it even further as you will see below:

My guess is the game just collected unused inserts and was test marketed in late in the 1968 season, which ties in to one of two reasons why I chose Tommy Davis as a representative example.  He was traded by the Mets to the White Sox on December 15, 1967 for Tommie Agee and Al Weis in a move that would ultimately cement the 1969 Mets championship, so technically speaking, Davis was a member of the White Sox when the set was issued, although he's clearly in Mets duds on the card. If you look at the team checklist below, you will see the Mets are the only team without a player in the set. (Correction 1/14/17: The ever vigilant Keith Olbermann advises Davis is in Dodger duds)You could make an argument for Rusty Staub as an Expo and even Davis as a Pilot if the set was boxed for resale in 1969 since both were capless, but there were really no players shown who could have been Royals or Padres so I say the Batter Up set is definitely from 1968.

It's a great little set, easy to collect as it's remarkably plentiful and the rounded corners a thick gloss help protect these babies.

Here are alphabetical and team checklists for your viewing pleasure:

1	ALOU	MATTY	PITTSBURGH PIRATES
2	MANTLE	MICKEY	NEW YORK YANKEES
3	YASTRZEMSKI	CARL	BOSTON RED SOX
4	AARON	HANK	ATLANTA BRAVES
5	KILLEBREW	HARMON	MINNESOTA TWINS
6	CLEMENTE	ROBERTO	PITTSBURGH PIRATES
7	ROBINSON	FRANK	BALTIMORE ORIOLES
8	MAYS	WILLIE	SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
9	ROBINSON	BROOKS	BALTIMORE ORIOLES
10	DAVIS	TOMMY	CHICAGO WHITE SOX
11	FREEHAN	BILL	DETROIT TIGERS
12	OSTEEN	CLAUDE	LOS ANGELES DODGERS
13	PETERS	GARY	CHICAGO WHITE SOX
14	LONBORG	JIM	BOSTON RED SOX
15	HARGAN	STEVE	CLEVELAND INDIANS
16	CHANCE	DEAN	MINNESOTA TWINS
17	McCORMICK	MIKE	SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
18	McCARVER	TIM	ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
19	SANTO	RON	CHICAGO CUBS
20	GONZALEZ	TONY	PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
21	HOWARD	FRANK	WASHINGTON SENATORS
22	SCOTT	GEORGE	BOSTON RED SOX
23	ALLEN	RICHIE	PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
24	WYNN	JIM	HOUSTON ASTROS
25	ALLEY	GENE	PITTSBURGH PIRATES
26	MONDAY	RICK	OAKLAND ATHLETICS
27	KALINE	AL	DETROIT TIGERS
28	STAUB	RUSTY	HOUSTON ASTROS
29	CAREW	ROD	MINNESOTA TWINS
30	ROSE	PETE	CINCINNATI REDS
31	TORRE	JOE	ATLANTA BRAVES
32	CEPEDA	ORLANDO	ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
33	FREGOSI	JIM	CALIFORNIA ANGELS

Alphabetical:

4	AARON	HANK	ATLANTA BRAVES
31	TORRE	JOE	ATLANTA BRAVES
9	ROBINSON	BROOKS	BALTIMORE ORIOLES
7	ROBINSON	FRANK	BALTIMORE ORIOLES
3	YASTRZEMSKI	CARL	BOSTON RED SOX
22	SCOTT	GEORGE	BOSTON RED SOX
14	LONBORG	JIM	BOSTON RED SOX
33	FREGOSI	JIM	CALIFORNIA ANGELS
19	SANTO	RON	CHICAGO CUBS
13	PETERS	GARY	CHICAGO WHITE SOX
10	DAVIS	TOMMY	CHICAGO WHITE SOX
30	ROSE	PETE	CINCINNATI REDS
15	HARGAN	STEVE	CLEVELAND INDIANS
27	KALINE	AL	DETROIT TIGERS
11	FREEHAN	BILL	DETROIT TIGERS
24	WYNN	JIM	HOUSTON ASTROS
28	STAUB	RUSTY	HOUSTON ASTROS
12	OSTEEN	CLAUDE	LOS ANGELES DODGERS
16	CHANCE	DEAN	MINNESOTA TWINS
5	KILLEBREW	HARMON	MINNESOTA TWINS
29	CAREW	ROD	MINNESOTA TWINS
2	MANTLE	MICKEY	NEW YORK YANKEES
26	MONDAY	RICK	OAKLAND ATHLETICS
23	ALLEN	RICHIE	PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
20	GONZALEZ	TONY	PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
25	ALLEY	GENE	PITTSBURGH PIRATES
1	ALOU	MATTY	PITTSBURGH PIRATES
6	CLEMENTE	ROBERTO	PITTSBURGH PIRATES
17	McCORMICK	MIKE	SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
8	MAYS	WILLIE	SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
32	CEPEDA	ORLANDO	ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
18	McCARVER	TIM	ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
21	HOWARD	FRANK	WASHINGTON SENATORS