Recent Acquisitions: Some 1971 Topps Supers

Some time ago, another cardblogger showed some old Topps Supers (sorry, I don't remember who).  They looked good to me, and I made a note to try to pick some up.  I have some 1981 Topps Supers that I've shown already, but I wasn't familiar with the circa-1970 variety.  The other day I ordered a lot of five of the 1971 Topps Supers from eBay, featuring Roberto Clemente as the main draw.

The Great One, Roberto Clemente.

I was surprised to see how thick these are.  I would describe them as more like cardboard coasters than baseball cards.  The condition of the ones I bought isn't awesome, but I think it's fine.  They all have a bit of curvature to them, and given their thickness and age, I don't see how that could be corrected.  In any case, I'm extremely happy to have another great Clemente card.  I have a hangup on Clemente cards, that I don't want any that call him "Bob," at least on the front of the card.  This card features his signature on the front, which works for me.

Roberto Clemente card back.

The text and stats on the back of the card are the same as his regular 1971 Topps card, but the picture is different.  I love the 1971 design, both the front and back, and already had his regular 1971 Topps card.  Having another version of the 1971 back for Clemente is another plus for me.

Amos Otis.

Alex Johnson.

I really bought the lot for the Clemente, but there were four other players included.  The only one I had heard of was Royals great Amos Otis.  He's young here, having made his MLB debut with the Mets in 1967.  He didn't start playing everyday, though, until moving to the Royals in 1970.  Otis was a 5-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glove winner, and won the AL pennant with the Royals in 1980.  Unfortunately his career was over by the time the Royals won the World Series in 1985.

I don't recall ever having heard of Alex Johnson, but I like the card for the old Angels helmet.  When this card was made, Johnson had just won the 1970 AL batting title, hitting .329, finishing a fraction of a point ahead of Carl Yastrzemski.

Carl Morton.

Jim Northrup.

Carl Morton pitched with the Expos from 1969 through 1972, and then with the Braves from 1973 through 1976.  He was 1970 NL Rookie of the Year, going 18-11 with a 3.60 ERA and 154 strikeouts.  He didn't do as well with Montreal again after that, but had a couple of similarly strong years with the Braves.  Unfortunately he died young, having a heart attack in 1983.

Outfielder Jim Northrup was in the majors from 1964 through 1975, mostly with the Tigers, but also with Montreal and Baltimore.  He had good power, hitting 25 home runs in 1969, and another 24 in 1970.  He was a key element of the Tigers championship team in 1968, leading Detroit in hits and RBI.  This card is miscut a little, as the picture shows, and seeing pictures of other circa-1970 Topps Supers, it looks like it tends to be a common problem.

I plan to pick up a few more of these; I already have a 1970 Topps Super of Willie McCovey in my COMC account, and I'll be getting a couple more from 1970 and 1971 soon.  Thanks for reading!