The 1968 OPC baseball card set was truly unique in the history of the hobby. While it may not be the most famous or valuable set of the era, it provides a fascinating window into the sport during one of its most turbulent and transitional seasons.
Issued by the Ontario-based O-Pee-Chee company in 1968, the 582-card OPC set featured a mix of action photos, posed portraits, and creative theme cards not seen before or since. It came during a period of immense social upheaval and change in North America. On the field, iconic stars like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Sandy Koufax were still in their prime, while young talents like Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson and Tom Seaver began emerging. Behind the scenes, players were starting to demand more respect and pay from owners.
The 1968 season itself was bookended by huge events. In the spring, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, leading to riots and protests across the US. That fall, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was also killed. The Vietnam War was engulfing the nation as well. Against this tumultuous backdrop, the ’68 season became a turning point for the sport. For the first time, divisional playoffs and League Championship Series were introduced, doubling the postseason.
As for the cards themselves, they had several distinct attributes that remain memorable. Rather than a single posed shot of each player, many cards deployed creative two-image formats showing the athletes in different poses or stances. In some cases, one picture would depict a batting or fielding pose while the other captured the subject smiling and waving. This dual-image style added visual interest that matched the dynamic era.
A subset featured cards honoring the past, present and future “Stars of Baseball.” These included legendary players like Babe Ruth, Stan Musial and Ted Williams displayed alongside the games brightest young stars. Another subset saluted the relatively new divisional format, with cards spotlighting the contenders from each of baseball’s four divisions at the time. These subsets helped bring together different eras of the sport within a single set.
What truly sets the 1968 OPC issue apart though are the dazzlingly inventive theme cards. Several broke the traditional mold by integrating collages, drawings and poetic verse related to baseball. One card featured an outer-space themed illustration surrounded by stats and facts about astronaut Jim Lovell, who had cited his love of the Cubs during the Apollo 8 mission. Another used drawings to encapsulate the history and heroes from each league over the prior century of play.
Possibly the most renowned (and valuable) theme card was “The Gentle Man – Bob Gibson.” Over a portrait of the Cardinals ace, it included a warm character profile and tribute penned by writer Jerry Doggett. Gibson’s dominance on the mound that year, culminating in a razor-sharp 1.12 ERA and 13 shutouts, only amplified how this special card captured the soul of the sport during a period of deep change.
While production values and photo quality were still developing compared to modern standards, these imaginative OPC cards reflected baseball’s ability to both uphold tradition yet also reinvent itself during unprecedented societal upheaval. For collectors and historians alike, flipping through the 582 baseball bios preserves a microcosm of America and its beloved pastime in the turbulent late 1960s. Almost miraculously, in the midst of such disorder, the national sport continued to bring moments of joy and escape. The 1968 OPC set reminds us of those redeeming aspects of baseball’s power and helps explain why its allure remains as timeless as the game itself.
