The 1973 Topps baseball card set is one of the most well-known issues for containing several production errors that have become quite valuable for collectors over the years. The errors made in the 1973 set provide a fascinating glimpse into the manufacturing process of baseball cards during that era.
Some key context – in 1973, Topps was still producing baseball cards through the traditional photography process rather than using digital imaging like they do today. This meant each card image had to be shot with a camera and then developed into a physical photo negative. Those negatives were then used to create the printing plates that would be used on the high-speed presses to mass produce the cards. Any mistakes made in the photography, negative, or plate-making stages could result in errors appearing on cards.
One of the most famous errors from the 1973 set is the Hank Aaron card which mistakenly has an image of pitcher Tommy Harper on the front. Somehow during production, the negative that was supposed to be of Aaron ending up containing an image of Harper instead. As a result, the Harper photo was used to print Hank Aaron’s card. This error is remarkably rare, with experts estimating only 10-20 copies are known to exist. In near-mint condition, a 1973 Hank Aaron/Tommy Harper error card can fetch over $50,000 due to its uniqueness.
Another iconic mistake from the set is the Nolan Ryan card. On some copies of Ryan’s cardboard, the photo is noticeably crooked or titled to the left. This is believed to have occurred because the negative used was not lined up straight when the printing plates were created. While not as scarce as the Aaron/Harper blunder, the skewed Nolan Ryan errors are still quite valuable at around $2,000 in top-grades. Both of these landmark mistakes can be attributed to issues occurring during the photography or negative-making stage of production.
Some other notable error varieties from the 1973 Topps release include:
Jim Palmer card missing the logo/team name strip on the bottom. This is thought to be caused by a miscut printing plate.
George Scott card missing the white border on the right side. Likely a plate misalignment issue.
Deron Johnson card with the name etched directly into the photo rather than separately printed. An anomaly from the plate creation process.
Steve Blass card with a blue/green tint to the entire front. A dying or ink mixing mistake at the presses.
Reggie Jackson card with a reverse image. A negative that was somehow installed upside-down in the plate.
Jerry Koosman card with his hair detail on the front printed in a different color. Another strange dying or ink blend fault.
In total, experts have cataloged around 15-20 distinct errors and variations for the 1973 Topps set. With such a high volume of cards printed, even tiny mistakes in the manufacturing were liable to sporadically appear. And unlike today where errors can be caught more easily with digital proofs, issues from 1973 went straight from the darkroom to mass production.
While frustrating for Topps at the time trying to mass produce perfect cards, the plethora of errors have undoubtedly added tremendous collector interest in the 1973 set thanks to their rarity and mystery surrounding how exactly they occurred. The intricacies of the photographic production process also make the mistakes extremely fascinating to study for those intrigued by error cards. Prices remain high for choice examples of the more notable Aaron/Harper, Ryan, and others because of their historical significance. The 1973 Topps errors serve as a great case study for how even minor glitches could have major consequences for sets produced using 20th century printing techniques.
