The 1970 Topps baseball card set was issued by Topps. This was the 19th year for the Topps baseball card company to produce American sports cards. It contains cards of 702 major and minor league baseball players and managers. Like previous year’s sets, cards had a photo on the front and player stats plus a small career summary on the back.
Some key facts and background about the 1970 Topps set:
Size: The cards measured 2-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches, the standard size Topps used from the early 1950s through 1980.
Card Design: The fronts featured a large black-and-white photo with the player’s name printed in various colors across the bottom. The player’s team name and uniform number were printed in smaller type next to the photo. Vertically along the right side was the Topps logo and set identification of “1970” printed in red.
Back Design: The backs featured stats and career accomplishments printed in black and red ink against a gray background. Advertisements for Topps products and baseballs or bats were printed along the sides and bottom.
Total Cards: The set includes 702 cards. The standard cards ran from 1 to 662, plus additional rookie cards, managers, and league leaders checklist cards made up the larger total.
Rookie Cards: Notable rookie cards include Dave Kingman, Rick Wise, Dick Allen, Ken Holtzman, Bobby Bonds, Larry Hisle, Bernie Carbo and Larry Gura.
Managers Cards: There were 22 manager cards included for those skippers from the 1969 season like Earl Weaver, Billy Martin, and Alvin Dark.
Checklists: In addition to the standard cards, there were Checklist cards for Rookies, Leaders, and Managers subsets.
Short Prints: There were several variations in the set with differing photos, including Bill North (45), Dick Selma (109), and Ray Sadecki (660). Other players whose cards may appear less frequently include J.C. Martin, Clyde McCullough and Don Wakamatsu.
Star Players: Major stars featured in the set include future Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Harmon Killebrew, Brooks Robinson and Juan Marichal. Other notables include Ron Santo, Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson, and Tom Seaver.
Rookie Signatures: Some key rookie cards like Dave Kingman’s card #310 and Ken Holtzman’s card #414 featured the player’s autograph on the front. It’s believed less than 10 of Kingman’s autograph card are known to still exist.
Insert Cards: Special insert cards were included spotlighting recently retired Hall of Fame players like Ted Williams, Bob Feller and Stan Musial.
When issued in 1970, the cards retailed for about 10 cents per pack with either 5 or 7 cards inside wax paper packs. Here are some more details about the set:
Condition: In circulated condition with corners wear and edge chipping, common cards will range from $1-5. Higher grade specimens can demand $10-25 for average players, $50-100 for stars, and over $1,000 for the rare signed rookie cards.
Checklists: The managers, leaders and rookie checklist cards are relatively common in high grades and typically sell for $10-30 each. They provide an affordable way to represent those subsets.
Rookies: As referenced earlier, the Dave Kingman and Ken Holtzman signed rookie cards #310 and #414 are among the rarest and most valuable, potentially worth thousands of dollars in Gem Mint condition. Other key rookies like Dick Allen can reach $500-1000.
Autographs: Any card found today with an authentic signature greatly increases its value, and signed cards of stars like Hank Aaron would command five-figure sums. Signed managers cards are also highly sought after collector items.
Errors: There are ultra-rare error variations, like Joe Sparma’s card having additional information added by hand. Other anomalies like missing colors or misaligned prints are prized by collectors.
Condition Matters: Higher graded specimens of stars and key rookies increase exponentially in value compared to typical circulated copies. Top graded examples of major stars could be worth over $10,000 in pristine condition.
Complete Sets: Assembling a full run of the 702 cards is a huge challenge and completes sets routinely sell for thousands of dollars, again depending on centering and condition factors. In near-mint graded condition, a full 1970 Topps set could bring over $30,000 at auction.
The 1970 Topps baseball card set remains a very popular one with collectors for its array of rookie cards, stars of that era, and the iconic large black-and-white photo design. With its relatively large size for a vintage offering, it also presents an attainable collecting goal compared to smaller and more expensive earlier Topps issues. Even in lower grades, common cards represent affordable options for fans wanting a taste of this great vintage from the dawn of the 1970s in American baseball history.
