Monday, October 25, 2010

1971 TOPPS BUD HARRELSON #355 PSA 7



1971 is the Velvet Underground of Topps baseball sets.

It was reviled in its day for being too dark, too moody, too European.

The accepted logic throughout the 70s held that it was a nihilistic set. A set for the smack addicts to flip down on Houston.

But then, slowly, the set began to grow in esteem. People started to embrace it for its very darkness. The weird, experimental edges (game-action photos, player portraits on the reverse) were no longer considered outré, but were instead being absorbed into the mainstream.

Time finally caught up to the guiding aesthetic of the 1971 set.

Accepting this premise, the 1971 Topps Bud Harrelson is a White Light/White Heat card...

2 comments:

  1. Hey, it looks like the pitcher (I think I've seen him on TV a few times recently...) is serving double-duty as an umpire.

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  2. And I want to say that Buddy is tagging out a prominent ESPN announcer, but I can't tell for sure...

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