In the vast empire that is the 1972 Topps set, this stands as one of my favorites.
It comes from the realm of the high-numbers, where the photos are sharp and dimensional and clear.
As a Mets' collector, I particularly like the way that Milner is set in the middle of this multi-player rookie card like a fine cameo brooch.
But I also love the thematic consistency of the card, with its trio of East Coast, left-handed first basemen, wielding bats while dressed in full game livery.
I tell you, I could just wander though the 1972 set forever...
I thought it violated the sanctity of the RC to lump players from different teams (and different leagues!) together on the same card.
ReplyDeleteTopps introduced multiplayer rookie cards in your beloved '62 set, with the high-number Rookie Parades. The organizing principle for that floating-head subset was position, but the cards mixed players from different teams/leagues.
ReplyDeleteThe floating heads returned in '63, but the organizing principle was gone-- the cards were a mishmash of positions/teams/leagues.
Topps began using a team theme for multiplayer rookies in '64, and continued that pattern through '72. However, the later series in most years were vulnerable to these mixed team and/or league cards. (Here's another "good" example from '66: http://www.toppsarchives.com/ta/1966-553-rookie-stars)
Come '73, Topps reverted to the original model and issued position-themed rookie cards through '78, which again mixed teams/leagues. In '79 they switched back to team-oriented cards, and stayed with this model through '82. After which they seemed to realize that the update sets that they had started issuing in '81 kind of obviated the need for these cards, and they said "Screw it" until some point in the early '90s...