Mets Card of the Week: 1974 Tom Seaver

1974 TOPPS STAMPS TOM SEAVER

So many magical mysteries, in the immortal words of Ass Dan…

And this one ranks right up there with, “Who is Brazil?” and “Are children small or just far away?”

Topps issued a set of 240 stamps in 1974, containing ten players from each of the 24 teams of the day.

This was a relatively deep checklist for a supplemental issue, so coverage extended into the far reaches of each roster, allowing for inclusion of players such as Wayne Garrett, Clay Kirby, and Billy Grabarkewitz.

The stamps were presented in sheets of 12, and are not hard to find today. (A small display album was produced for each team, and these are significantly harder to track down.)

Now, none of these dry facts are particularly mysterious. Topps ran off a plethora of such sets from the ’60s through the mid ’70s, including four other previous stamp offerings.

The real mystery here is the Tom Seaver stamp.

In 1973, Topps produced a host of odd sets that were not licensed by MLB, which resulted in sloppy and comprehensive airbrushing of team logos. As a consequence of these licensing squabbles, that year’s Candy Lids, Comics, and Pin-Ups are fairly ugly and generic (although the latter two sets are quite rare and valuable).

All available evidence would indicate that Topps was back in MLB’s good graces by 1974, since that year’s stamps and Deckle-Edge cards were fully licensed.

Yet while all 11 of his sheet-mates are afforded the dignity of being presented in their true team dress, Seaver’s stamp photo is recycled from the previous year’s Candy Lids set.

Not to sound like a whiny pre-teen, but Don Sutton was in that same Candy Lids set, and he got a fresh photo for his 1974 stamp.

Much like erasable pens, this makes my head hurt, ninjas…