PSA Magazine

PSA Set Registry: Collecting the 1971 Topps Greatest Moments Baseball Card Set

Doug Koztoski
Jul 24, 2018

PSA Set Registry

Collecting the 1971 Topps Greatest Moments Baseball Card Set

Headlines and Highlights from a Condition-Sensitive Issue

by Doug Koztoski

Scooping up lazily bouncing bunts bare-handed and zipping the ball across the diamond; backhanding a blistering grounder that was heading for a sure double - then throwing the batter out; diving to his left and spearing a searing line drive and making it all look so easy: Orioles' third baseman Brooks Robinson played it cool on the hot corner.

Playing all 23 of his MLB years based in Baltimore, Robinson shared some of his best fielding with millions of fans during World Series play from 1969-1971, when the Orioles represented the American League three straight times. The O's won in 1970, beating Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine," which featured Pete Rose and eventual Hall of Famers Tony Perez and Johnny Bench.

So impressed was Reds' manager Sparky Anderson with Robinson's defensive display in the 1970 Series, that he quipped, "I'm beginning to see Brooks in my sleep. If I dropped a paper plate, he'd pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first."

With amazing fielding and solid hitting as well, "Brooksie" won the 1970 World Series MVP and that award earned him recognition (#9) in the 1971 Topps Greatest Moments set.

More the size of a regular postcard than regular trading card, this oversized issue for Jumbotron highlights fits well in the sports card hobby, much like Robinson's diving image while snaring a horsehide on his 1971 Greatest Moments pasteboard.

A 1971 Topps Greatest Moments wrapper sold in recent years for upwards of $4,000.

Two aspects of the Robinson card standout: first, it looks to be a staged photo, unlike most others in the set; and second, the photograph is the same one from his 1964 Topps Giants card back. Topps occasionally recycled card images back then, but waiting seven years was out of the ordinary.

In a way, however, it makes sense since the 1971 Topps Greatest Moments issue commonly receives extraordinary reviews - deservedly so.

"It's a gorgeous set," said Bob Fisk, who owns the No. 5 Current Finest collection of the 1971 Topps Greatest Moments issue on the PSA Set Registry. "I like the deckle look [reminiscent of 1969 Topps baseball deckle edge inserts], and it has a good player selection."

Fisk lists cards of Robinson, Reggie Jackson (#47), and Frank Howard (#48) among his favorites in the 55-piece set, which also highlights each player's great feat on the backs.

Toss in condition sensitivity with the black borders and a limited distribution, and this set has "all-star" written all over it. Some say the issue was mainly test-marketed via wax packs in the Brooklyn area, with seemingly no virgin packs still unopened. Heck, finding a wrapper is nearly impossible.

Manny Andrews, No. 6 on the issue's Current Finest list, enjoys the set's simple nature. "I like that it is a test issue and I love the scarcity of it - the mysteriousness of it, so to speak." Andrews also puts the Jackson card in his favorites bucket, behind the Carl Yastrzemski (#40) and set-starter Thurman Munson.

"Munson is the set's Holy Grail [partly due to condition issues as they are often miscut], and there are just not a lot of these cards out there [only 73 without qualifiers and none without a qualifier above PSA NM 7]. I am not sure I'll be alive when they come up for sale, or if I'll be able to afford them," Andrews lamented. "It's one of the first things I look for when I attend The National [Sports Collectors Convention]."

The veteran collector said patience for a higher-grade item from this set is often the key. He recently upgraded his Johnny Bench (#13) card to a PSA 7, but it took him six years to find it. "Once these things get in higher-grade collections, they are cemented in there for a long time."

Good Company

Collector Kevin Gibson, No. 9 for the offering on the Set Registry's Current Finest list, places St. Louis Cardinals' ace Bob Gibson at the top of sets he pursues, and the 1970 NL Cy Young Award winner is in the Greatest Moments rotation (#24). "The fact that Hall of Famers and All-Stars are found throughout the set makes it really special," Gibson said.

Hobbyist Gibson believes the Greatest Moments collection in general has appeared on an increasing number of want lists in recent times. "I think the set's popularity has really picked up in the last couple of years, because when I first started collecting them, even finding them in raw [ungraded condition] was very difficult. Now you can go on eBay and there are quite a few cards."

In his opinion, however, one aspect of this 1971 test issue falls short. "The only thing that would have made this set better is if they would have included Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente. Other than that, I think it's about perfect."

Perfection is in the eye of the beholder, but when it comes to the Greatest Moments set, a PSA GEM-MT 10, utter pasteboard perfection, has yet to happen.

Out of nearly 4,500 Greatest Moments cards currently in PSA holders, only 55 have earned unqualified PSA MINT 9 status, with the most frequent visitor to "Club 9," with six examples, being Cleveland Indians' pitcher "Sudden Sam" McDowell (#50).

Many of the test cards have less than 80 total PSA samples, especially when qualifiers are deducted.

The lower PSA population cards, less than 60 samples, include Hoyt Wilhelm (#2), Rico Carty (#3), Harmon Killebrew (#8), Jim Perry (#10), Tony Oliva (#11), Vada Pinson (#12), Tony Perez (#14), Jim Fregosi (#16), Alex Johnson (#17), Jim Wynn (#31), Tommy Harper (#42), Fritz Peterson (#44), Dick Bosman (#49), and set-ender Bud Harrelson (#55).

The Rose (#15) and Willie Mays (#41) cards each show up around 200 times through PSA, about twice as often as most other cards in the offering, and that is partly due to their superstar status and the fact that they are among the issue's 22 double prints. A PSA NM-MT 8 Rose recently sold for $500 on eBay, while PSA 7s of Mays have averaged about $250 on eBay.

Over the past few months, PSA 8s of Brooks Robinson and Bench, meanwhile, changed hands for $1,450 and $1,650 respectively, while the same high grade brought $750 for Mays and $495 for Yastrzemski. A PSA EX 5 Munson, in the meantime, sold for $443 by 4 Sharp Corners.com on eBay, reinforcing the interest in this card even in mid-grade. PSA EX-MT 6 commons, by the way, often sell in the $50 to $125 range.

Like the regular 1971 Topps Baseball set, the black borders easily show wear on the Greatest Moments cards, and because of that, Andrews said buyer beware when it comes to sets with this type of design in particular.

"I know a lot of people like to collect sets raw [ungraded], but the problem with that, as I have cautioned others, is you have to be careful with the borders [on the 1971 Greatest Moments set, for instance] being retouched. I tell people that if they are going to collect this set, they are better off collecting it graded in a lower grade so they know the cards are not altered."

A Notch Above... and Sometimes Elsewhere

Fisk said it is worth noting that some of these cards often enough show up with a printing/packaging process ding or "notch." When the flaw is present, it appears about one-third to one-quarter of the way from the bottom on the right side on the front border. Fisk and others said the cards to double check for notches are: Hoyt Wilhelm (#2), Rico Carty (#3), Carl Morton (#4), Sal Bando (#5), Bert Campaneris (#6), Alex Johnson (#17), Clyde Wright (#18), Maury Wills (#29), Bill Melton (#33), Joe Pepitone (#53), and the Reggie Jackson (#47).

Ah yes... the Jackson card. Looking at this set would not be complete without more closely examining "Mr. October," notch or no.

Jackson hit his stride as a major leaguer in 1969, his Topps card debut year, blasting 47 homers and driving in 118 runs. Ten 1969 RBIs came in one game, and Topps highlighted that performance for his Greatest Moment card.

If the set had come out a year later, it might have shown Jackson's 500-plus foot home run that bounced off the light transformer on Tiger Stadium's roof from the 1971 All-Star game, one of the most memorable Midsummer Classic's hits.

While Jackson and other MLB types racked up their respective "moments" in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Topps certainly had its own with their classic and highly desirable Greatest Moments issue, considered by many one of the company's best efforts, ever. Too bad, in certain respects, it was just a test product.

Delivering consistently, one could say this 1971 test set stood the test of time and strongly resembles Brooks Robinson's nimble fielding prowess, among the greatest of the ages.

For more information on the 1971 Topps Greatest Moments baseball card set, please visit https://www.psacard.com/cardfacts/baseball-cards/1971-topps-greatest-moments/186.


Please feel free to contact Doug Koztoski at [email protected] if you have any additional information or comments. Please note that the Population Report figures quoted and Set Registry rankings reported are those as of June 2018.