A Year of Topps Designs: 1967

In 1967 Topps put out three sports sets with three very different designs. The baseball set is a minimalist design that really emphasizes the photography, much as their '57 design did. It has become one of Topps's most popular design and a favorite among collectors, myself included. The football set has some pretty good photos, but the design is far busier than the baseball one.

Hockey, meanwhile, continued it's tradition of using a cutout photo of the player on a generic background. This was one of several backgrounds used. Like football, the background colors varied by team.

It was a hit-or-miss year for Topps in the non-sport department. The company started production on a Captain Nice set. The superhero spoof failed to catch on and was cancelled quickly, so the set never got out of test production phase. Too bad, it's a simple but nice design.

Maya: Mysteries of India seemed to fare a little better - the show lasted for one season, enough time for Topps to put cards out on the market. It's a pretty simple design with traces of Indian style. You may remember the show's star, Jay North - as a child he was TV's Dennis the Menace.

Much more successful was Planet of the Apes. The design is extremely minimalist, and surprisingly generic as well.

Other than it's regular Wacky Packages offering, Topps's only other sett in 1967 was a bizarre little set called Who Am I? In this set, famous historical figures, current political figures, and some sports stars (i.e. Ruth, Mantle, Mays, Koufax) are shown with their faces covered by some kind of disguise, often in the hippie/Beatles style. The back had questions to help you guess their identity, and you could scratch off the design to reveal the face underneath. Can you guess this inventor?