1974 Topps Deckle dating revisited

A couple of recent comments on my Deckle Dating blog posts have pointed out a couple more instances where Topps's date for the card could not have been right.

On the last card, Willie Horton, I noted that it was the only time Topps dated a card as 1972 instead of 1973 on the back. I figured that was probably right, but commented Kevin noted that the button-down uniform Horton was wearing was last seen in 1971.

I had actually been strongly considering 1971 based on this 1972 card, where his uniform was opened in just about exactly the same way, but I had decided that wasn't enough evidence. I hadn't considered whether the uniforms themselves had changed.

Horton appears to be in the dugout in the inset photo; a very similar photo was used for his 2004 Topps All Time Fan Favorites card.

I'm guessing his '72 base card was also taken at this time, over by the third base line.

So not August 8, 1972. The Tigers were in Boston on August 8, 1971 so it couldn't have been there, plus that undershirt looks a little warm for August.

 

Then I got a comment from tjisonline on one of the first cards in the set, Steve Carlton.  He writes, "This photo is from a 1972 Spring Training game. Carlton was wearing Rick Wise's old jersey with # 38. A picture from the same photoshoot can be seen on his 1973 Topps Pin-up."

That early in the series I wasn't going back to earlier years to check for discrepancies. You wouldn't know that Carlton's number was not 32 from this photo, but based on the baggy jacket underneath, tj's tip is credible when you look at the '73 pinup:

Carlton had just been traded for Wise, and I guess he didn't get his old #32 until the season started. I assume that this 1973 Topps card is from that day also: 

I guess at some point in spring training he took Darrell Brandon's #32, with Brandon moving to #30. 

On the off chance that it is the same day, March 15, but in 1972, the Phillies beat the White Sox 8-6 in spring action. In other news, The Godfather debuted in theaters, and two British soldiers were killed by an IRA bomb.