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1972 Topps Baseball

Ranking the best “In Action” shots from 1972 Topps Baseball

The 1972 Topps Baseball set features an astonishing assortment of popular veteran players, young blossoming stars, and eventual Hall of Famers. And with its flashy design and groovy font, it’s one of the most popular sets to collect from the 1970s.

Another feature of the set are the action shots that are littered throughout the 787 card checklist. Over time, the “In Action” inserts of the set have become iconic, mostly because of the oddball nature of the photography. Most baseball photography in previous sets from Topps and Bowman were either still, candid shots or posed, action shots, but rarely had manufacturers tried to work in actual game photos onto the cards.

But in 1972, Topps pulled it off.

With mixed results.

For one, the technology available to Topps was not what we have today, leading to blurred, unfocused images most of the time. Also, Topps was all alone at the top of the baseball card world, so they were unwilling to spend too many resources to improve their cards. They had little to no competition…. why focus resources on the quality of the product when you can direct that money elsewhere?

The result were action shots that provided at best an incomplete glance at a play, and at worst a very bizarre image of some of baseball’s stars.

What’s going on with Clemente here? Is he arguing with a call? Or just disappointed he struck out? Is Ed Kirkpatrick adjusting his face-mask between innings? Or checking his watch? What happened to John Odom’s right leg? And did Vida Blue just give up a home run, or was it a pop up on the infield?

(Actually you can find out the answer to that last question in our interview with him! You can check out our full interview with Vida Blue here.)

The photography work in the 1972 Topps Baseball set isn’t ideal. It’s mostly crude depictions of actual baseball plays, and often out of context. None of the “In Action” cards explain what happened in the featured play. The lack of game context leaves the collector guessing. Also, the shots are often at strange angles, resulting in blurred images, missing limbs, and strange expressions on faces.

It’s hard to blame the camera operator here. They were probably just doing their job. And at least Topps was providing collectors with something different in the set. This wasn’t the first time Topps included action shots (1971 had a nice run of “Great Moments” that featured game action, but with context) but it was the first time they did so en masse for nearly every player in the set.

Over time, the “In Action” sub-set has become quite collectible, not just because of the many Hall of Famers represented, but because the photography stands out. It’s a fragment of time in baseball. Moments captured that give us incomplete images of our favorite baseball players, even providing glimpses of their personalities on the field.

Here’s a ranking of the four best “In-Action” shots from the set.

#4 – Darrell Evans #172

Darrell Evans played for 21 years in the MLB, manning third base and first base for the Braves, Giants and Tigers. Playing the “hot corner”, where he played the majority of his time in baseball, put Evans in perfect position for action shots like this one:

1972 Topps Darrell Evans “In Action” #172

Here’s Evans leaping for a line drive that appears to be over his head. Did he get to it? Or did it sail into the left field corner?

This card is a great example of what I mentioned earlier about the photography. The quality of the photo itself is not great. The framing of the shot, the way Evans blends into the fans in the background, the focus, the excess of shadows on our main subject… it just leaves a little to be desired.

However, the timing of the shot? That’s almost perfect. Getting an action shot of a third baseman in mid flight as he attempts to snag a line drive is not easy, which is likely why it was included in the set.

See GMC’s PSA 10 copy of Darrell Evans’ “In Action” shot here.

#3 – Johnny Bench #434

By 1972, Johnny Bench had established himself as the best catcher in the game. He’d already won Rookie of the Year (1968), MVP (1970), and four Gold Gloves by age 23, setting up what was to be a no doubt Hall of Fame career.

Bench’s “In Action” shot from 1972 Topps shows off one of his best assets: his defense.

1972 Topps Johnny Bench “In Action” #434

A Cincinnati Reds pitcher has just forced a Giants hitter to pop up on the infield. Bench is immediately on it. He’s thrown his mask off and is tracking the ball in the high sun.

We don’t know for sure if Bench made the play here, but I think it’s safe to assume the 10-time Gold Glover got it done.

The beauty of this action shot is in the profile of Bench. Not many of the 1972 “In Action” cards show our subject with this much color and focus. A rare case where the photography absolutely shines through.

See GMC’s PSA 9 copy of Johnny Bench’s “In Action” shot here.

#2 – Juan Marichal #568

Juan Marichal had already won over 200 games and an ERA title by 1972. He was well on his way to baseball’s Hall of Fame, being one of the most dominant right handed pitchers of the 1960’s.

And Marichal’s 1972 “In Action” shot gives us a window into what it was like to face him in the batter’s box.

1972 Topps Juan Marichal “In Action” #568

That high leg kick is not something most pitchers can perfect. It often leaves hurlers off balance and, without years of repetition and practice, can cause them to fly open on their delivery, resulting in control issues.

But Marichal perfected it. The high leg kick became Marichal’s signature move.

This article at “La Vida Baseball” explains in detail why his leg kick was so successful. In short, his leg kick operated as a distraction to the batters, hiding the ball location and disguising his grip.

But back to his 1972 “In Action” shot… it only makes sense for Marichal’s action shot to show his signature move, right? My only complaint is the photo still doesn’t gives us the best angle. If taken from behind home plate, perhaps we could get a batter’s view of the kick, or maybe from the 3rd base side, we could see Marichal hiding his grip from the batter.

Either way, it’s one of the best action shots in the set.

See GMC’s PSA 9 copy of Juan Marichal’s “In Action” shot here

#1 – Hank Aaron #300

When you think of Hank Aaron, you think of home runs.

The all-time home run king (for several decades) is one of the most important baseball players in history. And in 1972, he was less than 50 long balls away from breaking Babe Ruth’s record.

Naturally, an action shot of Hank Aaron hitting a home run in the 1972 subset would make sense. But instead, Topps went a different direction… and they nailed it.

1972 Topps Hank Aaron “In Action” #300

The home run trot.

Brilliant.

Why show yet another action shot of Aaron at the plate or swinging for the fences? Why not show Hank Aaron in his natural habitat: slowly rounding the bases after hitting yet another ball out of the ballpark?

After all, it’s what baseball fans would have become accustomed to seeing out of Hammerin’ Hank.

The decision to go with a post-home run action shot, rather than a pre-home run action shot, was such a clever move from Topps, for two reasons.

First, it was an easy shot for the photographer to capture. The timing was almost too easy. All they needed was a good angle and the right pitch for Hank to do his thing.

Second, and what sets this card apart from the other action shots in the set, is this card does not suffer from the same “lack of context” issue that so many others have. When collectors see this card, they know exactly what just happened in the game.

The card speaks for itself: the game’s best home run hitter just hit another home run. You don’t need to know the score, the ball park, the pitch count, or any other information about the game. You only need to see the image of Aaron carefully managing all four bases on his way to yet another home run.

See GMC’s PSA 9 copy of Hank Aaron’s “In Action” shot here.

-Honorable Mentions-

Quickly, here’s a few other action shots from this set that stand out for one reason or another.

1972 Topps Willie Mays “In Action” #50

Willie Mays’ action shot from the set shows him sliding into home plate. It’s a decent shot, but it suffers from the lack of context that so many others do. Was he safe? out? Or was there even a throw to home? It appears as if the catcher is standing up, meaning the throw might have been cut off, unless of course that’s actually a Giants’ teammate looking at the play, having just scored ahead of Mays. Again, there’s just too much we don’t know. The shot of Willie focusing on the play is solid though.

1972 Topps Jerry Koosman “In Action” #698

If you removed the background from this action shot of Jerry Koosman, he might appear to be lounging at home on his couch. Or maybe stretching out a hamstring on a trainer’s table.

Koosman’s leg kick, unlike Marichal’s, isn’t that high. And it wasn’t as much Koosman’s signature move as it was a byproduct of his low-to-the-ground, squatting approach. His pitches snuck up on batters from different angles with plenty of velocity. The prototypical crafty-lefty.

Still, the action shot of Koosman here is a good one, as it shows how little of the ball the batters could see on approach. Picking up the spin on the ball was likely difficult. He was also known to work quickly on the mound. Before you knew it, the ball was by you and the umpire was calling strike three.

1972 Topps Tom Seaver “In Action” #446

From one Mets pitcher to the next, this Tom Seaver is a hilarious out of context action shot.

What exactly is going on here?

Is Tom eyeballing a dribbler that is about to roll foul? Is he watching a play at the plate? Did a rabid gopher just burrow out of the earth and begin gnawing someone’s leg off in the on-deck circle?

The picture of Tom Seaver here is so hard to understand. There doesn’t seem to be any baseball context that makes sense here. It would make more sense if Tom had a polo and khaki pants and holding a putter. That’s the posture and expression of a man hoping his putt will stay true to the hole, not a pitcher doing anything baseball related.

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