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More '75 Minis!!! ... Well, they're fake '75 Minis! But, still ... Minis!!!!!!! So far, I have less than 10 of the Topps Lineage '75 minis insert cards. I actually think that's pretty good, considering I haven't been at a store that's sold Topps Lineage since my trip to the card shop a month ago (the end of August is not a time to spend frivolously).

I have some more on the way. But just the other day, I received three of the minis from Jeff at My Sports Obsession. Here they are: The part that doesn't look right about these cards is not the current players on a '70s design, it's the really old players on a '70s design. Whitey's last card was in the '67 Topps set. This card looks strange to me.

There are a few players in the Lineage set that were playing in 1975. Off the top of my head, I can think of Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey and Reggie Jackson. That gives me a chance to contrast and compare their '75 card with an old-timer's Lineage card. The cards don't have a lot in common. Robinson is the only card of that bunch that I have in '75 mini form right now. But none of those other players would fare well in a comparison either. Most of the Lineage shots of the old-timers were taken during a different era than 1975.

But what about a comparison of the Lineage '75 mini design with the actual '75 mini design? As you can see, instantly, there are a lot of differences.

Wrigley Wax did a comparison a little while ago, so I'm going to end up repeating some of the things he said, and add a couple others.

Lineage gets the color combinations correct, for the most part, although there is one glaring example that I'll point out when the card arrives.

But there are a lot of other differences, aside from that Topps Lineage logo, and the team copyright. There are no facsimile signatures on the Lineage cards. Also, this comparison doesn't show it, but if you go back up and look at the Youkilis card, you'll note that Lineage spells out the word "Third" for the position and adds "man," as in "Third Baseman." In '75, Topps used the number (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and kept it to "Base," as in "3rd Base."

The fonts on the Topps Lineage card are off just enough to be annoying to a '75 Topps fan. The letters in the word "Orioles" in the Lineage card are not as thick as they are in the '75 Powell card. It doesn't even appear to be the same font, as you'll note that the "R" is different in each card.

In the lettering of the player's name, it seems just the opposite. The letters for the "Frank Robinson" name are fatter than the letters for "Boog Powell."

Finally, there is less space devoted to the color border in the Topps Lineage minis than the regular minis. That means more space for the photo. But it makes it look like the team name on the Lineage minis is crammed in at the top. It also makes it appear as if the letters in "Orioles" are taller on the Robinson card than on the Powell card. But they're not. There's just less border space available on the Lineage card.

Often, when Topps comes out with one of its retro-design cards, bloggers like me will complain that Topps couldn't get their own designs right. But I've since come to think that this is done on purpose. It's happened so often that there MUST be a reason for it. My only guess on this is that Topps doesn't want to get sued by someone who thought they were buying actual '75 minis when they were really Lineage minis, and that's why Topps alters the fonts/look of the card. Same deal with the Cards Your Mom Threw Out, etc.

I don't know if that's the case. I'm not a lawyer, nor even interested in lawyer shows on TV. I'm just a simple card collector. I fell on some ice and got thawed out by some of your scientists. Your world frightens and confuses me ...

Anyway ...

Another big difference, which others have pointed out, is that the Lineage minis are actually smaller than the '75 minis. There's the Frank Lineage card on top of the Boog '75 mini. The Lineage card is smaller width-wise and ever-so-slightly depth-wise.

Then there are the obvious differences. The Lineage minis are slick and made out of the crap that Topps uses for its base set. The '75 minis are good, solid, American cardboard. You could sit in a Chevrolet and eat apple pie while viewing your '75 mini.

And, of course, there are the card backs. Tsk, tsk, tsk ... the card backs ... Not good. Not good at all.

But it's too late for me.

Although I can see why some '75 mini fans would not collect the Lineage minis, I'm still going to try. If I'm going to collect a retro insert set, it's got to be this one.

So, between collecting the Lineage minis and the actual '75 minis, my collecting of other sets is probably going to suffer. Fortunately, Jeff sent me some cards to demonstrate exactly which sets will indeed suffer. These are all cards that I need from 2008 Timeline. But I don't plan to seek out any of the rest of my wants for this anytime soon. You guys are my only hope for Timeline. My pursuit of the 1972 Topps set might take a little bit of a hit, too. These two guys don't look pleased about that at all.

But, fortunately, '72 Topps is always available at card shows, when '75 minis are nowhere to be found. So I'll keep plodding along here.

Much thanks to Jeff for continuing the cause.

He has helped me keep my Lineage purchasing down to a minimum so far. The less of these base cards I see, the better.

I think that might be the end of my '75 Mini Obsession posts for now. I still have more thoughts that will probably pop up this week. Just in case you want to skip those posts.
Posted by night owl at 2:27 PM Labels: 1972 Topps, 1975 Topps minis, 2008 Upper Deck Timeline, 2011 Topps Lineage, Frank Robinson, Minis Minis Minis, My Sports Obsession

