Modern Monday: my first card from 2021

People have been ripping packs of the new Topps flagship product and I've seen a few Tony Gwynn cards surface in the Facebook groups I frequent. There are 8 different Tony Gwynn cards on the checklist, including a cut signature 1/1 card, which I doubt will ever feature on this blog!

I had an unofficial competition running over who would be first to send me a card from 2021. The winner was Gawain, who has sent me a large proportion of the cards that have featured on this blog. In a serendipitous coincidence, I was on a video call to Gawain when the mail arrived with this card in it!

Card Number 596: Topps 70 Years of Topps, 2021; #70YT-24

Topps have produced this 70-card insert set with a card representing each year, using the template from that year. This is the 1974 template. The set is a mix of current stars and famous retired players. This is a lovely posed photo of Tony from the mid-80s and it's not one that I remember seeing on a Topps release before. 

If I was going to make one complaint about this set, it's that using retired players in anachronistic retired templates irritates me a bit. Tony was in high school in 1974, not the major leagues. 

The cardback explains Topps release schedule in 1974 and names Dave Winfield as the stand-out rookie from that year. Sadly, Dave isn't in this set. It would have made more sense to have him on this card template.

This isn't the first time Topps have released a card with Tony in the 1974 template. They released one last year in the Topps Archives set.

This year's 1974-style card is better!

Total: 596 cards