Baseball/s not my thing, but the effort this took is amazing:
https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/research-yields-surprises-hidden-in-vintage-topps-baseball-team-cards/
Some excerpts from this article:
August 10, 2023 By Roy Carlson
It’s no surprise to experienced baseball card collectors that deciphering human identities on Topps vintage team cards is about as easy as reading road signs down a country dirt road at night while wearing Lowell Palmer sunglasses. Welcome to the world of shadowy faces, blurred uniforms, cropped bodies, airbrushed backgrounds and altered colors. Baseball card production in the Topps vintage era, which I’m taking the liberty here to define as 1951-1980, was a hot mix of rudimentary techniques and manual intervention.
Even when Topps provided player names on the fronts of 1956 and 1958 and the backs of 1951 and 1957 team cards, you still have to use your imagination to convince yourself that that roll call list is accurate.
Well, I have good news to share. Thanks to the internet and its infinite database of images, I’ve been able to locate 98% of the photos and names of players, coaches, managers, bat boys, trainers, equipment managers, traveling secretaries, executives and even owners, featured on these 502 team cards.
I’ve compiled images from 1951-1980 of each Topps team card and its accompanying photo with a roster of names for that card. If you would like the electronic files sent to you, I’d be happy to share them. Simply send me an email request at dgcarlson5@gmail.com and I’ll email you the comprehensive files for your reference and enjoyment. Please note that many of the images are identical to the one’s Topps used, while others are taken seconds or minutes apart, or at a slightly different angle. Even so, the photo culled from the internet provides a roadmap needed to understand who’s who. Topps only produced 9 of 16 teams in a special 1951 team set, did not produce base team cards from 1952-1955 and only created 13 of 20 in 1968 and none in 1969 due to a compensation squabble with Marvin Miller and the players union. Houston missed out on team cards from 1964-1969, mainly due to a licensing issue.
In addition, I’ll include Excel spreadsheets for each year and team that highlight interesting findings about these vintage team cards. All Hall of Famers and notable key players are listed, along with hundreds of miscellaneous observations — some trivial, others head-scratching.
As these bodies come to light after decades in their murky existence, some incredibly fascinating findings emerge, such as:
There are 112 different Hall of Famers featured. This HOF group appear a total of 1,152 times, with Yogi Berra and Red Schoendienst topping the list for most appearances (23). Schoendienst appeared on two 1980 team cards, the St Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics, courtesy of a recycled 1977 A’s team photo.
The 1966 San Francisco Giants hold the record for most outdated photo, a 1959 group shot.
The same 1959 Dodgers team photo was used by Topps for six consecutive years (1960-1965).
The star-studded Brooklyn Dodgers 1957 team card, featuring the 1956 National League Champs, has the most Hall of Famers (9!) depicted of all vintage team cards.
Ted Kluszewski, who retired as a player in 1961, is featured in four different team cards in 1962 thanks to the use of 1959 team photos, a year when he was traded. You can see him on the White Sox and Pirates team cards and on two variations of the Angels card, which utilizes a 1961 team photo.
Without properly investigating which players are actually included or excluded from certain team cards, it’s not surprising some eBay listings incorrectly tout phantom superstars. There’s no George Brett rookie image in the 1975 Royals team card, Nolan Ryan doesn’t appear on the 1967 or ’68 Mets team, you won’t find Roberto Clemente on the ’60 Pirates team card, Pete Rose is absent from the ’63 Reds and ’64 team images; no Juan Marichal on the ’60 Giants card, no Gary Carter on the ’75 Expos, no Yaz on the ’60 Red Sox team and you won’t find Brooks Robinson on the Orioles’ 1960 card.