This sums up the Big Red’s 1980 Season. As the ‘70s ended on a whimper the ‘80s would begin on a whimper. The 1980 season would be their 5th consecutive season missing the playoffs. Their record was 5-11 which matched the previous campaign. As with the baseball Cardinals and the hockey Blues the 1980 season would be one of the first I really remember-or at least remember the players such as QB Jim Hart, Running Back Otis Anderson, Wide Receivers Mel Gray and Pat Tilley, Offensive Linemen Joe Bostic and Dan Dierdorf, and Defensive Back Roger Wehrli.
Really nothing else to say about the season except they continued their history of sucking and losing, however, this season would see the rookie card of Running Back Otis Anderson. Why isn’t he in the HOF? In 1980 Otis rushed 301 times for 1352 yards. This would be the third highest total of his career.
Generally the design of the 1980 Topps isn’t very popular with collectors-couple this with few key rookie cards-and the airbrushed logos-and you have set without much demand.
Topps didn’t have a license with the NFL to show team logos so a la Panini you see a great many photos of players without helmets, and all logos were air brushed off.
I would argue it is an attractive set regardless-I think the photos are sharp, the fronts are framed with team, position, and name in a football at the bottom. The reverse is horizontal with red background and black lettering. On the left is a football with some sort of factoid and a cartoon. Career stats are given as well as the usual bio info. You will notice there is only the endorsement of the NFL Player’s Association.
Checklists were provided as part of the previous season’s team leaders.
Only missing the 1979 Record Breaker card of Otis to complete team set-16 of 17.
I kind of like that the nameplate incorporates a football on front.
ReplyDeleteI do too-I think it gets a bad rap because of the lack of logos but still the fronts are attractive especially with the football incorporated
DeleteI find it interesting that so many collectors complain about companies that don't use logos, yet for close to 30 years, it never hit me that for years Topps wasn't using logos during those years. They did a great job of disguising it.
ReplyDeleteI agree, if done right it really doesn't take away from the cards themselves. Panini for baseball has done a solid job of producing good looking cards-and I bet if one didn't know they didn't include logos you probably wouldn't even notice
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more, which is why I roll my eyes at so many other collectors.
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