Card of the Week: 1978 Topps #345

What a great looking card. The card design is very understated, which wasn’t exactly typical for the seventies. But, the simple frame leaves it up to the picture to supply the pizzazz. This is a great “action” shot of Tiant making at least one fan very happy.

I always wonder when looking at older cards how the printing companies worked. Look at the “P” in the baseball in the upper right corner. It’s off-center. Why? Was the printing company unable to print it in the center of the ball? Was it a case of the different color plates not lining up properly from one printing to the next? Did Topps decide it wasn’t worth the effort to get it to print properly? The kids collecting cards weren’t going to notice a slight imperfection like that. Is it like that on all the Tiant cards? With this kind of sloppiness so widespread during the older sets, how did card collecting take off in the first place?

The offset P aside, I still think this is a wonderful card. Love the red hat. Love the face of Tiant. Love the simple glimpse into his day. Nicely dine.

Except for the P.