2013 Hall of Very Good™ inductee Dale Murphy has one of the most famous baseball cards of the modern era.
In 1989, the first Upper Deck set was introduced, and became wildly popular among baseball card collectors. As is common in a set produced by a new company, there were errors in the rush to get the cards out. One error found and corrected early on was a reverse-negative photo of Dale Murphy. The value of the card shot up from ten cents to fifty dollars within weeks; by the end of that year it was selling for around $200.
Even today, when most once-high value cards from that era are worth pennies, this card is still valued at around $30. In 2002, Upper Deck even paid tribute to this card by printing reverse negative versions of all of its cards.
Steve Blass, on the other hand, has had little impact on the world of baseball card collector.
However, according to his 1970 Topps card, Blass himself was a collector. The photo on the front of that one is rather bland, although it would hard to find a happy player on a baseball card.
Other nice shots of Blass can be found in 1974 Topps, which features a great example of Blass’s pitching motion, and on his 1967 Topps card, which appears to have been taken on Opening Day and, in a rarity for a 1960’s-era card, has several fans clearly visible in the background.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bo Rosny is The Hall of Very Good's resident baseball expert. You can read more from him at his website Baseball Cards Come to Life.
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