1978 Topps Greg Minton (Topps Baseball Gum Chewing Co)

Tiger’s Treasure Trove

1978 Topps Greg Minton

By Tony “The Tiger” Hayes

The question of whether baseball trading cards – the iconic All-American corner store staple- falls into the category of legitimate Modern Art has long been debated by art critics and the card collecting community.

If original mass produced Andy Warhol lithographs of Campbell Soup cans can rival in auction prices as rare bubble gum cards – why is one considered incomparable art and the other frivolous pop culture tchotchkes?

That question is just as debatable as whether the brittle iridescent pink bubble gum that used to come with baseball cards was really edible or not.

But in the spring and summer of 1978 there was no question what kids were getting when they were lucky enough to pull a Greg Minton baseball card from a Topps wax or cellophane pack.

Whether the card was the first one ripped from the top of the stack with a tell tale sugary residue smudge or sandwiched between a Leroy Stanton and John Lowenstein card – it was absolutely clear what you were clutching in your clammy afterschool mitts.

You weren’t likely ever to find the ‘78 Minton card on a field trip to the De Young or the Palace of the Legion of Honor, but the archetypal card was undoubtedly a Work of Art.

The dang Minton showpiece was in fact a full face portrait PAINTING – – you might even call it a Cardboard Rembrandt – – depicting Minton aka the “Moon Man” – then a fledgling Giants right-handed pitcher outfitted in an orange billed Giants cap, and sporting silver wire rimmed eyeglasses, fashionable longish feathered black hair and a matching full mustache.

Despite the fact Minton had only pitched in two games for San Francisco in 1977 – Topps was all in on the 25-year old -so much so they curiously went out of their way to hand craft a completely customized airbrushed card for the Giant.

Minton would later become one of the Giants all-time ranking relief pitchers, but at the time the baseball card in question was produced, the Giants didn’t know what they had in the San Diego raised athlete.

Originally signed by Kansas City, the Orange & Black picked up Minton in a 1973 trade for big league backup catcher Fran Healy.

Minton pitched in 27 games with the big league club between 1975-78, but injuries slowed his progress. A major knee injury in the spring of 1978 slowed his roll that season.

It wasn’t until 1979, that Minton would start to make a big league impact, posting a marvelous 1.81 ERA in 46 games to go with 19 saves. Over one extended 19 game period, Minton did not allow an earned run. A homer-less streak lasted well into the following campaign.

Minton was also a Grade-A clubhouse character who earned his “Moon Man” nickname after a pants-less minor league river rafting adventure left his rear end with sunburn blisters resembling moon craters.

But for all his indelible zaniness and spectacular mound work, Minton’s lasting impression on baseball fans just might be that museum worthy baseball card.

By 1978, finding a sports card with airbush touch-up work was hardly unusual.

The airbrush, a small air-operated tool that sprays atomized paint and dyes had become a popular tool in the sports card industry during the 1970s as more players shifted teams at a more frequent rate than ever before.

Beginning in the early 1970s, the bubble gum card company began painting logos on the caps of players who switched teams after their photos were taken for the next season’s set. Initially, the work often looked slap-dash with little care taken to carefully reproduce cap lettering or matching team colors.

By 1976 however it seemed Topps’ collection of in-house painters had seemingly graduated from art school. An entire sub-set of “Traded” cards featuring players mocked up in their new team colors was introduced that year and a good portion of the artwork on those cards was serviceable.

While some cards were more convincing than others, as a rule the airbrush work on sports cards was not quite as lurid and fake looking as it was in the early days.

Replacement lettering on caps and jerseys had become more accurate looking as the artists began to clearly take more pride in their work.

The 1977 Topps baseball set would see the hobby’s air brushing fad hit it’s peak as the company issued more than 50 cards with add-on accects. Fueling the surge was the introduction of two new expansion franchises in 1977 and the maiden season of MLB wide free agency.

The establishment of the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners would task the card company with cobbling together two entire new clubs of players that had to be refitted with new airbrushed gear.

Meanwhile the dawn of the free agent era saw a myriad of veteran big leaguers jump from one club to another during the offseason that separated the 1976 and 1977 campaigns.

The 1977 Topps set for example featured nearly 10 former members of the once mighty three-time World Champion Swingin’ Oakland A’s who had jumped from the Bad Ship Charlie Finley via free agency or the expansion draft.

The most curious card however came in the form of the one issued to the anonymous Rick Jones, a right-handed pitcher selected by the first edition Seattle from Boston in the expansion draft.

The Jones card was a throwback to the earliest days to the Topps cards in which black and white photographs were meticulously painted over in color. The majority of the 1952 Topps set, featuring famous rookie cards of Willie Mays and Mickie Mantle were done in this majestic looking finish.

But by the mid-1970s Topps had long abandoned that style. All the cards images at that point featured color photography, any changes were done with the handy, dandy airbrush kit.

Apparently, however Topps had no color shots of Jones – who made his debut with the Red Sox in 1976 – and the company decided to return to their artistic roots.

But unlike the early 1950s baseball card paint jobs, which mostly presented big leaguers in a flattering, almost stately light , the airbrush job on Jones’ card made the new Mariner look eerie and haunting.

It’s possible that the bubble gum card company received angry letters from mothers across the country complaining about their boy’s developing phobia conditions about the Jones and strived to do better.

The next year they accomplished that goal with the production of the Minton card and a second entirely airbushed card for the Red Sox’s Mike Paxton.

Topps apparently also did not have a color photograph of Minton and were left with just a black and white handout art from the Giants public relations staff.

The Minton card in particular pops with personality and vivid coloring- the artist gave Minton a deep bronze tan.

It became an instant classic.

Today, the card can be found for sale on eBay. While not quite in the Mays and Mantle price range. The Minton card can be had for about one buck.