Top 5 Cards; Bert Campaneris

When thinking about the greatness of the 1970s, arguably the greatest decade in Baseball history, a plethora of superstars, mostly Hall of Famers, come to mind.

The early years of the decade, specifically, featured an unfathomable amount of talent. You've heard all of the names before, but sluggers like Aaron, Mays, McCovey, Banks, Stargell, Clemente, Yastrzemski were dominant at the plate.

On the mound, Palmer, Catfish Hunter, Seaver, and Gibson established themselves as some of the greatest to ever play the game. I haven't even mentioned the other HOFers from this era who are often overshadowed, like Orlando Cepeda and Ron Santo.

Unless all of the hyped-up rookies from the past few seasons make their way to Cooperstown, there likely won't be another period in Baseball history quite like the 1970s.

Despite the surplus of sensational players, however, some simply couldn't stay consistent and make their way into the Baseball Hall of Fame when all was said and done. Some players, though they had fabulous seasons, couldn't quite stack up with legends like Reggie Jackson and Nolan Ryan.

One of these players was a fabulous shortstop for, among other teams, the Oakland Athletics, Bert Campaneris. The Cuban native was a 6-time All-Star and helped the A's 3-peat as World Champions from 1972-1975.

Shortstop is not an easy position to play, yet Campy did it wonderfully throughout his 19-year MLB career. Though he had his struggles with the Rangers and Angels, Campaneris remains an underrated star of the 70s, an All-Time Fan Favorite type, if you will.

Campaneris isn't one of my larger player collections as I only have 19 cards of his. I do, however, have enough to create a reasonable top 5 to feature on the blog today.

#5 1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes

One of the main reasons why I appreciate the Obsidian cards in 2019 Panini Chronicles Baseball so much is that black borders and backgrounds are few and far between in today's card collecting world. Thankfully, we have sets like '94 All-Time Heroes where all of the base cards showcase black and white images.

Not only that, but the image is from a rare interleague game between the Athletics and the Cubs, sometime in the 1970s. Props to Upper Deck for thinking outside the box not once, but twice on the same card.

#4 1978 Topps

The only non-Athletics card to appear on this list, Campy's 1978 Topps Flagship card features a shot of him on the Texas Rangers where he played for 3 seasons and hit just .230.

Despite an All-Star season in 1977, Campaneris struggled immediately after and never fully returned to the player he once was. Towards the beginning of the 1979 season, he was traded to the California Angels and though Campy stepped his game up following the move, it was a significant departure from his performance level in Oakland.

#3 1976 Hostess All-Star Team

Although the vintage design helps this card's case, I didn't choose this '76 Hostess All-Star card for the list solely because of how much I adore these oddballs. It's the combination of the red, white, and blue banners with one of the many classic Oakland A's jerseys of this time that sets this card over the edge.

I haven't had the chance in the past to purchase many Hostess cards from the 1970s. If I could complete any one of the sets, however, it would be the '76 design without a doubt.

#2 1969 Topps All-Star

I'm not a fan of card companies featuring logoless pictures if they don't have to, but there's something about this Sporting News All-Star card from 1970 Topps that challenges my preconceived notions.

For starters, the design, particularly the red banner with white stars, is a terrific take on the All-Star card. Somehow, between the logoless and full-color photo of Campaneris along with the black and white background, Topps pulled something off that I didn't think they'd be able to do.

Now, if only Panini could do something like this where, as I've said before, we're distracted from the fact that they don't have the MLB license.

#1 1966 Topps

My sole card of the 3-time World Series Champion on the Kansas City Athletics also ranks as the greatest Bert Campaneris card in my collection (excluding a TTM autograph from '76 Topps).

With all the sets to choose from in the 1960s, I rarely think twice about '66 Topps, for the design isn't all that memorable. There is, however, something about the combination of purple with the green and gold uniform that screams 1960s.

The card is colorful, the photography is creative, and the combinations are just crazy enough to work. That's what the late 60s and early 70s are all about, and that's why this card easily captured the #1 spot.