1976-77 Topps Basketball Cards

By Patrick Mondout

This is one of the most memorable sets in any sport of the Super70s - though any set featuring guys named Corky Calhoun, Butch Beard, and Ticky Burden automatically qualifies. These cards were really big - bigger than the "tall boys" of the early Super70s. A full 3⅛ x 5¼ inches and great for autographs. The price of wax packs returned to 10¢, but you only received six cards instead of the usual ten - at least they were bigger.

If you have not seen them in person then I'm afraid the pictures below won't help. They may look like like ordinary basketball cards, but you need to hold these larger than life cards in your hand to appreciate how cool they were to a child (with much smaller hands) of the Super70s. And while I will always be partial to the 1978-79 set for sentimental reasons, this was really the last classic set of basketball cards Topps ever produced.

All of this is true despite some truly uninspired photos. Take a look at Dr. J on the right and the David Thompson rookie below. They are on the bench! Why not show one of them dunking over Artis Gilmore or Maurice Lucas? At least the size of the front allows for the largest unobstructed photos in the history of Topps basketball cards - even with the large letters spelling out the team nickname down the left side of the card. 

There were some great shots, however. Take a look at the card of Phil Jackson impersonating Kareem with a sky hook while Wes Unseld looks on (below). And check out that card of Darnell Hillman (below) sporting one of the greatest afros you're likely to see in this lifetime or the next (though Oscar Gamble deserves props too). Several of the players are wearing necklaces, including Otto Moore, Mickey Johnson, Ernie DeGregorio, Jo Jo White, Dwight Jones, and Bird Averitt (at least his is color-coordinated with his uni - see below).

Speaking of photos, this was the first year that Topps relied almost exclusively on photos taken in Landover, Maryland - home of the Washington Bullets (you can tell from all the red, white and blue old-school Bullets home jerseys - which I believe are the best hoops jerseys of all time - in the backgrounds of most cards). From this point until Topps stopped printing basketball cards in 1982, the vast majority of Topps basketball cards were taken in the Capital Centre - most likely by a single, anonymous photographer (if you know who it was, please let me know). Those that weren't taken in at the Cap Center were usually shot at Nets home games. With all the shots of guys shooting over Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes, you might get the false impression that they didn't play defense! 

The card backs are by far the best Topps produced in the modern card era (which I arbitrarily suggest ended in 1989). They feature sections for both professional and college statistics as well as a the obligatory section for vitals and a brief biography. They also feature a "how to play basketball" cartoon at the bottom (see the Dave Cowens card back below), or one of a few other types of educational cartoons about basketball. If only they had been printed on white card stock!

In addition to the rookie card of the second most exciting player of the era (Thompson), there are also first-year cards of Lloyd Free (who thought enough of himself to change his name to World B. Free as in "All-World" Free - I kid you not), Gus Williams, and NBA rookie of the year, Alvan Adams.

1976-77 Topps at a Glance Back Checklist Wax Pack Nice bling? All-Stars Skywalker Zen Master Whoa! What a 'fro! 'Medical' Bill

Here's a checklist:

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