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Define the design (62T & 87T)

Hey, it's "Define the Design" time! I haven't done this for a little while, so I figured why not try to pigeon-hole yet another set?

I have an easy one this time. It's 1962 Topps. Loads of people love this set. There are madmen out there who pay ungodly amounts of money to find '62 cards in the most pristine condition possible. Me? I'll settle for all the Dodgers in OK shape. The set's all right. I don't really know what the big deal is.

But I think most people can agree that this would be called the "wood panel set." Still, I'm not willing to slap that label on Mr. Andy Carey's forehead yet, because if we name the '62 Topps set the "wood panel set," then what do we name this set:

Yup, it's 1987 Topps. Some call it 1962 Topps' illegitimate son. But that wouldn't be an appropriate title for "Define the Design," now would it?

It's funny. The 1980s was all about nostalgia for the 1960s. The Big Chill and all that. In fact, when I hear '60s music now, I don't think of the '60s (because I was barely alive then). I think about the late '80s, when you could hear The Four Tops and Buffalo Springfield on every other radio station.

And the same phenomenon occurred in '80s baseball cards. 1983 Topps resembled 1963 Topps. 1986 Topps reminded me of 1971 Topps (OK, that's not quite the '60s). And 1987 Topps really reminded me of 1962 Topps.

So, anyway, that's your assignment. If 1962 Topps is the "wood panel set," then what is the 1987 set called? Or maybe the '87 set is the "wood panel set" and '62 is something else. I'm looking for names of both of these sets.

But I don't think I'll be rewarding a prize for this one. Your prize is the satisfaction of a job well done (don't throw anything at me). And your title immortalized forever on the sidebar.

Comments

Topps Proto-Heritage. There were other sets that resembled earlier ones, but if the '87 were put out by, say, Donruss, then Topps would have sued for infringement. Topps went the self-plagiarism route and pretty much copied the '62, made a tweak here and there, and rolled it out as the '87. Years before actual Topps Heritage, but clearly pointing to the fact that the idea was there, germinating in the subconscious. Proto-Heritage.
gcrl said…
62 = wood panel
87 = wood laminate

my word verification = skanc. thankfully a 'c' instead of a 'k'
Anonymous said…
ha ha, yeah, Wood laminate is a good one, or "pergo". It just screams cheap looking/feeling "wood" flooring, doesn't it? Not that there's anything wrong with it, but it doesn't beat the real thing!
Jeremy said…
If the '62 Topps is the "wood panel set" then the '87 set should be the "wainscoting set" because wainscoting is a cheap fake wood used to cover walls. Sort of like the wood laminate offered above, but for the walls instead of the floor.
Captain Canuck said…
how 'bout "the two ugliest damn sets Topps produced"?

no?

well then I'm outta ideas...
1962 The Woody
1987 Sonny (son of the wood)
Andy said…
I had a similar idea to gcrl...original is wood panel, and the 87 is wood formica, which was very popular at the time and the set very much resembles.
deal said…
62 is "Wood Panel the Original" or Woody Version 1.0 somehing like that.
dayf said…
'62 = real wood, most likely used as paneling in the den.
'87 = particleboard with that fake wood stuff on top to make it look like it's not total crap, most likely used as a bookshelf.
Mark Aubrey said…
1962 is the wood panel set.

1987 is the George Washington Teeth set.
zman40 said…
62 is the "peeling picture" set

87 is the "picture firmly attached" set
Anonymous said…
Agreeing with Canuck. Yech! Dislike them both so much...
hiflew said…
With the 62s I always focused away from the wood and toward the peeling. I like the peeling sticker set.
GOGOSOX60 said…
I still call them "those wood grain suckers"....

The 1987 set is still truly the last great Topps set ever made!. It's got all the Topps goodies like rookie cards, all-star cards, team leader cards and all those great Topps photos to live by. Plus you could get 17 cards for 35 cents!!
MMayes said…
1962 -- Wood Panel

1987 (25 years later, when Wood Panel had grown up, gotten a job and married.) -- Son of Wood Panel

I resist theh idea that 1987 is the illegitimate son of 1962. I'd say it's legitimate.
GCA said…
1962 = The poster on the fence set

1987 = The wood frame set

The pics on the '87 set are behind the wood like cut signatures or something. The '62s always reminded me of posters or playbills nailed to a wood fence.
Tony said…
I always equate them to woody-station wagons. The 62 is the woody wagon set. The 87 is the Family Truckster from the movie "Vacation"