When 'very good' is very good

Recently, I received some 1976 Topps cards from Carl Crawford Cards, a blog that has been known to feature a '76 card or two.

I am trying to finish off the set, as it's one of the main sets from my childhood. But finishing off the set also means upgrading the set, because I absolutely kicked that set's ass when I was a kid.

It just so happens that almost all of the cards that I received were upgrade cards. Crawford Cards had no way of knowing this as I simply list my wants in almost all cases. I don't differentiate between cards that I need and cards that I simply need to upgrade. So it was kind of neat that I could upgrade several out of one package.

Mr. Crawford (actually I believe his name is Paul) said he wasn't too hung up on condition, so the cards weren't perfect. And the cards I received were probably in "very good" shape according to the condition guide put out by a certain (*ahem*) publication. "Very good" is not as good as excellent or mint, but, believe me, with the shape of my '76s, "very good" is very, very, very good.

For the sake of comparison, I lined up the original '76 card with the upgraded card, just so you can see the difference.

I'll start with John Ellis, the Indians' main backstop for a couple years in the early '70s. He actually didn't do too badly, but he was never the standout that the Yankees hoped he'd be when they signed him in the late '60s.

You can see with the original Ellis, on the left, the photo is faded and all the corners are rounded. There are also some faint creases that you can't see unless you click on the card. The card on the right is a much brighter, happier card.

Next up is a pair of cards of George Brett's older brother, Ken. I like this card a lot. One of my co-workers knows the Brett family quite well. They are apparently a bunch of characters, as you might imagine. Too bad Ken Brett is no longer with us.

My original Brett is beat up on the edges and corners and the photo is scuffed. The upgraded card is more off-center, but the corners are sharper, even if the tint is off on the photo.

Here we have Merv Rettenmund, one of those players that I had an irrational interest in as a kid. One of these days I'll do a post on all the players I liked as a kid for absolutely no reason at all. It'll be a long one.

My original Merv is darker, has the customary rounded corners, and a crease in the upper left corner. The new Merv is much snazzier, but unfortunately the ground is still tilted behind him.

Let's go with Tom Johnson next. Can you believe there has been only one player in major league history named Tom Johnson? Seriously. Look it up. Only one. Johnson had a brief career but he was terrific for the Twins in 1977. He pitched in 71 games and went 16-7. He pitched nothing like that before or after.

My original Johnson card is beat to hell. I'd say about 5 percent of the card is missing. And it's all scuffed, and there's some sort of muck on the bottom. The new card is a 100 times better.

Lastly, we have Tom Veryzer. Attempting to look like Meatloaf, apparently. Veryzer may have landed a rookie cup, but he was an underaverage hitter who didn't start a ton during his career. He still hung on for 12 seasons.

The Veryzer on the left isn't a holdover from my childhood. I can't remember where I got it. But it is very miscut. The card on the right is off-center a bit, and smudged at the top, but it's not woefully cut. So, once again, yay, upgrade!

And here's a card I received that I just plain needed. Pat Dobson, wearing the crooked cap that appears too small for his head as he stares blankly beyond the cameraman and ... into your soul!

OK, that was creepy. It's just a plain, old card of a goofy-looking '70s dude. And Mr. Dobson is no longer with us, too. So I'll just shut up now.