The Jackson 10

Matt, of Project Baseball 1976, had a good idea when I was trying to figure out the best Johnny Bench card of the 1970s. He said I should do this for all of the top stars of the '70s.

So that's what I'm going to do. At least until I get tired of it. One drawback I see is I don't have many of these '70s cards, so I'm forced to use images from elsewhere, which I don't like doing. But as long as I have most of the cards of a particular player, then it's a worthy candidate.

The next participant is the most talked about player of the 1970s, Reginald Martinez Jackson. ESPN must lament on a daily basis that it wasn't in its prime when Jackson was at his peak.

I'll admit, Reggie was instant entertainment, even if I didn't like him as a kid. I appreciate him much more now.

So it's up to you to determine which is the best Topps Jackson card of the 1970s. Unlike the Bench cards, I don't have a definite opinion on which one is the best. There are a few that I like.

The cards I don't have in this group are the 1970, 1973 and 1977 cards. I see myself getting the '77 one day. The other two, I don't particularly care.

Poll is up on the sidebar. Vote away.

1970 Topps: A nice shot of young Reggie in his future home. This was his second card, I believe. No sophomore jinx here.

1971 Topps: Another looking-off-in-the-distance shot. I remember acquiring this card and thinking how unusual Jackson looked without the facial hair, etc. I like his flourish on the "M" on his middle name.

1972 Topps: I like this card a lot. It's the first look at Jackson as most of us know him -- except for the tinted glasses. I don't remember quite that pronounced of an over-the-shoulder look in his batting stance. All in all, a great card.

1973 Topps: One of those weird action shots from '73 Topps. Not good at all, and I saw this card a lot because Jackson was MVP in 1973 and this card popped up over and over. I guess this is Jackson's first official action shot card.

1974 Topps: Better action here, although Reggie's face is in the shadows something fierce. One thing about looking at a lot of cards from the '70s and '80s -- some of the stadiums looked so unfriendly. Look at that dugout. It looks menacing.

1975 Topps: This is the card I think of when I think Reggie and the 1970s. It's the first card of his I ever saw. I had a friend who was a huge A's fan and all he talked about was Reggie (and Joe Namath). If I had to choose the best '70s Reggie card I'd seriously consider this, even though his face is in the shadows again.

1976 Topps: Topps liked the "from the ground" angle so much, they went with it again the following year. This is very much the hero shot of Jackson. And look at all that yellow! I mean gold. It's gold, not yellow. Gold.

1977 Topps: Everyone wanted this card when I was a kid. I think I owned it for about 5 minutes and then some Yankee urchin snared it away from me. When you look at it now, you wonder what the big deal was. Sure, it was the first card of Jackson as a Yankee. But what awful airbrushing. (Incidentally, we were quite aware of the "Jackson as an Oriole" card as kids. Probably the first variation card I ever knew).

1978 Topps: Jackson in the classic pose. This will get some votes. I'm not sure where the catcher and the umpire is in this photo.

1979 Topps: This was a disappointing card. And double-printed, too. Not a favorite. Topps would come back strong with the 1980 offering, but I'm sticking with the '70s here.

So, if I had to pick, I'd probably settle on 1972. But I like '75 and '76 a lot, and 1978 sums up Reggie to a degree. You could make a case for the others, too.

One question before finishing: Does anyone remember what the Reggie bars tasted like? I never had one. Always wanted to know.