At first glance, it might not seem too odd, although if you look at it for another second, it's clearly not a picture like every other card in the set, but rather a drawing. And then you might notice the pre-printed signature in the bottom right hand corner of the card, which isn't on any other card. Then you could see the circular design at the top, and think, hey that looks familiar.
And that's because Gordon's Orioles Crown card uses the exact same picture that appeared on his 1959 Topps card. This has to be some sort of copyright infringement and I can't believe that Topps let it fly. But knowing their customer service department, it's possible they still haven't discovered it, but when they do, you can bet it will be replaced by a card of equal or greater value.
Gordon's card is far from the only one in the set that shows a player sporting another team's cap. There's plenty of players who only spent one season, or one game, with the O's almost thirty-forty seasons before the set was produced in 1991, so I understand that pictures of them in an Orioles uniform must have been hard to find, especially before the internet was widely used.
Just one thing though...
Gordon's 1961 Topps card shows him in an Orioles hat and, presumably, uniform. So why not steal borrow that picture for an Orioles card set. I think someone clearly dropped the ball here. It's not like it was an ethics issue since they used a picture from a Topps card anyway. I would call it an oversight.
Gordon passed away in 1994 at only 64 years old of complications from diabetes, so I'm happy to have his autographed card in my collection. I just wish that whoever put this set together had been a bit more resourceful so his Crown card would've truly been an Orioles Crown.
ST Contest Update- The 3-0 ORIOLES, Nationals, and Rockies currently lead the way while the 0-2 White Sox and Padres are still looking for their first W.
3 comments:
I bet it's a simple case of whoever was procuring images picking whichever Gordon Jones one that they could find.
There are some oddities in the 1991 Wiz Mets set, too. Robert Louis Gibson, pitched for the Mets in 1987. His card features a photo of Hall Famer Bob Gibson, who was a Mets coach in 1981.
Joe Ginsberg's card has a photo of Hobie Landrith, and Landrith's card has a photo of Joe Pignatano.
Does the Crown set have any incorrect photos that you know about?
- Paul
The Crown set pictures the wrong Ron Jackson. The Ron Jackson pictured on the card is a white guy and the actual Ron Jackson who played for the Orioles was black.
Paul-
It's good to know that some other teams have had issues with sets that they produced internally. The Bob Gibson mix-up surprises me since you would think that the HOF Bob might be more recognizable.
Aaron- Good call. I've never known what to do with that card. Should I have Orioles Ron sign it?
The Ron Jackson, who played for the White & Red Sox, pictured on the card died in 2008, so getting him to sign it is out of the question. I just have another one of Oriole Ron's autographed cards in my collection.
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