Card vs. Card - May 9

The Champ: 1992 Topps Craig Wilson
The Challenger: 1991 Topps Archives "1953: The Ultimate Series" Eleanor Engle

Card vs. Card - May 8th

The Champ: 1992 Topps Craig Wilson
The Challenger: 1992 Donruss Roger Clemens Diamond King

Craig Wilson makes quick work of Clemens, 18 - 5. Make sure to come back tomorrow to vote in the next Card versus Card poll!

Card vs. Card - May 4

The Champ: 1958 Topps - Moose Skowron All-Star
The Challenger: 1982 Topps - Shooty Babbitt

Moose takes the contest, 10 - 4. Card vs. Card returns Monday, where Moose will go against other worthy challengers!

Card vs. Card - May 3

The Champ: 1987 Donruss Bo Jackson Rated Rookie
The Challenger: 1958 Topps Moose Skowron All-Star

Moose takes the match, 10-8!

The Lost Awkwardness of the Combo Card

1964 Topps "Bill's Got It"

The combo card just ain't what it used to be. Used to be, a group of players would stand around on the sidelines either before a game (most often the All-Star Game or during spring training) or during practice, and awkwardly pose with members of their own or another team. Included in every Topps set from 1957 through 1969 (with the exception of 1965), nearly every Fleer set from 1982 on, Upper Deck sets from 1990 to 1993, and random other sets (including 1960 Leaf), combo cards were exciting to receive in a pack, pushing collectors to further idolize players on their favorite teams. The photos were posed, and the titles were usually clumsy alliterations or hackneyed exposition — to entice the collector to flip the card and read the description on the back (see "Bill's Got It," 1964 Topps). The writing was usually terrible, and the connection between the players weak or nonexistent (many writers have highlighted this with great success, including Mike Kenny, our talented and hilarious contributor here at The Baseball Card Blog).

Still, it was something to get a combo card. It showed the manufacturer — and the players themselves — had a playful side, that baseball wasn't all business. We wanted our heroes to take the game as seriously as we did, but we also wanted to know they knew how to joke around. It's this idea — separation of business and pleasure — that made the combo card important to their respective sets.

2007 Topps "Classic Combo"

For Topps, the sets that included combo cards were mostly endless oceans of faces. And once the regular player photo moved off the sidelines and the action shot became de rigueur (around 1970–1972), the posed-combo-card playfulness disappeared. What makes this interesting is that when Topps re-introduced the combo card in its flagship sets beginning in 2006, the manufacturer brought it back as another vehicle for its action photography. The new Topps "Classic Combos" lack the very essence of what made those earlier examples so exciting: the inherent awkwardness of posing for a photograph as a couple or a group.

Collectors' brains are now tuned to action shots—action is all we see on sports cards. But awkwardly posed groups of players, often together for only that one photograph? You rarely see that these days. It seems like everything's scripted; that when not playing, players are ushered from one place to another by people with clipboards and headsets.

1963 Topps (left); 2012 Topps Heritage (right)

This last bit is important for how the combo-card concept has been approached in Topps Heritage sets. The Heritage brand emulates the original vintage Topps sets of the 1950s and 1960s. For combo cards, that means the awkwardness of the posed sideline group. Because of tight schedules or whatever other reason, however, players are hardly ever photographed together for Heritage sets. Instead, their images are layered over each other during production to create the illusion that they posed together. Or—and here it is again—an in-game action shot is used.

2007 Topps Heritage "World Series Batting Foes" - layered images

So to celebrate the lost awkwardness of the combo card, see below for some of my favorites. And make sure to check out The Baseball Card Blog's Facebook page for another combo card I'd like to see.

Custom Cardwork: 1967 Topps Twin Terrors

1967 Topps Twin Terrors

From 1961 to 1969, the two guys in the Minnesota Twins's logo represented the Twin Cities—Minneapolis and St. Paul—though they could have just as easily represented Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew.

I found the logo at SportsLogos.net, Chris Creamer's sports-logo database is incredible. If you haven't browsed the site, I definitely recommend it.

Randy Niemann, 5-Star Pirate

Did you know? Randy is a 5-star Pirate: The 1st star is for his hit "Short People" during the '77 campaign ... 2nd star is for his macaroni-and-cheese sandwiches ... 3rd star is for his team-record 34 consecutive rides on Space Mountain before a game at Dodger Stadium - 5/26/82 ... 4th star is for knot tying ... and he won the 5th star in a card game!

Cardboard Fenway: 1960 Topps Pumpsie Green (RC)

Cardboard Fenway - #98. 1960 Topps Pumpsie Green (RC)

Remember this: The Boston Red Sox were one of the last teams to integrate. Who do we have to thank for this? Lots of guys, most notably Pinky Higgins.

Cardboard Fenway: 1984 Topps Gary Allenson

Cardboard Fenway - #92. 1984 Topps Gary Allenson

For every Dwight Evans, Jim Rice, Wade Boggs, and Pedro Martinez, the Red Sox rosters were chock-a-block with guys like Gary Allenson, Al Nipper, Al Zarilla, Milt Bolling, and Joe Lahoud.

Cardboard Fenway: 1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski (RC) 1999 Fenway All-Star Game Edition

Cardboard Fenway - #91. 1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski (RC) 1999 Fenway All-Star Game Edition

I got free tickets to Fan Fest back in the summer of 1999, so I went, collected my wrappers, and traded in for this super-cool foil-stamped mega-retro hyphen-hyphen reprint of everybody's favorite second baseman.

Cardboard Fenway: 2011 Topps Mike Lowell

Cardboard Fenway - #90. 2011 Topps Mike Lowell

It looks like Mike Lowell holds his breath until he makes contact with the ball. Interesting...

Cardboard Fenway: 1974 Topps Luis Tiant

Cardboard Fenway - #89. 1974 Topps Luis Tiant

The 9 Coolest Red Sox Players Ever
1. Luis Tiant
2. Carl Yastrzemski
3. Babe Ruth
4. Ted Williams
5. Carlton Fisk
6. Jim Rice
7. Pedro Martinez
8. David Ortiz
9. Dwight Evans

Cardboard Fenway: 1959 Topps Marty Keough

Cardboard Fenway - #88. 1959 Topps Marty Keough

Here's Marty stealing a glance out to the field, like having his picture taken for his baseball card is some kind of torture. Notice the people milling around Fenway behind him.

Cardboard Fenway: 2007 Topps Red Sox Team Card

Cardboard Fenway - #71. 2007 Topps Red Sox Team Card

I love it when players don't show up for the team photo, because it means floating deity heads for the team card. Here's the Olde Towne Team posed in front of the scoreboard on the Green Monster.

Cardboard Fenway: 1975 Topps Red Sox Team Card

Cardboard Fenway - #83. 1975 Topps Red Sox Team Card

Darrell Johnson is really a sour looking person, isn't he? Here's the scout troop—er, professional baseball team, posed in front of the Green Monster.

Cardboard Fenway: 1968 Topps Joe Foy

Cardboard Fenway - #69. 1968 Topps Joe Foy

This is the only card I included where the player is posing in his away uniform. I included this card because it's Joe Foy, who was perhaps the last Red Sox player to wear #1.

Cardboard Fenway: 1970 Topps George Scott

Cardboard Fenway - #67. 1970 Topps George Scott

Here's a svelte Boomer standing in front of the batting cage at Fenway.

Cardboard Fenway: 1968 Topps Lee Stange

Cardboard Fenway - #74. 1968 Topps Lee Stange

Sure looks like Fenway in the background. Also, Stange looks like he must weigh 100 pounds.

Cardboard Fenway: 1975 Topps Rick Burleson (RC)

Cardboard Fenway - #73. 1975 Topps Rick Burleson (RC)

Rooster's lookin' spry here as he poses in front of the centerfield bleachers.

Cardboard Fenway: 1967 Topps Dick Williams

Cardboard Fenway - #48. 1967 Topps Dick Williams

Williams looks like a bad-ass in this photo, which is a far cry from the doughy-looking slump he looked like on his cards when he was a player.