1976 Hostess

Year: 1976
Manufacturer: Hostess
Set: Hostess Baseball
Card Number: 11
Card Type: Base

Continuing the series looking at the cards from my latest COMC delivery.

The oldest and really only vintage Yount pick up was this 1976 Hostess card.  I did already have a complete box and Twinkie version of this card, but I didn't have a stand alone version so I found a nice cheap example for the collection.

I was hoping to find an example with more of the border still intact that I could recut, but I'll take this handsome example.  I love the old Hostess cards for their simplicity and subtle beauty.  Plus the backs has Robin's full stats, even minor league, and a huge number.

 

All About the Base - 1976 Topps

Year: 1976

Manufacturer: Topps

Set: Flagship

Card Number: 316

Card Type: Base

I've often thought about trying to put together a set from the 70's.  Sure everyone's doing a 75 set, but for me it would be a toss up between 1974 and the 1976 sets.  

The 1976 set is so subdued compared to its predecessor.  I love the look of the set.  It's not flashy, but it's very functional and personally very appealing to the eye.  Robin's 76 card features a 20 year old Robin Yount entering his third year in the majors.  I love the classic Brewers uniform and the perfect staged batting stance.  The basic design of the card works so well.  The two bars on the front featuring the player name, position, and team, a cool graphic, and  a great border.  

I'm also a big connoisseur of the backs of cards and this is one of the best from the 70's.  The integration of the card number and bat/ball graphic is great and the card number is the perfect size for ease of collation.  Plus Robin's complete major league batting record.

1976 Hostess Twinkies Single Card

Card Manufacturer: Hostess

Card Set: Hostess Baseball

Year: 1976

Card Number: 11

Card Type: Twinkie Single

There is nothing I like better than the food issue oddballs from the 70's and 80's.  Most collectors know about the 3 card panels on the bottoms of Hostess bottoms from the 70's, but there are also the single card varieties to look for.  I'm not sure if these were done with any other product other than Twinkies, but Robin has a card in at least 3 years, 1975, 1976, and 1977.  I've already featured the 1975 card here.

Ah the good old grease stains.  These card can be found unused.  They're rare and go for a premium price, but for me I don't mind the grease stains and this card has held up well for being almost 40 years old. These cards are identical to the 3 panel box version.

1976 A & P Photo card

Card Manufacturer: A & P

Card Set:  A & P Photo Cards

Year:  1976

Card Number: NNO

Card Type: Base

A cool oddball given out by A&P grocery stores back in 1976. These were issued in sets of 4 when you purchased certain weekly store specials.  I've included the complete team checklist below.  These measure 5 7/8 x 9 inches and are blank backed.  There is also a Royals set issued the same year.

 1 Hank Aaron
 2 Pete Broberg
 3 Jim Colborn
 4 Mike Hegan
 5 Tim Johnson
 6 Von Joshua
 7 Sixto Lezcano
 8 Don Money
 9 Charlie Moore
 10 Darrell Porter
 11 George Scott
 12 Bill Sharp
 13 Jim Slaton
 14 Bill Travers
 15 Robin Yount
 16 County Stadium

1976 Topps

Card Manufacturer: Topps

Card Set: Topps Baseball

Year:  1976

Card Number: 316

Card Type: Base

Going way back to Robin's sophomore card.  1976 would be Robin's 3rd season in the big leagues and it would be another great year for him. In 1975 Robin played all by 14 games, in 1976 Robin played every game!  He also had a more RBI's and hits than the year before.

  1976 Topps is a great design. Clean and with a bright well shot posed photo. Easy to read lettering below and a cool graphic on the front.  The backs were well organized and with plenty of room for stats and fun facts and of course a nice large number in the upper left hand corner for easy collation

1976 Hostess Twinkies full box

Card Manufacturer: Hostess

Card Set:  Hostess Baseball

Year:1976

Card Number: 11

Card Type: Full Box

Unlike my 1975 Hostess King Dons box that was never used, this 1976 Twinkies boxes definitely was.  Who knows if this whole box was purchased and taken home or if it sat up by the counter at some convenience store to entice shoppers with an impulse buy. Since there is a box price on the box it was probably sold whole.  Luckily someone had the foresight to save the whole box.

Yount shares this box with Tony Olivia, who retired after the 1976 season, and Rick Manning, who would later join the Brewers team in 1983. Rick also happens to be a great TTMer if you're into that like me. 

Here's a close up of the panel. Other than the box having been opened, it's really not in bad shape and the cards are as close to mint as you can probably get.

1976 Linnett Portraits

Card Manufacturer: Charles Linnett

Card Set: Linnett Portraits

Year: 1976

Card Number: NNO

One of my favorite oddball items from the 70's. The Standard Catalog lists these as 1976 Linnett Portraits. I've seen them listed on other websites for sale as 1973-74 Linnetts.  The Standard Catalog also has a 1975 set and the 1976 Linnett Superstars set. There really isn't too much other information out there about these great cards.  The portrait measures 8.5x11 inches and has a blank back. A perfect piece for framing. I do believe there were about 175 of these you could get in the baseball issue. There are also Hockey and Football series as well. The Standard Catalog says these were available by mail for fifty cents a piece, but how they were advertised I'm not sure. I have seen a few the ads for the Reds and Bruins issues.  I'm sure there was probably an ad in a sports magazine or something similar.  In my web search I found out the Charles Linnett, the artist, has two daughters that are both artists as well and run a graphic design company. I believe that Mr. Linnett is still alive and kicking since I found his address and phone number or at least someone with the same name living very close to his daughters. I had thought about giving him a call, but that's kind of weird and really I'm happy to just call this Yount the 1976 Linnett Portrait.  

Charles Linnett put out a ton of different Portraits from multiple sports back in the 70's. All you need to do is search ebay or Google to see the variety and selection.  I picked this Yount up a few years back.  And if I ever get my man cave back it might even get framed and hung.