Your Favorite "In-Action" Card of all time - Pics are a must!!

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mrmopar

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OK, I want to get some chatter going. Let's try a topic that anyone can chime in about. Any sport, any card set, any player...what is your favorite action shot on a card. It can be a a great photo, a genuine "In Action" card (they had those in a few set in different years), a horizontal card...whatever. You show us your all-time favorite action shot OR shots captured on cardboard.

Picking just one or even a couple for me is tough. When I first started collection, the 70s action shots on Topps cards drew me in immediately. That was one of my favorite card types. Small, multi-player pictures where you could barely tell who was the player on the card were great! Portraits bore me. Posed fielding and batter shots were corny. Real game action, now that is where it was at. Added point for me if the card design was appealing as well. Action shots are great, but the whole picture had to come together too.

So, just to get the ball rolling, one of my favorite action cards of all-time...from each major sport!

I mainly collect baseball these days, so i will start here. This may be one of my most favorite cards of all time. There are a lot of action shots in 1970s Topps sets, but few as great as this one!

1971 Topps Thurman Munson
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Football has their fair share of great shots too, but a lot of bench and head shots. True action football cards are awesome though. This card may be the greatest football card image ever to grace a trading card. Too bad he was not a HOFer to boot! 1978 Topps Greg Landry MUD FEST!!!

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I had to slip one more in because Fran Tarkenton was my favorite growing up and this card was stunning to me.
1974 Topps Fran Tarkenton

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Basketball action shots are fairly common, but great ones are not. I may have to think a while to get the best, but this one ranks up there for me and a HOFer doesn't hurt. The doctor had a lot of great action cards thankfully. I like this one the best though.

1975-76 Topps Dr. J

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A pair of weird colored cards get honorable mention. Both nice action shots, but the port/starboard background colors set off this pair for me: 1977-78 Topps Artis Gilmore and Bobby Jones

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Lastly, I rushed this pick to get the thread started. I may have to sit down and look for some better shots, but this one is of a favorite player and a great shot too. He too had a fair number of "action" cards, but this one is just too cool.

1976-77 Topps Ken Dryden.

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So there you go...a few of my favorites. You might notice i like the extra "flair" too, such as the All-Star, All-pro and All- Rookie badges, trophies, banners and such. I think those just made cards more fun back in the day. New cards really do bore me today, so it is fun to look back to a time when the most you had to look forward to was a cool photo, all star badge or special card.

Now, show your own favorite card or several. Get the comments flowing and interact. Let's talk action cards!! Hopefully we'll see some greats from numerous sports...someone may even toss in some golf, boxing, tennis, Olympics or others???
 
those are some impressive cards..i love those old basketball shots!!! very awesome..i liked these two..

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i know this isn't an original 86-87 fleer, but the shot is still "classic"!

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and one from the 84 olympics

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SWEETNESS!!!

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curtis, i've always loved that gilmore card! he was pretty intimidating with the fro and goatee!


paul
 
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Back in the day, it looks like most of the shots must have been taken in Washington DC. You always see the bullets in the action shots. If you were a fan of Elvin Hayes, he must be lurking in half of the 70s sets!!
 
a few others
http://www.hollywoodmemorabilia.com/files/cache/mickey-rivers-autographed-baseball-card-texas-rangers-1982-o-***-chee-in-action-51_95f39cadb1a06cd29d7a165ee5ff9b6e.jpg

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Payton didn't have any great action shots if i remember correctly, mostly boring poses. That is a shame too.

Look up Payton's 1982 Topps In Action card. Best "in action" photo ever.

Edited to add that this old man doesn't know how to add pictures or I would have posted a pic of this card.:D
 
To clarify, I really meant his regular issue cards. Of course those IA cards from 72, 82, 84, etc will always have an action shot (hence the subset theme). I don't necessarily count them in this regard. However, it is a great shot.

Posting pictures is fairly simple. Host/upload it on a site like photobucket and they usually have a link ready to cut and paste. I use photobucket and they provide a variety of links to use in different situations. Someone more versed in computer speak may be able to explain the differences...I can't, but i know that I can use the "IMG" code link to post pics on a message board like this.

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Look up Payton's 1982 Topps In Action card. Best "in action" photo ever.

Edited to add that this old man doesn't know how to add pictures or I would have posted a pic of this card.:D
 
The 71 & 73-79 sets are loaded with action shots. This continues into the 80s, but action shots had become commonplace by then,

The 73 and 74 sets are especially loaded...some other good ones and some are just fun to mock, like those spring training shots with cars and other weird background images. Still a fun break to the boring old super head shots!
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Perhaps one of the earliest "true" action shots on a mainstream baseball card set (although this may have been a staged scene)...there are some earlier action poses, but this one is unique for sure in what was essentially a portrait set to begin with.

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Check out Jason Kipnis' card, 2013 Topps #267. Great "In Action" card!

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I would have made it a horizontal card and had Kipnis off center to the left and the rest of the runner in the pic. But this one is cool....
 
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A couple that I love but don't have pics for yet

1991 Topps Shane Mack. Looks like he overslid the base and is hanging on for dear life even though no fielder is in the frame.
1994 Topps George Brett. Just awesome behind the plate photo.
1995 Score Chuck Knoblauch. Flying over and incoming Oakland player at second.
 
I always loved that 75 Powell. Is he saying, "I got it" or "Where is it"?
Here is another great 75 Dick Green on what I'm sure is the front end of a DP where Brooks Robinson (one of my heroes) is out. :(
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and I always liked this Mickey Morandini
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