Show your 1973 Topps Comics

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

According to Google:

Topps could not put official team logos on their early 1970s basketball cards because they did not have a licensing agreement with the NBA itself, only with the NBA Players Association (NBPA).

Topps had a contract with the players' association allowing them to use player images and names. They did not have a separate agreement with the NBA league office, which owned the rights to the official team names and logos.

As a result, early 70s Topps cards often featured:
Photos of players with the backs of their jerseys showing (to hide front logos and team names).
Players in warm-up gear or practice uniforms without logos.
Airbrushed-out logos where they might have appeared on uniforms or other gear.
Generic team names printed on the card borders or vertical edges, rather than the official logo.

That's interesting, thanks - I'm actually an IP lawyer by day, so this stuff is right up my alley.

Looking at other 1972-73 Topps basketball cards makes it clear that they first got their NBA license that year. From 1969-1971, Topps only used city names rather than the team names, which was the convention for unlicensed cards when I was a kid in the '80s and, I think (?), for quite some time after that. Current unlicensed cards not only do not use the team names, but they also alter the colors somewhat (teams and leagues have become more protective of their IP over the years).

If you look at, for example, Artis Gilmore and Dr. J's 72-73 cards, the team logos are clearly visible on the jerseys. I think they just used a lot of old photos for whatever reason, taken when they didn't have the license. There are the backwards jersey ones, and also shots like Phil Jackson where the player is posed with his arms obscuring most of the logo (what was left was presumably planned to be airbrushed).

Interestingly, apparently Topps printed a test series in 1968 that made full use of team names and logos. I wonder if that pissed off the NBA and led to the three subsequent years of unlicensed cards.