The Original 1971 Floating Heads

The 1971 Floating Head Cubs team set card is based off of the Cubs team picture from 1970

Topps didn't even try to hide that fact.  You can see right in the middle is says "Chicago Cubs 1970."  

I was trying to identify each of the players shown.  Most I could recognize, but not all.  My card is a bit fuzzy to try to read the signatures, so I did a search to try to find a clear picture of an original team photo.  

What I found surprised me.

This is not the same one that Topps used.

 

The picture that I found was from early in the 1970 season.  Missing are mid-season acquisitions Joe Pepitone and Milt Pappas, among others. It seems like Topps used a later version of the photo.  I never knew that there was more than one version of team photo.  It does makes sense that the Cubs would change it as the roster changed over the season.

I searched several places for a copy of the version that Topps used, but couldn't find one anywhere. All I could find were copies of the early-season photo. Perhaps the later version is more scarce because attendance dropped as the season wore on and fewer were sold.

The first version did help me identify all of the players shown on the Topps card.

I've got the listing going by columns.

Column 1: Joe Pepitone, Larrry Gura, Paul Popovich, Jim Colborn, Jack Hiatt
Column 2: Jim Hickman, Bill Hands, Joe Amalfitano, Willie Smith
Column 3: Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Rube Walker, Joe Decker
Column 4: Randy Hundley, Leo Durocher, Peanuts Lowrey, J.C. Martin
Column 5: Ernie Banks, Glenn Beckert, Joe Becker, Roberto Rodriguez
Column 6: Don Kessinger, Ken Holtzman, Herman Franks, Cleo James
Column 7: John Callison, Fergie Jenkins, Milt Pappas, Phil Regan, Al Spangler,