The Fascinating Topps Card History Of John Scott

John Scott was a Major League outfielder in the late 70's. According to the TCDB, he only has 20 official cards. Only 3 of those are from Topps yearly base sets. Those three cards however, are perhaps the most amazingly unique trio of cards to ever capture one player's career.

 

Scott was the second overall draft pick in the 1970 January Draft, and made his debut for the Padres towards the end of the 1974 season. Because of this, his rookie card is one of the most sought after and expensive cards in the 1975 Topps set.

 

1975 Topps #616 Rookie Outfielders

 

Scott played sparingly for the Padres, only playing in 39 games from 1974 to 1975. In fact, he still retained his rookie status when his contract was purchased in 1976 by the new expansion team, the Toronto Blue Jays. After being skipped over by Topps for the 1976 set, Scott showed up again. Like his rookie card two years prior, he ends up on one of the most sought after and expensive cards in the 1977 Topps set.

 

1977 Topps #473 Rookie Outfielders

 

Two John Scott cards, two appearances on a multi-player card featuring the official rookie card of a Hall of Famer. Crazy right? Despite this fame by association, Scott earned his own place in baseball history. As the starting left fielder for Toronto, Scott became the first official batter in Blue Jays history when he led off the bottom of the first inning on April 7, 1977.  He would play 79 games for the Blue Jays, often as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. 

1977 would be the last time he played in the Major Leagues. Next year, the Topps company would finally give Scott his own card in a base set, making his lone standalone card a sunset card.

 

1978 Topps #547 John Scott

 

Can any other player boast such a fascinating trifecta of cards?