Nigel's Webspace - Galleries of English Football Cards 1965/66 - 1979/80

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A&BC Chewing Gum. A special 6-part history of A&BC Gum has been produced by this website. Click to begin Part 1.
1966/67
Footballers. A set of 220 black and white cards in two series (1-110 and 111-220) issued in pairs, but most often seen as singles. The 2nd series differs in that the player name is printed on the front of the card. There are 8 checklist cards for the 1st series, all being parts of a picture of the 1966 England World Cup Winning Team. The 8 checklists from the 2nd series form a picture of the runners-up - West Germany.

The sets must have been produced in September 1966, since they include details of transfers which occurred early in the 1966/67 season e.g. Card 95 Colin Dobson but not October transfers e.g. Card 177 Dominic Sharkey.

Checklists: Series 1 (1-110), Series 2 (111-220), Team checklist.
World Cup Footballer Stickers (also known as World Cup Stamps). 50 stickers/stamps sold by A&BC. These are very, very rare.

For the price of 1d. you received a piece of bubble gum, plus one sticker.

Some stamps depict players (vertical), while others depict players and their teams (horizontal).

Many thanks to one particular website visitor who contributed most of these images.

Set size: 50. Click for set gallery.

Checklists: Set checklist or Team checklist.

    
1967/68
Star Players. A small set of colourful cards, sometimes referred to as 'Black backs'. No checklists.

Set size: 55. Click for set gallery.

Checklists: Set checklist or Team checklist.
Pin-ups of England's Stars. An attractive set of 'pin-up' posters given away in the packets of Star Players. Since these pin-ups were squeezed into the bubble gum packets they always have the creases.

Set size: 12. Click for set gallery.

Checklists: Set checklist or Team checklist.
1968/69
Football - Yellow backs. My own all-time favourite set of football cards. A neat, classy set with a Football Quiz and Magic Answer on the back. Series 1 comprises cards 1 to 54 (Checklist is card 1), and Series 2 comprises cards 55 to 101 (Checklist card 55).

Set size: 101. See also the A&BC Gum variants and error cards.
Teams: Arsenal, Birmingham City, Burnley, Chelsea, Coventry City, Everton, Fulham, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Queen's Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Checklists.

Click for set gallery.

Checklists: Series 1 (1-54), Series 2 (55-101), Team checklist.
Pennants. Team pennants folded in the yellow back card packets, hence the folds whenever you see these attractive pennants. The pennants have instructions to 'Cut out Pennant along black line' but thankfully not too many boys seem to have done this. They were issued with Series 1 of the Yellow Backs in 1968.

Set size: 26. Click for set gallery.

Checklists: Set checklist.
Emblems. These shiny cards don't scan too well. They were issued with Series 2 of the Yellow Backs in 1968.

Set size: 20.

Checklists: Set checklist.
1969/70
Football - Green backs. Another popular A&BC set. The backs included a Football Facts quiz. Series 1 comprises cards 1 to 64, Series 2 cards 65 to 117 and Series 3 cards 117 to 170. The 3 checklist cards are unnumbered. Two players (Lawrence and Woodfield) have card number 117.

Set size: 174 (171 cards, plus 3 checklists). See also the A&BC Gum variants and error cards.
Teams: Arsenal, Burnley, Chelsea, Coventry City, Derby County, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Checklists.

Checklists: Series 1 (1-64), Series 2 (65-117), Series 3 (117-170), Team checklist.
Crinkle-cut photographs. Attractive black and white photograph cards with a crinkle-cut edge. Numbers 1 to 18 were issued with Series 2 of the Green Backs. Numbers 19 to 36 were issued with Series 3.

Set size: 36.

Checklists: Series 1 (1-18), Series 2 (19-36), Team checklist.
World Cup Posters. A super set of posters. You bought the posters through buying the bubble gum packets (6d each). The player photographs (see below) came for free with the posters.

Set size: 16. Click for set gallery.

Checklists: Set checklist.
World Cup Footballers. Super attractive cards for the 1970 England World Cup Squad. Available in two forms - with or without an embossed Jules Rimet trophy. These cards were issued with the World Cup Posters above.

Set size: 37. Click for set gallery.

Checklists: Set checklist, Team checklist.
1970/71
Footballer - Orange backs. A large set of attractive cards, issued in 3 sets. Series 1 comprises cards 1 to 84 (checklist), Series 2 cards 85 (checklist) to 169 and Series 3 cards 170 (checklist) to 255. The galleries available for this set include full player appearances for 1970/71 plus team results home and away, with goalscorer.

An interesting feature of this set is that it includes 21 of the 22 sides playing in the First Division in 1970/71. Huddersfield Town, promoted from the Second Division in 1969/70, are not included.

Set size: 255. See also the A&BC Gum variants and error cards.
Teams: Arsenal, Blackpool, Burnley, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Derby County, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Checklists.

Checklists: Series 1 (1-84), Series 2 (85-169), Series 3 (170-255), Team checklist.
Pin-ups. An attractive set of 'pin-up' posters issued with Series 1 of the Orange Backs.

Since these pin-ups were squeezed into the bubble gum packets they always have the creases.

Set size: 14. Click for set gallery.

Checklists: Set checklist.
Action Transfers. Very small stickers which include the instructions 'Peel off back and rub picture with ball point'. Most of these transparencies would have been so attached to school books and other surfaces, so very few have survived intact. These transfers were issued with Series 2 and 3 of the Orange Backs.

Set size: 72.

Checklists: Set checklist, Team checklist.
1971/72
Footballers - Purple backs. Perhaps not one of A&BC's better designed sets. The backs are stylish, but the fronts don't have the same appeal as in previous years. Series 1 comprises cards 1 to 109 (checklist 57), Series 2 cards 110 to 219 (checklist 170) and Series 3 cards 220 to 290 (checklist 277).

Set size: 290.
Teams: Arsenal, Cardiff City, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Derby County, Everton, Huddersfield Town, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Southampton, Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Checklists.

Checklists: Series 1 (1-109), Series 2 (110-219), Series 3 (220-290), Team checklist.
Football club crests. A set of strange looking stickers which were issued with Series 2 of the Purple backs. They belonged in an album which could be ordered from:
A&BC Chewing Gum Ltd.
Spilsby Road,
Romford, Essex

Set size: 23.

Checklists: Set checklist.
Footballer Superstars. Attractive stickers which were issued with Series 3 of the  Purple backs. These stickers, like the crests, advertise the A&BC Footballer Album to stick them in.

Set size: 23.

Checklists: Set checklist, Team checklist.
1972/73
Footballers - Orange/Red backs. A&BC back to basics with a well-designed set of attractive cards. This set comprises 2 series: cards 1 to 109 (checklist 45), and 110 to 219 (checklist 154).

Set size: 219. See also the A&BC Gum variants and error cards.
Teams: Arsenal, Birmingham City, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Derby County, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Q.P.R., Sheffield United, Southampton, Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Checklists.

Checklists: Set checklist, Team checklist.
Football card game. I have no idea what A&BC thought they were doing issuing a card game. The quality of the printing is terrible, as you can see from the scan. The images are printed in all different directions and often off the sides of the cards!

These cards were issued with Series 2 of the Orange/Red backs. The images on the cards appear identical to the images on the Footballer cards, without the backgrounds.

Set size: 22. Click for set gallery.

Checklists: Set checklist, Team checklist.
1973/74
Footballers - Blue backs. A&BC entered the era of scary hairstyles with a classy and popular set. The set was issued in 2 series: cards 1 to 131 (checklist 36) and 132 to 264 (checklist 182). Quality control was still not a priority for A&BC with cards 235, 262 and 264 never issued.

Set size: 262 (including the two variants of the checklist). See also the A&BC Gum variants and error cards.
Teams: Arsenal, Birmingham City, Burnley, Chelsea, Coventry City, Derby County, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Queen's Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Southampton, Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Checklists.

Checklists: Series 1 (1-131), Series 2 (132-263), Team checklist.
Crinkle-cut photographs. Another A&BC set of black and white photographs, similar to the 1969/70 set but these tend to be action, rather than head, shots. Quality is again an issue, with the paper tending to age and therefore make this set appear older than they really are. These cards were issued with Series 2 of the Blue back set.

Set size: 32

Checklists: Set checklist, Team checklist.
Giant Team Posters. Large posters of the top English and Scottish teams, each with 12 player portraits. The posters were collectable from packets of gum costing 4p each.

Set size: 16.

Checklists: Set checklist
1974/75
Footballers - Red backs. The last ever A&BC Footballers production before the takeover by Topps. A small set, only 132 cards, and no special giveaways. Checklist card is number 13.

Set size: 132
Teams: Arsenal, Birmingham City, Burnley, Chelsea, Coventry City, Derby County, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Queen's Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Southampton, Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Checklist.

Checklists: Set checklist, Team checklist.

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