1969/70
Scotties Famous Football Teams

Scotties were a brand of facial tissues launched by the Scott Paper Company in 1943 to compete with Kleenex. What is a company like this doing producing football cards I hear you ask? This set of rare cards is labelled 'Series 1', but I'm not aware that a second series was ever produced, which is a pity since they are high quality cards.

It's a little hard to date this set exactly. The photos used are quite old - for example, the Arsenal photo includes Jim Furnell who left the club in August 1968. The Leeds United card and team photo includes Jimmy Greenhoff, but notes "now with Birmingham City". This transfer occurred in August 1968, suggesting that the team photos and player list details pre-date the card texts. However, the Manchester United team photo includes Alan Gowling, who only joined the Red Devils in September 1968. The Newcastle United photo includes Gordon Marshall, who was transferred to Nottingham Forest in October 1968, but this transfer is not noted on the card.

By way of contrast the text on the rear of the cards includes details of the complete 1968/69 season, include the March 1969 League Cup final result and the June 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup win by Newcastle United. This suggests that the set was produced sometime in the 1969/70 season.

One peculiarity with this set, at least with the copy I own, is that the West Bromwich card is smaller than the others!

Number in set: 9
Gallery: Set gallery
Checklists: Set checklist