The reasons for the existence of variant and error
cards is not always evident. Some can be explained away by simple human error in
the production process, while others seem to defy logic. If you have knowledge,
or even a theory, of why these cards exist please feel free to contact this
site. I do not claim to have discovered these variants or errors. Most of
them have been documented since the cards themselves were first issued.
| 1968/69 Footballers (Yellow backs) |
Football next to team name variation. Some of the cards in this set
have a picture of a football on the front, next to the team name, while
others do not. This is considered a variation, rather than an error. Perhaps the cards were produced in two lots, with
the football forgotten from one of the lots.
The two cards shown have been randomly selected
to show this feature. The cards which do not have the football are
numbers 2, 12, 19, 25, 32, 40, 44, 47, 48, 63, 65,
77, 78, 79, 82, 83, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 100 and 101.
Card
number 71, Joe Baker, is known with both a football and a non-football
version. The version without the football is rarer, is therefore considered
the error card. |
 
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| Card number variations. Card numbers 6 and 48 appear to have their card
numbers printed in a smaller font than all other cards in the set (see
pictures). There is not an obvious explanation for this. |
 |
| 1969/70 Football (Green backs) |
| Card number variations. Green back cards from Series 1 and 2 (numbers 1 to 117) have a card number
on the rear without a full-stop. Cards from Series 3 all have a full-stop
after the number. |
 |
| Duplicate cards 117.
There are two cards in this set with number 117. The David Woodfield card
does not have the full-stop after the card number, and is included on the
Series 2 checklist. This card is therefore accepted as being part of Series
2. The Tommy Lawrence card does include the full-stop, and is included on the Series 3 checklist, and is therefore
accepted as being part of Series 3. This means that the green back set has a high card number of 170, but includes 171 cards plus three checklists. |
    |
Series 2 checklist variation.
The 2nd series checklist begins a sequence of variations in A&BC Gum
checklists lasting until 1973/74! It appears as if A&BC Gum produced an
early or trial version, and then updated it closer to the actual production
run of the cards, often making last minute changes. A number of cards
mentioned on the checklists may therefore never have been produced.
For the Green backs the 2nd series checklist reflects a change in style from
Series 1, where the player name and team was printed, to the Series 3, where
only the player name appears. One version of the Series 2 checklist includes
the team name (the 4-column version), while the other doesn't (the 5-column
version). Perhaps surprisingly the more accurate checklist of the two does
not include the team names.
| Card |
4-column version |
5-column version |
| 66 |
A. Lochhead (Leicester City, transferred to Aston
Villa February 1970) |
Chris Cattlin (Coventry City) |
| 68 |
John Toshack (Cardiff City, transferred to
Liverpool November 1970) |
Ernie Hunt (Coventry City) |
| 105 |
Willie Morgan (Manchester City) |
John Dempsey (Chelsea) |
To the best of my knowledge the three cards in the table above from the
4-column version were never produced. |
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| Allan Clarke reprint (card number 29).
Allan Clarke was transferred from Leicester City to Leeds United in June 1969 in a
high profile, £165,000, transfer. It is
likely that this transfer coincided with the production run of the Green
backs in time for the 1969/70 season. In order to ensure that they captured
the event A&BC produced a second version of the Allan Clarke card with the
text 'Transferred to Leeds United' on the front. There was no change made to
the back of the card. |
    |
| Colin Suggett reprint (card number 54). Colin Suggett was transferred from Sunderland to W.B.A. in July 1969. A&BC
reflected this transfer through a second version of this card with the text
'Transferred to West Brom. Alb.' on the front. There was no change made to
the back of the card. |
    |
| David Sadler reprint (card number 125).
David Sadler played for Manchester United from 1963 until 1973. Although he
was not transferred within the timeframe of the A&BC print run there are two
completely different versions of this card. The two cards have different
front pictures, and different text on the rear.
One of the cards has the full-stop after the
card number, and uses the same image from the 1968/69 Yellow backs (though
resized and reversed, an old trick, see pictures). However, the green back
text is quite different and his place of birth has been changed, from Yalding to Maidstone.
The other green back card has no full-stop after
the number, has the same place of birth as the yellow back card, and a
similar (though different) biography. This card tends to be rarer than the
'full-stop' green card.
It is not clear which of these two cards came
first. The 'full-stop' card suggests that it was part of the original Series
3 run. The fact that it uses the same image as the previous year's yellow
backs also suggests that they were struggling with their Sadler card.
Perhaps it was replaced when the new image became available, although if
this were the case why would they change the place of birth, biography and
Football Quiz? |
   
  |
Frank McLintock reprint (card number 132). There appears
to be no reason for this reprint. The photo stays the same (though is
resized) and the text is
changed. The original card starts "Arsenal's captain,...", while the newer
version starts "The brains behind...".
One possibility is that A&BC mixed up the Scottish Blue back set, which
includes the larger photo and text which begins "Arsenal's captain".
Interestingly, and wrongly, the Scottish card lists McLintock as a
centre-forward! |
    |
| Bobby Moncur reprint (card number 145).
Two versions exist of the Bobby Moncur card. The pictures are similar, though
different. The text on the rear of the cards is the same, though one has
'Football Facts' and the other a 'Football Quiz'.
The original Series 3 card has the team name
'Newcastle United' printed on the front and rear, as does every other
Newcastle card in the set (view
here). However, the apparently 'newer' version has the team name
'Newcastle'. Does this mean that a new error was introduced in the reprint?
To add further to the confusion, the image used on the
original, 'full-stop' version of
the card is the same as used for the following year's orange back series
(see picture). |
   
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| John Sissons reprint (card number 151).
The Johnny Sissons mystery is similar to that of David Sadler. He was not
transferred during the period of the production run, so there is no obvious
reason to reprint the card. The photo has been changed, the biography changed and there is a different 'Football
Fact'. This one defies all logic... |
    |
|
1970/71 Footballer (Orange backs) |
| Brian O'Neil reprint (card number 98). Brian
O'Neil was signed by Southampton from Burnley for £75,000 in the summer of
1970, just about the time A&BC would have been preparing and printing the
cards for the Orange back series. In response to this A&BC coloured in his
shirt (you can tell this as there is a player in Burnley colours in the
background) and changed the team name on the front of the card, but
apparently forgot to change the team name or text on the back.
In a later reprint they changed the team
name and rewrote the player biography. |
   |
| 2nd Series checklist.
The 2nd Series checklist, card number 85, has cards listed wrongly in the
sequence 144 to 160. The checklist has Terry Alcock as 144, through to Neil
Young as 160. John Angus is actually card 144, and Alcock is card 145. All
of the cards listed in the checklist from 144 to 159 are numbered +1 on the
actual cards e.g. Peter Dobing is 155 on the checklist but is card number
156. Neil Young appears on card 218 (not 160), and is correctly listed as
218 on the 3rd Series checklist. So, in summary, there is a numbering error
on the 2rd Series checklist where these numbers do not match the actual card
numbers. |
 |
3rd Series checklist reprint (card number 170).
The Series 3 checklist card comes in two varieties. The first references
cards to 255, the other to 256. There are differences in the players listed
on the cards, summarised in the table below. The cards listed on the 255
version e.g. Hill, Barnard, Howe etc. are not known to exist. At the bottom
of the 255 version is printed 'Subject to change'. Card 256 (Checklist) is
not known to exist.
| Card |
255 version |
256 version |
| 175 |
Alan Hill (Nottingham Forest) |
Jim Barron (Nottingham Forest) |
| 178 |
Chris Barnard (Ipswich Town) |
Keith Weller (Chelsea) |
| 181 |
Bobby Howe (West Ham United) |
Trevor Brooking (West Ham United) |
| 184 |
Ian Bowyer Manchester City) |
Derek Dougan (Wolves) |
| 189 |
Dennis Clarke (Huddersfield Town) |
James Pearce (Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 192 |
Mike Pejic (Stoke City) |
Phil Parkes (Wolves) |
| 193 |
Nobby Stiles (Manchester United) |
Denis Law (Manchester United) |
| 196 |
Jimmy Lindsay (West Ham United) |
Mike Coop (Coventry City) |
| 215 |
Roger Hynd (Crystal Palace) |
Mike Bailey (Wolves) |
| 220 |
Henry Mowbray (Blackpool) |
Les Wilson (Wolves) |
| 222 |
Micky Hill (Ipswich Town) |
Mike O'Grady (Wolves) |
| 227 |
Jimmy Thomson (Burnley) |
Mike Lambert (Ipswich Town) |
| 228 |
Richard Krzywicki (Huddersfield Town) |
Keith Newton (Everton) |
| 230 |
Bill Bentley (Blackpool) |
Dennis Bond (Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 234 |
Mike Lambert (Ipswich Town) |
John Winfield (Nottingham Forest) |
| 245 |
Mike Docherty (Burnley) |
John Ritchie (Stoke City) |
| 247 |
Sandy Brown (Everton) |
Thomas Jackson (Everton) |
| 256 |
|
Check List III |
|
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| Jimmy Greenhoff / John O'Rourke reprint (card numbers 174 and 216).
The John O'Rourke / Jimmy Greenhoff error is one of the more obvious A&BC
ever made by simply mixing up the photos of the two players. Click to see
the Tony Coakley
letter explaining this variant. The letter states 'this mistake was
spotted and immediately the printers corrected it, but unfortunately a
certain amount of cards were manufactured and released into the shops'.
In a later reprint A&BC corrected the photos. |
   
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|
1971/72 Footballer (Purple backs) |
2nd Series
checklist (card number 170). This Series 2 checklist is an amazingly
inaccurate reference. What was going on at A&BC? Did they allocate this task
to the work experience boy? The checklist covers cards from 110 to 153 on
the front, and then 154 to 219 on the back, plus it lists 302 as the Series
3 checklist? Series 3 only ran to 290 cards (though A&BC may not have
designed it by the time they were producing Series 2), and the checklist
ended up being card 277 (see entry below). The many differences between the
checklist and the actual cards are listed in the table below. To the best of
my knowledge the errors on this card were never corrected by a reprint.
Thanks to Tony's
Webspace for highlighting this card.
| No. |
Listed on checklist |
Actual card |
| 135 |
Alan Foggon (transferred to Cardiff City, August
1971) |
Ian Gibson (Cardiff City) |
| 136 |
Peter King (struggling for a place with Cardiff
City early in the 1971/72 season) |
Brian Kidd (Manchester United) |
| 150 |
Ian Bowyer (transferred to Orient, June 1971) |
Neil Young (Manchester City) |
| 173 |
John Tudor (Tudor ended up in Series 3 as the last
card, 290) |
Jack Charlton (Leeds United) |
| 183 |
Trevor Whymark (not in the Ipswich Town side in
early 1971/72) |
Bobby Stokes (Southampton) |
| 193 |
John McAlle (never appeared in an A&BC card?) |
David Wagstaffe (Wolves) |
| 206 |
Roger Wyle (did they mean John Wile?) |
Geoff Blockley (Coventry City) |
| 211 |
Bernard Shaw (another Wolves player who never
featured for A&BC) |
David Woodfield (Wolves) |
| 217 |
John Brindley (Notts County, in what would have
been his only appearance in football cards) |
Charlie George (Arsenal) |
|
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| 3rd Series checklist reprint (card number 277).
The purple back series numbers up to 290. However, A&BC produced a Series 3
checklist which numbered up to 293. It appears that they produced the 293
checklist first, then realised the error (or changed their mind about how
many they were going to produce), and so issued a new checklist (labelled
'New Checklist!)'. |
    |
Stamp Album checklist. The Footballer Stamp Album , issued to store the
Club crests and Superstar stamps has a 'complete checklist' on the back
cover. There are some interesting anomalies between this checklist and the
actual cards.
| No. |
Album checklist |
Actual cards |
| 150 |
Ian Bowyer (Manchester City, transferred to Orient
in June 1971) |
Neil Young (Manchester City) |
| 183 |
Trevor Whymark (Ipswich Town) |
Bobby Stokes (Southampton) |
| 193 |
John McAlle (Wolves) |
David Wagstaff (Wolves) |
| 206 |
Roger Wyle (Sheffield Wednesday?) |
Jeff Blockley (Coventry City) |
| 211 |
Bernard Shaw (Wolves) |
David Woodfield (Wolves) |
| 217 |
John Brindley (Notts County) |
Charlie George (Arsenal) |
| 245 |
Colin Addison (Sheffield United) |
David Walker (Southampton) |
| 291 |
David Walker
(Southampton) |
Not issued... |
|
|
|
1972/73 Footballer (Orange/Red backs) |
Series checklist reprint (card number 154).
Two versions of this checklist exist, one numbering up to 218 and another
numbering up to 219.
| No. |
218 version |
219 version |
| 112 |
Terry Dolan (Huddersfield
Town) |
Malcolm Page
(Birmingham City) |
| 125 |
Steve Smith (Huddersfield
Town) |
Graham Paddon (Norwich
City) |
| 134 |
Alan Mullery (Fulham) |
Alan Gilzean (Tottenham
Hotspur) |
| 136 |
Mick Fairclough (Huddersfield
Town) |
Alan Campbell
(Birmingham City) |
| 139 |
Jim Barron (Nottingham
Forest) |
John Craven (Crystal Palace) |
| 141 |
Gordon West (Everton) |
David Lawson (Everton) |
| 144 |
Rodney Marsh (Manchester City) |
Willie Donachie
(Manchester City) |
| 149 |
Ollie Burton (Newcastle United) |
Bobby Moncur (Newcastle
United) |
| 152 |
Liam O'Kane (Nottingham Forest) |
Bobby Kellard (Crystal
Palace) |
| 160 |
John Osborne (W.B.A.) |
Bobby Gould (W.B.A.) |
| 163 |
John Winfield (Nottingham Forest) |
Tony Byrne (Southampton) |
| 164 |
Alan Merrick (W.B.A.) |
Alistair Brown (W.B.A.) |
| 170 |
Harry Redknapp (West Ham United) |
John McDowell (West Ham
United) |
| 181 |
George Best (Manchester United) |
John Ayris (West Ham
United) |
| 219 |
(no card) |
Denis Law (Manchester
United) |
The 219 version checklist is obviously the later edition (it has the words
'Revised checklist' on the back), including players
from the promoted clubs from 1971/72 (Norwich and Birmingham) and removing
some players from the relegated clubs (Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield
Town). The updated checklist also has the spelling corrected on card 204 from
Malcolm McDonald to Malcolm MacDonald, and card 213 Jack Witham corrected to Whitham.
It is not thought that any of the cards which appeared on the 218 version
checklist and which were replaced on the 219 version were ever printed i.e.
you will not find a card number 112 with Terry Dolan. |
 
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| Roger Morgan reprint (card number 179).
There are two versions of the Roger Morgan card, though it is not clear why.
One shows his head and shoulders only, while the other shows the head and
torso. The backs of the two cards are identical. |
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|
1972/73 Footballer - Scottish |
| Card number 178.
For the only known time A&BC produced a set with two different coloured
backs. Series 1 (cards 1 to 89) had blue backs, while Series 2 (90 to 179)
had orange/red backs. However, card number 178 is known with both coloured
backs. |
.jpg) .jpg) |
|
1973/74 Footballer (Blue backs) |
2nd Series checklist (card number 182).
Two versions of this checklist exist, one numbered to 264 and the other to
261. The '261 version' is the later, and therefore more accurate version
though it is still not an accurate checklist for the actual set. Cards 262
(George Armstrong) and 264 (Billy Ingham) from the '264 version' were never
produced. The Marvin Hinton card is numbered 263, so there is no card number
235 in the set. The cards in the table below from the '264 version' e.g.
Giles, Macari, Holton etc. are not known to exist.
| No. |
264 version |
261 version |
| 138 |
Johnny Giles (Leeds
United) |
Paul Reaney (Leeds
United) |
| 160 |
Lou Macari (Manchester United) |
Sammy McIlroy (Manchester United) |
| 184 |
Jim Holton (Manchester United) |
Jimmy Rimmer (Manchester United) |
| 189 |
Colin Suggett (W.B.A., transferred to Norwich City) |
George Armstrong (Arsenal) |
| 193 |
Roger Davies (Derby County) |
Terry Hennessey (Derby
County) |
| 211 |
Colin Stein (Coventry City, transferred back to
Rangers) |
Bobby Parker (Coventry City) |
| 235 |
John Craven (Crystal Palace, transferred to
Coventry City) |
Marvin Hinton (Chelsea) |
| 237 |
Trevor Hockey (Norwich
City, transferred to Aston Villa) |
Kevin Keelan (Norwich City) |
| 262 |
George Armstrong (Arsenal) |
|
| 263 |
Marvin Hinton (Chelsea) |
|
| 264 |
Billy Ingham (Burnley) |
|
|
 
 
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| John Toshack reprint (card number 241).
In a remarkable coincidence with the previous set, one card (John Toshack) has
two versions, a full body shot and a head and shoulders only shot. The two cards have different text and cartoons on the back. Interestingly,
the 'head and shoulders' card has a section 'Goals', which appears on the
rear of the 1st series cards but not the 2nd series cards, suggesting that
the Toshack head and shoulders card was originally intended as a Series 1
card. |
 
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