A&BC Chewing Gum (English)
Footballer - 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).

Number in set: 290
Gallery: 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 sorted by card number: Series 1, Series 2, Series 3, Set
Checklists sorted by team: Series 1, Series 2, Series 3, Set
Special: Purple-back wrappers gallery
Special: A&BC Chewing Gum variants and error cards
Special: A&BC counter boxes gallery

Football club crests

A set of strange looking stickers which were issued with Series 2 of the Purple backs. They belonged in an album (cost 8p) which could be ordered from:

A&BC Footballer Album
A&BC Chewing Gum Ltd.
Spilsby Road,
Romford, Essex

The set includes 23 crests, being the remaining 20 First Division teams from 1970/71, the two teams promoted from the Second Division (Leicester City and Sheffield United), plus Cardiff City who finished 3rd in the Second Division. In the album Cardiff are stuck at the back, with the note 'Always one of the leading clubs in the Second Division, Cardiff narrowly missed promotion last season'.

Number in set: 23
Gallery: Set gallery
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.

The 23 Superstars are from the 23 clubs featured in the Crests (above). In the album you stuck the Crest and the Superstar alongside the club information.

Number in set: 23
Gallery: Set gallery
Checklists: Set checklist, Team checklist

A&BC Chewing Gum (Scottish)
Footballers - Purple backs

A&BC reversed their previous decision and went with the same colour backing for the English and Scottish sets of this year. This set was issued as two series, 1 to 73 and 74 to 144.

Number in set: 144
Gallery: N/A
Checklists: Series 1, Series 2, Series 1 team, Series 2 team
Series checklists: Series checklist, Series team checklist

Football club crests

Similar to the English set, issued with Series 2 of the Purple backs, but only 16 of them. This raises questions about whether or not these were intended to be stuck into an album. The album was designed for the 23 English Club Crests and 23 Superstars, so perhaps the Scottish crests were stand-alone.

I'm aware of four different styles of wrappers for A&BC's 1971/72 Series 2 footballers, one referring to the album, and the other three to Chewing Gum. It is therefore reasonable to assume that only the bubble gum wrappers were used for the Scottish Series 2 cards.

Number in set: 16
Gallery: Set gallery
Checklists: Set checklist
Special: A&BC counter boxes gallery

Anglo Confectionery
Football Hints

OK, so they are not technically football cards, but they are interesting and collectable. A set of 12 'volumes', prepared with the co-operation of the Football Association. The 12 volumes all have the same picture on the front cover, but the colours and writing change for each book.

You bought these Minibooks on Football Hints with a piece of Anglo Bubble Gum. It cost 3p for the bubble gum. The gum and book came in wrappers which themselves came in a variety of colours.

Number in set: 12
Gallery: N/A
Checklists: Set checklist

BAB Souvenir Company
Century Series of Sticker Stamps

BAB produced a number of these beautiful sheets, copyright 1971. The sheets contained a 'century of' i.e. 100, stickers. The football related ones I am aware of are:
1. Soccer favourites
3. Clubs, crests and colours.

The sheets were accompanied by 'Index sheets' which provide information for the sticker/ stamps. Sheet 2 is 'Flags', while Sheet 4 is  'Characters of the Wild West'.

I have dated Sheet 1 as October or November 1971 based on the inclusion of transfers such as Keith Weller, Chelsea to Leicester City in September 1971. Transfers such as Tommy Gemmell from Celtic to Nottingham Forest or Alan Ball from Everton to Arsenal in December 1971 are not recorded.


Number in set: 100 per sheet
Checklists: Soccer favourites - Set checklist, Team checklist

Barratt & Co.
Gold Flake Famous Sportsmen

A set of 50 cigarette style cards issued by Barratt & Co Ltd, London, England. A return to football-related cards by Barratt, but only 11 footballers amongst the 50 sportsman.The footballers are: Alan Ball, Gordon Banks, George Best, Billy Bremner, Wyn Davies, Emlyn Hughes, Brian Kidd, Billy McNeill, Alan Mullery, Bobby Moore and Pele.

Number in set: 50
Gallery: N/A
Checklists: Set checklist (partial).

Cadbury
Hartley's Football Stars

OK, so they are not football cards, but they are attractive and collectable.The jam jar lids were produced for Cadbury Schweppes Foods Ltd., Bournville, Birmingham while the images on the lids were provided by Coffer, with an inscription on each lid saying © Coffer, London. The jam jar lids fit into a folder (pictured below) which names them as 'Hartleys Football Stars 1971-72'. So, Cadbury or Hartley's?

Number in set: 12
Gallery: Set gallery
Checklist: Set checklist

Cleveland Petrols
Joe Mercer's Great Britain Soccer Squad 1971

Busts of 16 top players available from Cleveland Petrol outlets. As with most petrol giveaways you got these for buying petrol. The collection fitted into a black plastic display stand. The heads themselves are made of a very tough plastic but the stand is less durable. These 'heads' were very popular at the time, so you do find them still available in good condition, but excellent quality stands are hard to find.

Number in set: 16
Gallery: Set gallery

Daily Mirror
Star Soccer Sides

One card for every team. This popular set was to be stuck onto a large wallchart with the title 'Bobby Moore's Gallery of Soccer Sides'.

Number in set: 100
Gallery: Set gallery
Checklist: Set checklist

My Club

The My Club cards were able to be ordered separately from the Mirror, and then stuck onto your Bobby Moore wallchart. The idea was that you collected the card for your favourite team to personalise your chart. Obviously very few were ordered, and most of those stuck to the charts, so it is rare to find them in unmarked condition. Since one was available for each of the 96 teams (92 league teams plus the home international teams) I'm guessing that perhaps some of the lower division teams' cards would form the rarest recent football cards of all.

This website is proud to be able to display all of the cards in the galleries below. Since the cards are quite large, the teams are divided up for display into the Divisions they played in in the 1971/72 season.

Division 1 teams gallery - Arsenal, 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, W.B.A., West Ham United. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Division 2 teams gallery - Birmingham City, Blackpool, Bristol City, Burnley, Cardiff City, Carlisle United, Charlton Athletic, Fulham, Hull City, Luton Town, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Norwich City, Orient, Oxford United, Portsmouth, Preston North End, Q.P.R., Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Swindon Town, Watford

Division 3 teams gallery - Aston Villa, Barnsley, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Bournemouth, Bradford City, Brighton, Bristol Rovers, Chesterfield, Halifax Town, Mansfield Town, Notts. County, Oldham Athletic, Plymouth Argyle, Port Vale, Rochdale, Rotherham United, Shrewsbury Town, Swansea City, Torquay United, Tranmere Rovers, Walsall, Wrexham, York City

Division 4 teams gallery - Aldershot, Barrow, Brentford, Bury, Cambridge United, Chester, Colchester United, Crewe Alexandra, Darlington, Doncaster Rovers, Exeter City, Gillingham, Grimsby Town, Hartlepool, Lincoln City, Newport County, Northampton Town, Peterborough United, Reading, Scunthorpe United, Southend United, Southport, Stockport County, Workington

Home international teams gallery - England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales.

Number in set: 100
Checklist: Set checklist

Esso
Football club badges

A set of foil badges which could be stuck onto a large collectors card. You could start off your collection by purchasing a special starters pack which included 26 badges for only 20p. After that I guess that you had to get your parents to buy some petrol.

Number in set: 76
Gallery: Set gallery
Checklists: N/A

F.A. Cup Centenary Medals

Another coin collection from Esso, this time with heavier coins. 30 of the coins (silver) represent the 30 teams who had won the cup up until 1972. A larger, bronze coin commemorated Leeds win over Arsenal in 1972.The coins could be presented on a dark blue mounting board.

I used to date this set to 1972/73 until I saw an advertisement which promoted the coins, and the fact that the 1972 F.A. Cup Final winner coin would be available 'at Esso stations a few days after the cup final', which means that the coins were available during the regular 1971/72 season.

Apparently there is an anomaly coin in this set with the Tottenham crest on one side and the Everton cup wins on the other. Quite rare though!

Number in set: 31
Gallery: N/A
Checklists: N/A


FKS Publishers
The Wonderful World of Soccer Stars 1971/72

First Division. The one-off trial with a small black-and-white head shot on the back of the sticker. Jack Rollin continued as album editor, while the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) approved the collection. A club badge sticker was available for each team, and a place for each in the album. Each packet contained one self adhesive team badge sticker and seven player stickers. Album: Price 15p.

Number in set: 352
Packet: 7 stickers for 3p
Gallery: Arsenal, 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: Set checklist, Team checklist
Special: FKS album gallery

Goal Crisps
Action cards (Steve Heighway All Star series) and Football Game

The action cards came in the packets of crisps, two cards per packet. Each card had a token, and you could ruin your cards to remove the token in order to send off 11 tokens with your name, address and 4p stamp for postage to receive a 'fabulous Football Stadium complete with football'. You could then further cut around the cards in order to place your players (cards) into slots in the game. It's surprising that any of these cards have survived at all. You could collect all 22 'Great Stars', presumably to play 11 vs 11 in your football game.

The cards appear to have come with two different backs, one promoting Goal Crisps while the other provided the instructions on how to play the free super football game. Apparently you slotted them into the spaces provided on the pitch selecting your own team versus the Steve Heighway All Stars. Exactly how this constitutes 'playing' the game is still not clear? Amazingly the card states that the free football game offer is only available to the first 20,000 applicants! I wonder if they did actually send out 20,000 games?

Dating this set is really difficult. The players included Gordon Banks (who played his last League game in October 1972) and Alan Mullery as a Tottenham player (transferred to Fulham in March 1972). More confusingly, Emlyn Hughes is recorded as having 6 full England caps. His 6th cap came in April 1970, and his 7th in November 1970, suggesting that the set dates to mid 1970. Alan Mullery is recorded as having 31 England caps, a figure he achieved in June 1970, adding weight to this early date. However, Steve Heighway only made his debut for Liverpool in September 1970, so it seems unlikely that Goal Crisps would award him a set of football cards this early in his career.

Number in set: 22
Gallery: N/A
Checklist: Set checklist, Team checklist


IPC / Fleetway
Shoot's All Star Line-Up

The Shoot magazine began in 1969, and has become an institution for young football fans. On 11 September 1971 they began a new series of collectables by suggesting that readers cut out a four page section and fold and trim the pages to form the first four (1-4) and the last four (109-112) of a booklet. Each of the pages includes a photo of a player with an accompanying biography. There was also a space to attach an autograph for each player. The autographs were available separately from the Shoot magazines.

Number in set: 111 (numbered 2 to 112)

My favourite soccer stars (Red backs)

The blue backed cards from 1969/70 obviously proved successful, since IPC tried again 20 months later, albeit with a different set of comics. The comics were: Buster and Jet, Lion and Thunder, Scorcher and Score, Tiger, and Valiant and TV 21. The publication dates were: October 16, 23 and 30, and November 6, 1971.

Number in set: 160 (32 x 5)
Galleries: Buster & Jet, Lion & Thunder, Scorcher & Score, Tiger, Valiant & TV 21

Letraset
Soccer Action Replay

Letraset's first eponymous foray into the football collectables marketplace. A set of 24 Action Transfers where you received a set of transfers and a 'scene'. The scene was printed in the middle of a fold-out paper folder, and you were supposed to apply the transfers in order to make up the specified action replay e.g. a hand ball or a brilliant header. As well as featuring an action replay each item featured a top player, with an image of that player which could be rubbed onto a space in the folder.

This set is called Letraset Soccer Action Replay. It is referred to as 'An Action Transfers Product'. The transfer sheets are numbered GK 105/1 to GK 105/24.

On the back of each folder it states:
© 1971 Letraset Limited
Letraset Consumer Products
195 Waterloo Road
London SE1
Printed in England

Number in set: 24
Gallery: N/A
Checklists: Set checklist


Soccer Action Replay - Scottish edition

A small Scottish set from Letraset, featuring key games and players. This set is called Soccer Action Replay. It is referred to as 'An Action Transfer Product'. The transfer sheets are understood to be numbered GK 120/1 to GK 120/12.

On the back of each folder it refers to:
© 1972 Letraset International Limited
Letraset International Limited
195 Waterloo Road
London SE1 8XJ

Number in set: 12
Checklists: Set checklist


Lord Neilson
1st Division Football League Club Badges

These attractive badges are also available with the Mr Softee and Tonibell company names, with the Tonibell set a year later. The Tonibell set has Birmingham City and Norwich City (promoted at the end of the 1971/72 season) in place of the relegated Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest (with thanks to Mark for this information).

Number in set: 24
Gallery: N/A
Checklist: Set checklist

Lyons Maid
International Footballers

Following on from the previous year's Soccer Stars, Lyons Maid issued International Footballers. Normally the international players are not as popular as local players, so perhaps this set was not so succesful in helping to sell ice creams, as Lyons Maid didn't continue their soccer cards after this set.

Number in set: 40
Gallery: Set gallery
Checklists: Set checklist or Team checklist.

Marshall Cavendish
Book of Football, Top Teams

In 1971 Marshall Cavendish began the massive production of the Book of Football, a Marshall Cavendish Encyclopedia, in 75 weekly parts. The parts cost 23p each, or £13.30 for a 12-month subscription (52 issues including postage and packing). The weekly parts could be stored in 5 binders (each holding 15 issues). For the first 20 of its 75 parts the Book of Football included sheets of 16 'colour star portraits' in the centre pages.

An album 'Top Teams' was provided free with Part 2, or could be purchased later for 25p.The album has 364 sticker spaces but has 44 portraits already printed inside, so there were actually only 320 stickers to collect. They are available as sheets of 16 or individually.

The album was published by Marshall Cavendish Ltd., 58 Old Compton Street, London W1V 5PA. © Marshall Cavendish Ltd., 1971. The album was printed in Great Britain by Petty & Sons Ltd., Leeds.

Number in set: 320
Gallery: N/A
Checklist: Set checklist

Mister Softee
1st Division Football League Club Badges

These attractive badges are also available with the Lord Neilson and Tonibell company names, with the Tonibell set a year later. The Tonibell set has Birmingham City and Norwich City (promoted at the end of the 1971/72 season) in place of the relegated Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest (with thanks to Mark for this information).

Number in set: 24
Gallery: Set gallery
Checklist: Set checklist

Nabisco
Bob Wilson's Shredded Wheat Soccer Action Stickers

A set of 30 stickers issued as strips of 3 stickers each in special Shredded Wheat Soccer Action Picture packs. The stickers were designed to be stuck into Bob Wilson's Soccer Action Collector Book. The Collector Book was given away free inside the cereal packets, thereby encouraging you to collect the stickers. Four pictures were already printed into the book, so I'm not sure how the numbers worked out? The booklet was edited by Hayters Sports Agency for Nabisco Ltd. Printed by Creaseys of Hertford.

Number in set: 30
Gallery: N/A
Checklists: Set checklist, Team checklist


The Sun
Soccerstamps

Following on from the undoubted success of the Swap cards the Sun followed up in 1971/72 with the ambitious Soccerstamps collection. The Soccerstamps were stamps, rather than cards, and came in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and colours. The tokens for Soccerstamps appeared in the Sun each day. The Sun only accepted tokens in lots of six, plus 5p, to get your 12 Soccerstamps by return post.

The stamps were to be mounted in the spaces for them in the 164-page Football Encyclopaedia and Soccerstamp Album (available from newsagents for 10p). The album suggests that you stick them in with stamp hinges. Collectors of these stamps therefore distinguish between those which were (a) never stuck into an album, (b) stuck in with stamp hinges or (c) stuck in as stamps.

The Sun claimed at the time that over 60 million Soccerstamps were to be printed, which means that they often turn up today.

Number in set: 500 stamps. Four additional stamps are also known, numbered 501 to 504, issued as a block of four 'Christmas Greetings'.
Gallery: N/A
Checklist: N/A

D. C. Thomson
The All-Star Banner

A large fold-out banner presented with the Wizard comic. The banner includes: Arsenal (League Champions and F.A. Cup Winners 1970-71), Francis Lee, George Best, Steve Heighway, Billy Bremner, Ron Davies, Martin Chivers, John Jackson, Joe Corrigan, Iam McFaul, Peter Shilton, Phil Parkes, Pat Jennings, Peter Bonetti, Gary Sprake, Bob Wilson, Gordon Banks, Jeff Astle, Howard Kendall and Colin Harvey, Sandy Jardine, and Celtic (Scottish League Champions and F.A. Cup Winners 1970-71)

Top Sellers
Football 72

A large set of cards featuring the First Division teams, plus some puzzle cards. The cards were to be stuck into an album 'Football 72', which cost 15p. The album was printed by Allens Printers (Wales) Limited, Pontygwindy Industrial Estate, Caerphilly, Glam., in association with Print and Marketing Services (Europe) Ltd. You received 6 cards in a packet for 3p.

The back of these cards states 'Printed in Italy by Panini 1971'. You could obtain individual cards to complete your collection by sending missing numbers to:
Top Sellers Ltd.
Dept. F72, Melton Road
Thurmaston, Leicester

Number in set: 420
Gallery: Arsenal, Blackpool, Burnley, 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, W.B.A., West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Puzzle cards
Checklists sorted by card number: Set
Checklists sorted by team: Set
Special: Puzzle cards master index