I was about to point you at that site this morning! non-sport.com is an excellent site run by Todd Riley. I help maintain the site and added or updated most of the information about the "Bazooka Joe" card series. That first set is listed as 1972, not 1970, but many guides list it as such, but I provide dating info that squrely puts it in 1972. The un-numbered set and the 1975 set share the same puzzle backs, so your recollection seems to provide more evidence the un-numbered set was issued sometime between late 1972 and 1973. Dating some of these less collected Topps' issues can be difficult and "hobby knowledge" can be hard to correct when evidence proves otherwise. There is ample evidence that "Civil War" was issued in the summer of 1961 for the centennial celebration... updates to the ACC, stamped shipping cartons, etc., but the hobby still continues to date it to 1962, including the TPG companies. If we could find unopened packs of the "Bazooka Joe" cards from 1972 through around 1977, they might be the only way to conclusively prove dating.
Yes, excellent resource. I think I saw it a few times in the past but it looks like there’s a lot more content now. Was very surprised to learn that the ‘75s had only 33 fronts with a pair of different backs for each - an early example of a GPK-like approach. I bought the hardcover Topps put out several years ago but I thought it was somewhat lacking - extensive info on certain issues while completely skipping others. There was one other major Bazooka Joe guy I met through eBay like 25 years ago and we made a small trade. He was very interested in what I could offer but was a bit less than forthcoming in answering my questions, so we did some minor trade and I kind of gave up trying. His eBay user id is that impish Superman character ‘mxyzptlk’ I think. Believe he’s still active on eBay but not sure where he’s at with Bazooka nowadays.
I really like the dollar size wax comics too, and the ‘flavor colored’ comics in particular. Anyway, as far as wrappers, my brother kept a few which I think were all ‘75. I bought some on eBay here and there and they were a mix of ‘72s and ‘75s I think. Basically the same graphics. Somebody put a big stack on eBay a few weeks ago and I was hoping I could get them on the cheap, but the bidding went up quickly toward the close. Those were probably a good mix from multiple sets.
I’m thinking I may be crazy enough to start analyzing the premium offers…..
