Go Horizontal
I've been thinking about horizontal cards. How sweet they are.
Scarcity plays a pivotal role in the hobby. So let's take a look at a less common design.
There's whoppers. Logoman$. Patch Auto$. 1951 Bowman Mantle. Johnny Unitas and Bobby Orr rookies. Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman. Bird/Magic/Dr. J.
And there's a lot of iconic sideways cards. The Lebron chalk throw. Or the King's matchup with Mamba on Kobe's card from the same 2008 Topps set. Jose Canseco's first Fleer with Eric Plunk. 1990 Hoops Magic & Bird. 1993 Upper Deck MJ Fanimation.
Very seldom do I come across a Prizm card to turn on its side. Lebron's popular 2020 edition from Panini's flagship brand is classic for lots of reasons, but I think the widescreen layout is part of why it still turns heads. That perspective frames it like a piece of art.
Consider last summer's craze for the USA triptych of Steph, Lebron and KD. The autograph chase, the in-the-moment release by Topps Now. And it's natural for that card to go horizontal. But I wonder if that key design detail gets overlooked?
In a typical set from any era, I bet less than 5% of the cards cause the pack opener to twist the deck.
A transformation accompanies that adjustment.
The card shifts from poster to painting.
It's been fun trying to add a horizontal edition of players I've started collecting. But it hasn't been easy.
Joker, Ant and Shai all have very few singles that read across like a credit card.
Not many driver's liscence layouts for Nuggets's late game hero of late, Aaron Gordon either.
Tom Brady even. Like a goat finding fresh trash, I snapped up his 2013 Topps, which pockets the 5x SB MVP between two linemen (blocking Rams), arm cocked after his patented ball tap. But I wonder, what is the must-have rectangular tableau for TB 12?
My buddy recently suprised me with a near complete set of 2025 Topps Baseball. What a joy to shuffle through. The commons even. Chrome-y team colors flashing glitzy borders. Diamond corner stamp with a dot marking player position.
And what a bonus to analyze the new release from a lateral angle. The sliding Elly De La Cruz was so striking - red Reds jersey, helmet hopping, rainbow future stars label - I was kind of surprised he was giving it away.
I'm guessing 5-10% of the cards in Topps 2025 Baseball are horizontal.
The photograph seems to tilt the designer's decision regarding arrangement. Middle infielders diving at hot shots in the hole or contorting to make a throw. Baserunners sliding or pitchers gritting their teeth on a follow through.
There's 10 Leaders cards (top three in AVG, RBI, HR, Wins and ERA for AL and NL). Each star takes up a third of the card, in matching alignment to the famous Magic, Bird, DR J. (minus the perforations).
Every club has a team card, hearkening back to Topps team checklists' roots that depicted rows of players on bleachers. Today's action photos of fizzy celebrations or pressing mound huddles are all horizontal. All of the card backs are as well.
And there's another lively subset featuring players acting like kids. Titles include: Say Cheese, All Smiles, Let's Dance, Dub & Drench and It Takes Two, to name a few. Wide-angle works best for these fun multiplayer cards.
It seems Topps has always been on top of the sideward game.
They put out entire sets from this arty angle, If I'm not mistaken.
I've always treasured my 1956 Gil Hodges. Now I realize it wasn't just the fact that my dad grew up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. The set has a stylish design. Art-rendered ballfield scenes behind the smiling player; tri-panel comic strip on the flip-side.
1960 Topps is another elegant sideways set. Color closeup beside a b&w action, name in alternating red and black letters laid over lemon-yellow.
What a cool outlier set 1985 Topps Football is. Black border, broad photo. But then the player name in jumbo white lettering, reads like a typical vertical card.
Or how about 1955 Bowman baseball. The TV set, double framed in wood and gold. Hard to take one's eye off of those pictures.
In my latitudinal deep dive, 2008 Topps stood out. Each letter of the team name in colored dots draws us in. And I wonder if this release might hold extra horizontal cards. The Lebron and Kobe, of course. But KD and DWade from this set also feature stunning panoramas. Supersonics has 11 letters. Heat only has 4. But they both seem to belong along the long top. And I love that year's Mantle - the Mick swinging away center card with the sweeping grandstand behind.
Upper Deck has experimented with horizontal cards with Goodwin Champions. Good for them. And me. I've appraised my Interesting Insects Blood-sucking Conenose fabric patch card as if it were an actual specimen preserved in a museum.
It took me a while to appreciate horizontal cards. And to recognize their tendency to delightfully surprise.
It'd be fun to learn about some of your favorite sideways cards in the comments.
And here's hoping horizontal framing is on the horizon for many sets of the future.