As a card collector in 2017, I must admit that I don’t look at the back of the cards very often. The only thing I find interesting on a card back these days is a serial number. Some card companies have gone completely away from stats on the back of the card and give you just one line of a career and then some dialogue about the player. Today, the front of the card is where all of the action is. I’m not saying that it is a huge change from the past because the front has always been the focus. That’s where you find autographs, patches, rainbow variations, etc. Many times, the back of an autographed card will only be the authenticity statement regarding the autograph. But if you’ve been in the game at least as long as I have, you know that hasn’t always been the case.
The backs of cards used to provide tons of useful information about the player and his abilities. Some cards gave stats alone while others gave a breakdown of those stats and other interesting tidbits. Unless the player’s career was extensive (like this ’88 Topps Dale Murphy), you would usually get a nice tidbit from the back that would give you a glance into their personal lives. These tidbits could be interesting knowledge to gain or they could be some of the most inane comments ever. That is something I miss. Let me set the record straight and say upfront that I am not an expert on card backs. If you are looking for that, check out Baseball Card Backs (@sportcardbacks) on Twitter. They provided me with some of these examples as I was working through this piece and for that I am grateful. Their twitter feed is a really fun follow and will provide much more than the personal favorites that I am going to highlight below. Give them a look and I promise you won’t be disappointed! And send them pics of your favorite card backs and they’ll likely share them with their followers.
To begin our look at some examples of interesting card backs, we’ll start with some that actually had to do with the game itself. You had many cards that talked about game winning moments or record breaking achievements. But you also had some that gave you a look at some things you might not know by simply looking at a baseball almanac. 
For instance, this 1987 Topps Dion James provided a footnote from an early season game at Shea Stadium. I’m guessing the bird was not a big fan but he did get a mention on a baseball card which is something I’ve never gotten. 1987 Topps has a plethora of awesome card backs. The wood grain front has always been iconic in baseball card sets but the card back notations have gone much too far under the radar. I’ll try to fix that with this post.
In 1985, we learned from Topps that the first time his father got to see him pitch was in the 1981 AL Playoffs. Because this is just one sentence, I don’t really know how much to read into this. Was Dave’s father not interested until he made the playoffs? Was he unable to attend because of health reasons or travel restrictions? Did Dave not let his dad know he had made it to the big leagues? That’s just not the kind of information you give without a back story.
Back to 1987, Topps let us know that Von Hayes played little league ball as a youngster. There are a few things that can be gleaned from this. First, they gave him card number 666. Secondly, Von didn’t hone his skills at the major league level. He actually got his start at baseball at an early age. I know it may be earth shattering, but I’m guessing a vast majority of major leaguers played little league ball. Finally, how boring was Von’s career that this was his baseball card “tidbit”. Did he not have a big hit in May that could be discussed? He did tie for the league lead in runs scored in ’86 after all. I guess this is the best they could do for ole Von Hayes. Fortunately, for us collectors, he would not be alone.
Take Jim Gott in 1985. Topps listed his hobbies as including Hapikido Karate. First, I think it’s actually spelled Hapkido, but I digress. He also enjoyed the ballet and opera. The man was quite refined. His wife’s name was Clenice as well but I don’t really know what that had to do with the other information. The info on the back gave me the vision in my head that Ernie Whitt might come up to Jim Gott in the clubhouse one day and rag him about going to the opera. Then Gott would respond with his Hapikido Roundhouse, knocking Whitt into Rance Mulliniks locker. I’ve always had a vivid imagination.
Not to be outdone by Mr. Gott, Moose Haas’ card in 1987 indicated that he was a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. They would have been a solid match for each other except for the fact that Gott was 30 lbs heavier than Haas, despite the nickname Moose. But while Gott was going to the opera and ballet, Moose was refining his skills as a magician and a certified locksmith. It’s no wonder that Moose had a career sub 4 ERA. A pitcher with slight of hand skills is a plus.
Tim Wallach was a fairly normal dude it seems. In 1986, he hit .233, belted 18 bombs and had 71 RBI for the Expos. But in his off time, he enjoyed racquetball and golf. That could explain the .233 average though. My high school coach always steered us away from golf when we were trying to be baseball players. The swings don’t really go well together. I can only imagine that a racquetball swing doesn’t correlate either.
Meanwhile, in 1985, Rickey Henderson had hobbies of swimming and fishing. See, he had a .293 average and swiped 100+ bases on the regular. I can see how these hobbies would not interfere too much with his profession.
Also in 1985, Len Barker was married to Bonnie Lynn Elwell and had two children. They sat around eating wild game. Thanks for the info.
And in 1991, Ken Howell and his wife were building a home in Michigan. I guess that’s the pertinent information available for a pitcher who has a career 38-48 record. 
Maybe Tim Burke could come over to Len’s house and have some wild game or go visit Ken and the Mrs. at their new house when he’s not going nuts with the enjoyment he gets from reading.
Whatever Burke decides to do, he needs to stay away from Jeff Innis and his tin foil hat. His quote on the back of his ’94 Topps should make batters think twice about stepping in to face him.
Another thing card backs provided was an insight to secondary jobs some of the players had. The youngsters in collecting today may not know that baseball didn’t pay a .250 hitting utility infielder a couple million to play back in the 80’s and before. But thankfully, we can look no further than some vintage card backs to remember the good ole days.
Way back in 1970, John Edward Briggs was a .250 hitter for the Phillies. None of his stats really jump off the card at you but it does indicate that he was an average ball player. To supplement that income, it appears that “Johnny” was also an automobile salesman in the off-season. Curveballs during the summer and Family Trucksters during the winter.
In 1987, I learned how to pronounce Jaime thanks to Topps. It’s “HI-me”, which was Spanish for Jim. I always thought it was Spanish for James and Jim was short for James. Regardless, Jaime also worked as an accountant in the offseason. Again, the 16-25 record probably didn’t pay all that much back then. He did make enough money to enjoy some deep sea fishing though.
Bob Kearney was a substitute teacher in 1985. I even looked up the front of a card of Mr. Kearney and, yep, that’s a substitute teacher from 1985 if I’ve ever seen one!
Maybe the best side gig, thanks again to @sportcardbacks, was that of Lance Parrish. Now Parrish was a solid ball player in his day. He clubbed 324 home runs and 1,070 RBI over his career. And according to Topps in 1981, he hit 2 dingers in one game in July, 1979. But the best part of the card back was the mention that he once served as a body guard for Tina Turner. He must not have been a big fan of Ike. So not only did Lance get to spend 19 years in the big leagues and make 8 trips to the all-star game. He was Tina Turner’s “Kevin Costner” for a time.
One card back style I can only imagine has caused heartburn for current collectors were those from the late 50’s like this 1958 Jim “Jimmy” Brown rookie card. I know this is football but I found some baseball cards with the same style. The Jim Brown just drives my point home. These cards had a trivia question on the back and you then would take a coin to rub a blank space for the answer. How many mint versions do you think exist of these at this point? Unfortunately, I don’t have any version but I can imagine being a little disappointed if I had run across the version that had been beaten up by a nickel. Happy, but still a little disappointed.
Finally, sometimes the card backs just baffle you. The 1993 Score Select Matt Stairs is an example. First, I was never a fan of Score Select. I didn’t like the design and they didn’t give me any hope when looking them up in the Beckett Monthly. But the back of Stairs card had a comment from his minor league manager stating that Matt was “a great natural hitter, a God-given talent.” Now, that’s a bold statement. It’s especially bold when you look a couple inches below that to find that he hit a paltry .187 in his first 30 at bats. Now, Stairs would go on to have a very productive career as a hitter with a .262 average and 265 home runs. But in 1993, I was scratching my head at this one.
So while card companies have innovated and changed with the times to stay relevant and hot, I believe they have gotten away from some of the fun the back of the cards have to offer. Now it’s all about stats, WAR, OPS, etc. I need more than that. I need to know who got their start at Waffle House. I need to know who is building a home in Montana. For goodness sake, there has to be a player in the majors now that is a magician and locksmith. Times have changed, I know. But I long for the good ole days! Again, thanks to Baseball Card Backs (@sportcardbacks) on Twitter for the assist on this one. This is what collecting cards is to me. Sharing information, enjoying the high points of common cards and remembering what our youth was like. Thanks for keeping the hobby alive and remembering it for what it is!
J-Dub