Nets Sets: 1971-72 Topps

Here's the long-awaited debut of a concept I had when I officially kicked off this all-Nets blog. It's a look at completed Nets team sets, which, thanks to it's rhyming nature, I've decided to call "Nets Sets"

Today's set is, fittingly, the 1971-72 Topps set, which was the first ever to include ABA cards. Topps would split it's flagship (and only) set between the NBA and ABA from 1971-72 through 1975-76, which was the final year of the ABA. Almost nothing has been produced documenting the ABA pre-1971-72.

The Nets got 8 cards in that first set...

 #156 is Billy Paultz, technically the first Nets card in history by being the lowest numbered card of the Nets in this set.

 #170 is Rick Barry, one of the key cards in the 1971-72 Topps set. It is Barry's first card, and would be one of several from this set reprinted in 1996-97 for the NBA's 50th Anniversary.

 #182 is Ollie Taylor. This is the best look we get at this road uniform on a card.

 #191 is Jim Ard. It is the only card he ever got.

 #199 is Bill Melchionni, a card that has shown up here on Nothing But Nets several times already.

 #209 is Sonny Dove. I need to rescan this card. It is the second of two to show this red road jersey. Like Ard, it is the only card he ever got. He was killed at only 37 years old when the taxi he was driving skidded off a bridge in winter time. Back in those days athletes had to work multiple jobs.

 #217 is Manny Leaks. This is his only card as a member of the Nets, but he has 3 produced in total.

#226 is Joe DePre, who also needs to be rescanned. He is the third member of the 1971-72 Nets cards to be the only card ever issued for him. Note that he is wearing a Phoenix Suns jersey in the photo. They drafted him in the 2nd round in 1970 but he never played for them, his entire professional career was three seasons with the Nets.

And that's the conclusion of the first Nets Set. I can't go in chronological order because I don't have a single one of the Nets cards from 1972-73, although I do have a couple en route from COMC.

Thanks for reading!