More Custom Cards about Nothing

A couple of years ago, I designed a custom card featuring Cosmo Kramer on the 1973 Topps design. Right then and there, I was inspired to do a separate custom card for Jerry Seinfeld on the "Field Leaders/Manager" card design from the same set.

 

I'd run out of time and energy after that, but made a little note to myself about creating more Seinfeld cards using the '73 design at some point in the future—at least a standalone card for the other two members of the fab four (George and Elaine). 

 

Well, it took quite a while to get to it, but I've finally made good on that note. In fact, there aren't just four cards in the set now. There are six!

As a refresher, here are the Kramer and Jerry cards.

If you note the palm trees in the background, you'll gather that Kramer is depicted here in a spring training location. (Quite possibly Del Boca Vista.)

And here's Jerry, as "manager". I figured Newman would be a good 4th member for the "coaches" section of the card. You've got to have an antagonist, right? He'd be like the one coach on the team that no one really liked.

Now here are the new additions to the set.

This image was a natural fit for a baseball card. Not long after the photo was taken, George would step up to the plate, hit a deep drive to the outfield, sprint around the bases, and barrel over opposing catcher Bette Midler to score a big run. (Clean play.)

Elaine gets a headshot, wearing the Orioles cap, of course. She's already in disbelief that someone has asked her to remove it. (Also, note the silhouette above her position of "Little Kicker".)

And that completes the four main character cards. The next thing I wanted to do was include some of the other memorable characters from the show. There are so many good ones—too many for standalone cards. But the 1973 Topps set did contain a bunch of three-player rookie cards, and this provided the perfect solution. Here's my first version:

It features Uncle Leo (Jerry, hello!), Frank Costanza, and Newman. I did some research, and I don't think Newman's first name was ever revealed on the show. Or maybe Newman is his first name, and we don't know his last name? Regardless, I think the card works better with just "Newman", even with the blank space above it.

And any Seinfeld set wouldn't be complete without J. Peterman, the Soup Nazi, and David Puddy (high five!) They're absolutely classic characters. I could have also gone with folks like Kenny Bania, Jackie Chiles, crazy Joe Davola, Estelle Costanza, or Helen and Morty Seinfeld, to name a few. Maybe even a trio of Jerry's girlfriends. But I think the six I've chosen are pretty solid.

Now here are all the cards, together.

I'm happy that I was able to showcase characters on the base card, the manager card, and the rookie combination card. There's also the playoffs/World Series card design from the '73 set, and I suppose I could find three "action" shots from certain Seinfeld episodes to make this a 9-card set. I could even stick to baseball-themed images. For example, there's Kramer getting hit with the foul ball at Yankee Stadium, Elaine refusing to take her Orioles cap off during that same game and getting into a scuffle, or even the aforementioned George Costanza knocking over Bette Midler on the softball field. But I don't really think adding three more cards to the set is necessary. It might also be difficult to find a clear image of those events. I don't know. I'll think about it a little more.

For now, I'm happy with the six cards. Hope you're enjoying them, too! If you have a favorite, or would like to see other characters or scenes, let me know in the comment section.

Thanks for reading!