Other variants and error cards
While we’ve extensively covered error cards and variant cards by A&BC on another page, this page delves into the error cards and variant cards of other manufacturers featured on our site. If you’re aware of any variant or error cards not yet featured on this webpage, we invite you to reach out via email. Your contributions help us preserve and celebrate the rich history of football card collecting. Some of the information on this page comes from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
1958
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: No. 3 Series Card 7 John Bond
Here is card number 7 featuring John Bond.
Although the reverse side of the cards is the same across both versions, these two have been acknowledged as recognised variations by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: No. 3 Series Card 12 Jack Burkitt
Here is card number 7 featuring Jack Burkitt.
Although the reverse side of the cards is the same across both versions, these two have been acknowledged as recognised variations by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: No. 3 Series Card 14 Cliff Jones
Here is card number 14 featuring Cliff Jones.
Although the reverse side of the cards is the same across both versions, these two have been acknowledged as recognised variations by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: No. 3 Series Card 22 Derek Pace
Here is card number 22 featuring Derek Pace.
Although the reverse side of the cards is the same across both versions, these two have been acknowledged as recognised variations by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: No. 3 Series Card 22 Derek Pace
Here is card number 22 featuring Derek Pace.
Although the reverse side of the cards is the same across both versions, these two have been acknowledged as recognised variations by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: No. 3 Series Card 32 Maurice Norman
Here is card number 32 featuring Maurice Norman.
Although the reverse side of the cards is the same across both versions, these two have been acknowledged as recognised variations by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: No. 3 Series Card 38 Jimmy Greaves
Here is card number 38 featuring Jimmy Greaves.
Although the reverse side of the cards is the same across both versions, these two have been acknowledged as recognised variations by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: No. 3 Series Card 47 Eddie Hopkinson
Here is card number 47 featuring Eddie Hopkinson.
Although the reverse side of the cards is the same across both versions, these two have been acknowledged as recognised variations by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: No. 3 Series Card 37 Derek Keavan, and Card 44 Jimmy Melia
Here is card number 37 featuring Derek Kevan of West Bromwich Albion, and card number 44 featuring Jimmy Melia of Liverpool.
Both of these cards are known to exist in three distinct colour variations, most notably in the shades of the players’ shirts, socks, and background colours.
In the case of Derek Kevan, the blue-and-white striped West Brom kit appears with subtle but noticeable differences in hue and contrast.
Similarly, Jimmy Melia’s card shows his Liverpool kit in three dramatically different tones — bright red, deep maroon, and near-black — likely caused by colour processing variations across print runs.
While the backs of the cards remain identical across versions, these variations have been officially recognised by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain and are considered legitimate collecting distinctions.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange and Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: No. 3 Series Card 43 Stuart Imlach
Here is card number 43 featuring Stuart Imlach of Nottingham Forest and Scotland, from the Chix Famous Footballers – No. 3 Series (1957–58).
Two known versions of this card exist. The most noticeable difference lies in the shorts:
In one version, there is a red stripe running down the side of the shorts.
In the other, the shorts are entirely plain white.
The reverse side of the card remains the same in both versions. Though the difference may appear minor, it is a clear visual variation and of interest to collectors pursuing a complete master set.
As with other print differences found in this series, this variation is likely due to changes in the colour processing or artwork between print runs.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange
Chix Confectionery Co. Ltd. Famous Footballers: The rest of the series
It is now clear that the entire series was issued in two distinct colour printings. This is illustrated with No. 25 Vic Groves and No. 5 Alan A’Court, both of which exist in two clearly different versions — one brighter, often with a warmer or redder tone, and one darker or more muted in colouring.
These variations affect the entire set of 48 cards, and are likely the result of two separate print runs, possibly with different print batches or colour correction processes. While the card fronts show visual differences, the reverse side remains identical across all versions.
Pictures from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange and Football Cartophilic Info Exchange
1965
Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers A13 card 28 Eddie Thomas
Here are two variations of the Eddie Thomas card. Please note that aside from the different fronts, there are also differences on the back, specifically in the last sentence.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers A13 card 30 John Hickton
The first of these two cards is an error card, as John Hickton played for Sheffield Wednesday at the time of publishing, not Sheffield United.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers A13 card 32 David Burnside
Here are two variations of the David Burnside card. Please note that aside from the different fronts, there are also differences on the back, specifically in the last sentence.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
1966
Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers A14 card 37 Don Megson
Here are two variations of the Don Megson card. Please note that aside from the different fronts, there are also differences on the back.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers A14 card 47 John Ritchie
Here are two versions of the John Ritchie card. He was transferred to Sheffield Wednesday, and the biography on the back was rewritten. It’s strange that they didn’t change the colors on his kit on the front as well.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
1967
Ty-Phoo Tea – International Football Stars (series 1)
In March 1967, around the time International Football Stars was due to be issued, Derek Dougan transferred from Leicester City to Wolverhampton Wanderers. This prompted Ty-Phoo Tea to produce two versions of the package issue. Rumors suggest the existence of a premium version featuring Dougan in a Leicester kit, but such a card has never been seen.
1968
Northern Trancessories First Division Soccer Clubs (Player image)
This is an attractive set of self-adhesive PVC stickers featuring First Division clubs, most likely issued at the same time as the First Division Soccer Stars series.
Recently, I received an image from Nigel Jessopp showing a version of the Chelsea sticker in which the player is facing the opposite direction to the one normally seen. This mirrored version is a fascinating detail I’ve not encountered before.
Has anyone seen similar reversed stickers for other clubs, or is this unique to Chelsea? If you have further information, I’d love to hear from you.
1970
D.C. Thomson The Rover – Famous Footballers
Between 1953 and 1970, the Rover Comic, and subsequently the Rover and Wizard, featured ‘Football Stars’ on their front covers, showcasing published pictures. During that period, numerous boys, and continuing into the present for many, have been cutting these images out of the comics, collecting them as ‘football cards.’
Issue 2358 published September 5th 1970 erroneously states that George Humphreys played for Luton. However, he never did, not even on loan.
Humphreys initiated his playing journey as an apprentice at Everton, amassing 12 senior appearances for the club from 1965 to 1970, during which he scored twice. On 8 June 1970, he officially joined Crystal Palace, contributing to 11 appearances in the 1970–1971 season, predominantly as a substitute, without finding the net. In January 1971, Humphreys transitioned to Crewe Alexandra, where he made 193 appearances, scoring 30 goals, before venturing into non-league football with Rhyl in 1977.
Pictures from Alan Jenkin’s site Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
Nabisco Footballers
This series comprises 24 cards, with three distinct versions in existence. Two of these versions are quite prevalent, making it relatively easy to acquire both. The primary difference between them lies in the listing of the company name; one version states “Nabisco Foods,” while the other reads “Nabisco Foods Ltd.” The exceptionally rare third version features blank backs.
Nabisco Footballers card 19 Ron Davies
Card 19, featuring Ron Davies on the front and Mike England on the back, is one of two recognized error cards in this series. I do not possess the card personally, and these images are purely for illustrative purposes. It remains unclear whether the error pertains to “Nabisco Food,” “Nabisco Food Ltd.,” or both.
Nabisco Footballers card 20 Peter Bonetti
Card 20, featuring Peter Bonetti on the front and Peter Shilton on the back, is one of two recognized error cards in this series. I do not possess the card personally, and these images are purely for illustrative purposes. It remains unclear whether the error pertains to “Nabisco Food,” “Nabisco Food Ltd.,” or both.
1970/71
BAB Round sided badges
There are two known error cards in this series – each with several variations. The crests of Luton Town and Millwall appear to have been mistakenly swapped.
I was kindly made aware of this by Mark, who very helpfully sent me a variant of the Luton Town sticker featuring the Millwall crest, as well as one showing the correct version. He also had a version of the Millwall sticker with the incorrect Luton crest.
I’m still on the lookout for the Millwall sticker with the correct crest, so if anyone happens to have one, I’d be most grateful to hear from you.
Lyons Maid Soccer Stars Card 13 Tommy Gemmell
J. Lyons & Co. and its subsidiaries issued nearly 100 different sets of trade cards, some under the name Lyons Maid. The majority of these sets were released during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, with some duplicated under different trading subsidiaries.
There exists an error card of number 13 Tommy Gemmel with the photo of Bobby Murdoch on the front.
Picture from Alan Jenkin’s site, Football Cartophilic Info Exchange.
1972/73
Americana München Soccer Parade
Originating from Munich, Germany, Americana was a notable company in the 1970s that crafted stickers specifically for the English market. Intriguingly, the legacy of Americana lives on today, albeit in a different form — they’ve transformed into a clothing store (!).
During their early years, Americana operated under the name “Americana München,” producing stickers in the 1972/73 period. Subsequently, they momentarily withdrew from the market, only to resurface in the late 1970s as AVA Americana. While the transition in name may raise questions, it’s reasonable to assume their continuity, as they retained the same company name for spare card orders.
One notable error card stands out from its initial release, namely sticker 318 featuring Steve Daley but displaying the picture of John Rutter. Rutter, who began as an apprentice at Wolverhampton Wanderers, signed his first full contract in September 1970. Despite this, he never played a league game for the club. However, he found his footing at Stockport County, where he participated in 404 league matches over a span of ten years. Following retirement, he transitioned into a role as a commercial manager for Stockport County until 2008.
In contrast, Steve Daley made headlines by setting a transfer record when he transferred to Manchester City for a fee of £1,437,500.00 in September 1979 – an English record equivalent to £7,328,000.00 in 2019. Despite this impressive feat, Daley faced challenges at Maine Road and garnered a reputation as a high-priced misfit.
1975/76
Monty Gum Footballer Now
Monty Gum produced some notable series in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, alongside some less successful ones. The “Football Now” series from the 1975-76 season is often regarded as one of their poorest efforts. These cards were small, with grey backs, and featured 16 cards with misspelled names. To compound matters, Terry Darracott from Everton had his name spelled as “Everton.” Furthermore, the cards depicting players from QPR and Glasgow Rangers were issued in varying colors, both for the text on the front and the actual pictures. As seen with the QPR cards displayed here, there are three distinct versions, although I have never seen all three versions featuring the same player. Nevertheless, these errors have resulted in a surplus of extra cards for collectors, so some positive outcome emerged from the situation.