Thursday, March 31, 2016

40th ANNIVERSARY: April 1 1976 - Apple Incorporated

The first day of April marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of Apple - well the incorporating of Apple anyway.

2015 Topps Baseball History #9A Apple Founded

Interesting that Topps chose to have Steve Wozniak for the Apple photo rather than Steve Jobs. It appears that Jobs was actually cropped out of a larger photo. It should also be noted that the photo was from an event on April 24 1984 when a new generation Apple IIc was released. A third Apple exec John Scully stands between Wozniak and Jobs in the original photo. A power struggle between Scutlly and Jobs would lead to Jobs leaving Apple later in 1984.

Regardless I am happy with Wozniak getting top billing here, partially because he is often seen as the sidekick and partially because he just seems like a cooler dude.









2015 Topps Baseball History #9A Apple Founded (b-side)

Wozniak may be on the front of the card, but Topps leads off with Jobs on the back. In addition to mentioning the 1976 incorporation of Apple Topps also notes the 1984 MacIntosh release, perhaps a nod to the photo on the front.

April 2 1976
In 1976 I am pretty sure nobody in Silicon Valley or the Bay Area noticed the founding of Apple. If they did they likely had their attention diverted a day later when Reggie Jackson was traded by the Oakland A's to the Baltimore Orioles. The trade is the subject of the Baseball History #9B card which is related to the Apple Card. It is one of the few cards to feature the Hall of Fame slugger as an Oriole.  

Sources and Links
Cardboard Connection
Check out My Cards
New York Daily News

NPR

1 comment:

Fuji said...

Awesome card. The first computer my family ever owned was an old Apple II with one of those green monitors and a floppy drive. My dad actually put the computer together himself and built a custom case for it out of wood. Imagine that... a wooden computer. Growing up in Silicon Valley and later teaching here... I've been an Apple guy almost my entire life.

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