Topps packs weren’t enough for the most dedicated baseball card collectors in the early 1960s. Kids who really loved collecting, were crazy for cards—and had a few more nickels than the average youngster—had to have a box or three. The 1963 Bazooka baseball card series marked the fifth year for what had become an annual rite of summer. Fifty years later, they remain popular, somewhat elusive and probably quite underrated.
The big boxes went above and beyond those little penny pieces of gum with Bazooka Joe comics inside. A whole box could keep you chewing for a couple of weeks. There were three cards on the back, separated by a dotted line. Yes, these were designed for cutting.
Unlike regular packs, you could actually see the players you were getting. Mickey Mantle disappeared from New York area grocery stores. Yaz went fast in New England. In the Upper Midwest, you could grab a Hank Aaron box and get Harmon Killebrew too.
In ’62, Bazooka had created 15 different panels. When boxes hit store shelves in the spring before JFK’s assassination, there were only 12 to collect but no shortage of superstars. Virtually every panel had at least one future Hall of Famer, which is one reason why they’re a bit pricey today, at least in panel and complete box form. Mantle was card #1. A PSA 8 complete Aaron/Ernie Banks/Bob Rodgers panel recently sold for $325.
The size of the cards was reduced in ’63, to 1 9/16” by 2 ½” (panels are 2 ½” by about 4 11/16”. The backs, as usual, were blank. Graded single cards can bring fairly impressive prices as well since they are more commonly found and are easier for set builders to accumulate quickly. A raw (EX) Mantle single sold for $205 recently.
Complete panel sets are valued at $800-2000, depending on condition. Single card sets, when offered, bring $500-1,200. Low grade sets are sometimes cheaper.
Collectors should be careful with 1963 Bazooka, though. About a decade ago, a flood of fakes came on the market. Many appear in slabs, encapsulated by “FGA” or “Gem” Grading. Some have an overly glossy appearance from reprinted photos while others look more realistic but have a purely gray back rather than the light brown or tannish-gray coloring. See the checklist below.
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 1963 Bazooka Panels Yastrzemski Drysdale BVG BGS 75 RARE 1 of 1 Yaz NICE $85.00 Time Remaining: 11h 7m |
 1963 Bazooka COMPLETE BOX and FULL PANEL Willie Mays Dick Donovan Jim Gentile $499.99 Time Remaining: 11d 7h 32m Buy It Now for only: $499.99 |
 1963 Bazooka 3 Card Panel Brooks Robinson Baltimore Orioles St Louis Cardinals $99.00 Time Remaining: 11d 11h 21m Buy It Now for only: $99.00 |
 SGC 96 9 1963 BAZOOKA PANEL 10 11 12 WILLIE MAYS $349.99 Time Remaining: 19d 12h 5m Buy It Now for only: $349.99 |
 1963 1964 BAZOOKA PANEL PAIRS MCCOVEY SPAHN COLAVITO KILLEBREW CASH + $200.00 Time Remaining: 26d 14h 43m Buy It Now for only: $200.00 |
 1963 Bazooka 3 Card Panel Frank Robinson Cincinnati Reds Rocky Colavito Tigers $89.00 Time Remaining: 27d 6h 59m Buy It Now for only: $89.00 |
 1963 BAZOOKA FULL COMPLETE BOX WILLIE MAYS DICK DONOVAN JIM GENTILE PANEL $249.99 Time Remaining: 27d 8h 8m Buy It Now for only: $249.99 |
1963 Bazooka Baseball Checklist (3 sequentially numbered cards made up each box back panel)
1 Mickey Mantle
2 Bob Rodgers
3 Ernie Banks
4 Norm Siebern
5 Warren Spahn
6 Bill Mazeroski
7 Harmon Killebrew
8 Dick Farrell
9 Hank Aaron
10 Dick Donovan
11 Jim Gentile
12 Willie Mays
13 Camilo Pascual
14 Roberto Clemente
15 Johnny Callison
16 Carl Yastrzemski
17 Don Drysdale
18 Johnny Romano
19 Al Jackson
20 Ralph Terry
21 Bill Monbouquette
22 Orlando Cepeda
23 Stan Musial
24 Floyd Robinson
25 Chuck Hinton
26 Bob Purkey
27 Ken Hubbs
28 Bill White
29 Ray Herbert
30 Brooks Robinson
31 Frank Robinson
32 Lee Thomas
33 Rocky Colavito
34 Al Kaline
35 Art Mahaffey
36 Tommy Davis
