• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
    • Advertise with SC Daily
    • Write for Sports Collectors Daily
    • Write About Your Sports Collection
    • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?
  • Hot on eBay
    • Most Watched Graded Rookies
    • Most Watched PSA 10 Cards
    • Most Watched BGS, BVG Cards
    • Most Watched SGC Cards
    • Most Watched CSG,CGC Cards
    • Most Watched Baseball Cards
      • Most Watched 2023 Baseball Cards
      • Most Watched 2022 Baseball Rookie Cards
      • Bowman Chrome Cards
      • Ronald Acuna Jr. Cards
      • Shohei Ohtani Cards
      • Mike Trout Cards
      • Fernando Tatis Jr. Cards
      • Babe Ruth Cards
      • Hank Aaron Cards
      • Jackie Robinson Cards:
      • Mickey Mantle Cards
      • Willie Mays Cards
      • Vintage Baseball Card Sets
      • T206 Cards
    • Most Watched Basketball
      • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2022-23 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2021-22 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2020-21 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2019-20 NBA Rookie Cards
        • Zion Williamson Rookie Cards
        • Ja Morant Rookie Cards
      • Michael Jordan Cards
      • Kobe Bryant Cards
      • LeBron James Rookie Cards
      • Nikola Jokic Rookie Cards
      • Giannis Antetokounmpo Cards
      • Luka Doncic Rookie Cards
      • Prizm Basketball Cards
      • Panini National Treasures
    • Most Watched Football Cards
      • Most Watched NFL Rookie Cards
      • 2022 NFL Rookie Cards
        • Brock Purdy Rookie Cards
      • 2021 NFL Rookie Cards
      • 2020 NFL Rookie Cards
        • Joe Burrow Rookie Cards
        • Justin Herbert Rookie Cards
        • Jalen Hurts Rookie Cards
      • Josh Allen Rookie Cards
      • Patrick Mahomes Rookie Cards
      • Tom Brady Cards
    • Most Watched Hockey Cards
      • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2021-22 NHL Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2020-21 Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2019-20 Rookie Cards
      • Connor McDavid Cards
      • Wayne Gretzky Cards
      • Bobby Orr Cards
    • Most Watched Soccer Cards
    • Most Watched UFC Cards
    • Most Watched Golf Cards
    • Most Watched 1 of 1 Cards
    • Most Watched Racing Cards
    • Top Sports Card Dealers on eBay
    • Most Watched Memorabilia
      • Vintage Sports Memorabilia
    • Vintage Sports Tickets, Stubs
    • Most Watched Autographs
  • Ending Soon on Ebay
    • Baseball Cards
    • Basketball Cards
    • Football Cards
    • Hockey Cards
    • Soccer Cards
    • Golf Cards
    • UFC Cards
  • Top - Ad

Sports Collectors Daily

Sports Collectors Daily

Sports collecting news - Sports cards and sports memorabilia industry news.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. 

  • Sports Memorabilia News
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
      • Shop Talk
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Affordable Vintage Cards, Collectibles
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • Around The Hobby
    • Editor’s Blog
    • David Cycleback’s Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Popular Stories
  • Sell Your Cards
You are here: Home / Sports Card News / Vintage Sports Card News / Old Baseball Card Sets / 1961 Nu-Card Scoops Highlighted Game’s Greats, Big Events

1961 Nu-Card Scoops Highlighted Game’s Greats, Big Events

May 19, 2021 By Bob D'Angelo

Baseball was covered religiously in newspapers during the 1950s and ’60s, with eye-popping headlines and black-and-white photographs of players in action.

That was the template for the 1961 Nu-Card Baseball Scoops set, which was a smaller version of the 1960 Nu-Card Baseball Hi-Lites.  Scoops cards measure 2½ inches by 3½ inches, which were the same measurements for Topps and Fleer cards of the era. The 1960 Nu-Card set measures 3¼ inches by 5 3/8 inches.

Boxes held 24 packs.  Each pack held seven cards for the modest price of a nickel.

In 2017, Mile High Card Company sold a nearly complete box (23 of 24 packs) that was part of its famous Tennessee “Beer Box” find.  Last year, Heritage Auctions offered a complete box with all 24 packs. It sold for $4,440.

The Scoops set included 80 cards, but curiously opened the set at No. 401 and closed at No. 480.

The Design

The layout is very similar to a tabloid newspaper. The vertical design on the card has a two-deck headline in red, with large black-and-white photographs of the players. One exception is card No. 434 of Bill Dickey, which looks like a pencil drawing of the Hall of Fame catcher. The cards honored players from the past and present, the game’s greats and players that caught lightning in a bottle.

Above the headline was a “Baseball Scoops” banner — baseballs replaced the two O’s in “Scoops.” The card number was in a box in the top left-hand corner of the card, while the newspaper “Extra” invitation was in the top right-hand corner. A three-star edition, no less.

The card back is horizontal, with the “Baseball Scoops” banner across the top middle of the card. Like the front, the card number is in the upper-left top of the card and “Extra” is on the top right.

The headline stretches beneath the banner, and there are a few paragraphs—generally two or three — describing the player’s particular great moment.

As Fresh as the Day’s Headlines (Well, Some Were)

In addition to great moments from the past, the 1961 set highlights action from 1960. No. 403, for example, focuses on Bill Mazeroski’s home run that gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a dramatic Game 7 victory in the World Series. No. 416 documents Roger Maris edging teammate Mickey Mantle for the 1960 Most Valuable Player award in the American League–a card that seems like it ought to be worth a lot more than the going rate.

Card No. 14 pictures Gene Autry under the headline that the American League was expanding to 10 teams for the 1961 season. Autry’s Angels were one of the new franchises. And card No. 415 celebrates Bobby Richardson’s 1960 World Series performance, when he was named the Fall Classic’s MVP.

But most of the cards in the set honor the game’s biggest names—Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Cy Young and Mantle.

Some of the set highlights include card No. 422, which reports on Mantle’s long home run at Griffith Stadium in April 1953, and No. 447, which examines Babe Ruth’s 60th home run in 1927.

Like a tabloid, the Nu-Card Scoops can sometimes show bias. That is evident with the headline for card No. 464, which reads, “Ump’s Wrong Call Helps Dodgers.” That is a reference to a play at first base in Game 5 of the 1952 World Series, and it’s among the more challenging cards to find.

Other tough pulls include the first card in the set. No. 401, “Gentile Blasts Birds Into First,” “Hodges Hits 4 Home Runs in Nite Game” (No. 441) and “New York Wins 26 Straight Games” (No. 456).

Sometimes the photos don’t match the event. Card No. 404 reads, “Willie Mays 3 Triples Paces Giants Victory” from a Sept. 15, 1960, game. The Giants were in San Francisco by then, the photo shows Mays decked out in a New York Giants uniform.

While color variances in the card stock do exist, there were some unauthorized reprints made, so if you see some cards with extremely white borders and pictures that don’t look quite as sharp as you’d expect, it might be best to stay away, especially if they’re also extremely cheap.

Grading

There have been 10,932 cards from the set that have been sent to PSA for grading. Of those cards, 468 have been graded gem-mint, with 2,968 designated at PSA 9. By far, the most commonly graded cards are PSA 8s, with 4,670.  SGC has graded 1,238 with only 30 10s and 238 rating mint 9.

Eleven cards have no 10s on PSA’s extensive pop report: Nos. 414 (A.L. Votes to Expand to 10 Teams), 417 (Merkle Pulls Boner), 441 (Hodges Hits 4 Home Runs in Nite Game), 442 (Greenberg Returns to Tigers From Army), 445 (Rizzuto’s 2 Runs Save First Place), 461 (Yanks Champs Again!), 464 (Ump’s Wrong Call Helps Dodgers), 468 (Colavito Hits Four Homers in One Game), 470 (Sal Maglie Pitches No-Hit Game), 475 (Owen Drops 3rd Strike), and 479 (Hubbell Strikes Out 5 A.L. Stars).

The card with the most PSA 10s is No. 448 – “Cy Young Honored.”

There are also 141 autographed cards that received a grade from PSA.

Meanwhile, the highest price fetched for a PSA 10 card is $4,050, which was paid for No. 422 (Mickey Mantle Hits Longest Homer). Card No. 477 — Christy Mathewson Pitches 3 World Series Shutouts — was No. 2 in price at $1,794.38. Mantle rounds out the top 3, as No. 450 (Mantle Hits Longest Homer at Stadium), sold for $1,424.99.

The 1961 Nu-Card Scoops set is quirky but an interesting mix and prices for most cards are very modest today. The past meets the present in an issue that dates to a newsworthy time in baseball and there is plenty of information for baseball fans to digest. The set truly was a mini-newspaper.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Facebook Messenger

Related Stories:

Bazooka Changed Things Up In 1964 Release Tom Seaver 1974 ToppsRemembering 10 Terrific Tom Seaver Cards T206 Icons, Vintage Sets, Singles, Wax, Jordan Cards Headline Big Mile High Auction Topps 1965 football waxVintage Pack Facts 1965 Topps Football The Wayback Collector: Pop Report Comparisons of Pre-War and Post-War Vintage Vintage Pack Facts: 1960 Fleer Baseball Greats Vintage Set Break of the Week: 1960 Topps 1960 Fleer Baseball Greats Set Provided Company’s Card Foundation

About Bob D'Angelo

Bob has been a sportswriter and copy editor for more than 35 years and a blogger for a decade. He is celebrating his 50th year of card collecting, and still counts his 1965 Topps Mickey Mantle as his favorite. You can reach him at [email protected].

Filed Under: Old Baseball Card Sets, Vintage Sports Card News Tagged With: 1960s baseball cards, Beer Box Find, Nu-Card Hilites, Nu-Card Scoops

Primary Sidebar

Our articles may contain affiliate links. When you click on links to merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. 

Shop Sports Cards on Ebay
  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Hockey

High End Cards and Memorabilia

  • BBCE Authenticated Boxes, Packs opens in a new window
  • Graded pre-War Card eBay Auctions
  • PWCC Premier Auction
  • PWCC Fixed Price Marketplace
  • Graded Rookie Cards on eBay opens in a new window
  • Authenticated Photos on eBay opens in a new window
  • Graded Tickets & Stubs opens in a new window

Bargain Corner

  • Michael Jordan cards $5 and less opens in a new window
  • Kobe Bryant cards $5 and less opens in a new window
  • Mickey Mantle Cards Under $150 opens in a new window
  • Graded T206 Cards Under $150 opens in a new window
  • Pre-War Cards Under $100 opens in a new window
  • Pre-1980 Graded Baseball Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Pre-1980 Graded Football Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Basketball Cards $25 and less opens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Hockey Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Complete Sets $20 and Less opens in a new window
  • Baseball Hall of Famers for $5 or Less opens in a new window
  • Football Hall of Famers for $5 or Less opens in a new window
  • Hobby Boxes Under $30 opens in a new window
  • Pre-1986 Rookie Cards Under $1 opens in a new window
  • Buy Boxes Directly from Topps opens in a new window

RSS Auction Report

  • Consignments Wanted – Meet Huggins & Scott at the Philly Show This Weekend
  • Heritage Auctions Icons Photography Auction Ends October 12, 2023
  • Steve Novella Offers PSA Baseball, Football & Non-Sport Cards Auction Ending Sept. 28, 2023

Footer

Categories

  • Around the Hobby
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • David Cycleback's Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Editor's Blog
  • Featured Articles
  • Hobby Shop Talk
  • National Sports Collectors Convention
  • Popular Stories
  • Rich Klein's Ramblings
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Sports Memorabilia News
  • Uncategorized

Sponsor Links

  • Sports Card Forumopens in a new window
  • Buying Vintage Sports Cardsopens in a new window
  • Game Used Jerseysopens in a new window
  • Championship Rings For Saleopens in a new window
  • Vintage Basketball Cardsopens in a new window
  • NBA Signed Itemsopens in a new window
  • Autographed Baseballsopens in a new window
  • NASCAR Autographsopens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Baseball Cardsopens in a new window
  • Player Picturesopens in a new window
  • Vintage Football Cardsopens in a new window
  • Sports Collectors Storeopens in a new window

Pages

Ending on eBay Soon
  • Baseball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Basketball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Football Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Hockey Card Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay Ending Soon
Top 100 on Ebay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Baseball Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Card Auctions
  • Top Authenticated Vintage Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
Most Watched on eBay
  • 100 Most Watched Graded Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • 100 Most Watched Tom Brady Card Auctions on eBay
  • 50 Hottest Hobby Boxes at Auction on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Golf Trading Cards on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Wrestling Trading Cards on eBay
  • 75 Most Watched Bowman Chrome Cards
  • Most Popular Bobbleheads on eBay
  • Most Watched 1/1 Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Basketball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Complete Baseball Card Sets at Auction on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Rookie Card Auctions
  • Most Watched Goudey Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Hockey Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Racing Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Soccer Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Autographs on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Jerseys on eBay
  • Most Watched Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
  • Most Watched Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay
  • Hottest Panini National Treasures Cards on eBay
  • Hottest PSA 10 Cards for Sale on eBay
  • What’s Hot on eBay
Sports Memorabilia
  • Sports Card Bargain Bin
  • Sports Memorabilia Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
About Sports Collectors Daily
  • Advertise with SC Daily
  • Contact Us
  • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Sell Your Cards
  • What’s It Worth
  • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?

Copyright © 2023 SportsCollectorsDaily.com | Web Design by Wickam Groupopens in a new window