The 1960s are a haven for insert collectors. Posters, decals, game cards... you never knew exactly what Topps was going to toss into its packs as a free bonus. The 1963 Topps Peel-Off set offered a bigger, bolder, more colorful look than the stamps that had accompanied the 1961 and '62 cards. This insert set gave collectors some big names, with 41% of the subjects … [Read more...]
10 Great Sandy Koufax Cards
He was a bonus baby, snared by the Brooklyn Dodgers out of high school as a pitching prospect of enormous proportion. His big league debut came 60 years ago next month at age 19 and was over by age 30. Any list of the best Sandy Koufax baseball cards has fewer standard issues to choose from than you’d find of virtually any other Hall of Famer, but that would sell … [Read more...]
1961 Nu-Card Scoops Highlighted Game’s Greats, Big Events
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 … [Read more...]
The Original Dodger Bulldog – A Look at 5 Classic Don Drysdale Cards
Don Drysdale pitched during an era where intimidation was as much a part of the game plan as video rooms and data analysis are now. Today, the sheer admission of intentionally throwing at a hitter can land a player a suspension--one reason it’s a question that is often side-stepped in press conferences by both players and managers. During Drysdale’s career, he embraced this … [Read more...]
Bazooka Changed Things Up In 1964 Release
The 1964 Bazooka set marked the sixth consecutive set of baseball cards produced by the chewing gum company. But while much about it remained the same from past issues, much changed as well. 1964 Bazooka Baseball Basics For the second straight year, the individual blank-backed cards measured a smaller size from the earlier issues. 1964's edition measured approximately 1 … [Read more...]
1965 Bazooka Baseball Cards Kept Kids Blowing Bubbles
If you really, really liked bubble gum and could save up a couple of dimes or a quarter, you could go to the grocery store or the dime store and buy a whole box. Twenty delicious, tightly wrapped pieces of Bazooka bubble gum were inside, complete with a Bazooka Joe comic. If you loved baseball, though, the real prize was on the back. There was no need … [Read more...]
Behind the Exhibits: The Later Years (Part III)
Exhibit cards are among the more affordable pre-war cards that can be had. While it's true that there are some expensive ones, by comparison, they can often be nice ways to score some bargains of big name players. Here's a three-part series focusing on these unique cards. We've already looked at the earliest Exhibit cards from the 1920s as well as the 4-on-1 series that … [Read more...]
Remembering 10 Terrific Tom Seaver Cards
Baseball lost an icon when the Hall of Fame announced that Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver had passed away due to complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19. Seaver's career began in the 1960s and was still going strong in the 80s. "Tom Terrific" had been the Rookie of the Year in 1967 but his entire career seemed like a never-ending highlight. He struck … [Read more...]
Eddie Mathews Baseball Cards Cross Two Eras
It had been ten years since the glory days of the Milwaukee Braves but Eddie Mathews, whose career began in the early 1950s when most teams still traveled by train, was still swinging on the night of July 14, 1967. In the Houston Astros lineup after a trade from the only franchise he’d ever known, Mathews climbed to a summit only six other players in history had reached … [Read more...]
After Nearly 30-Year Hiatus, O-Pee-Chee Baseball Cards Returned in 1965
In 1937, O-Pee-Chee introduced a set of baseball cards. With a unique 'pop-out' design, they were intended to offer a three-dimensional look. The cards were black and white and included many popular players of the day, including Bob Feller, Joe DiMaggio, and Hank Greenberg. The cards of all three players are from relatively early in their careers and the card of Feller, … [Read more...]