I really like the design of the '61 Topps set. The clean, sparse border allows plenty of room for the picture, which should have made this an all-time great set like '57. However, Topps botched it by overwhelmingly using plain headshots. You can see this in this recent lot of '61s I picked up. I never got the $25 eBay coupon it seems everyone else did, but I was able to massage $1.40 of extra bucks and the sellers' combined shipping to win three five card lots of '61 for under a quarter apiece.
As you can see there are two copies of #212 Haywood Sullivan, if anyone wants to trade for one.
Most of these cards have some kind of scribbled word or name on the back. But I took this photo to highlight the cartoon. Jim Brosnan's book was the first baseball tell-all and was somewhat controversial; I'm kind of surprised Topps made a cartoon about it.
This set is a little bland, so I see what you mean by lost opportunity. I still like it though!
ReplyDeleteI have to think that the expansion draft had something to do with all the hatless players in the '61 Topps set. There's probably a bunch in the 1962 set, and less in '63 - though someone with more experience in vintage than me would have a better idea.
ReplyDeleteI tried to build this set back in the late 90s. I chose 61 Topps because of its clean and simple design. When I left the hobby in 2002 or so, I sold it. And yes, it included the Mantle and all the cards were in excellent condition, crease free with no more than one soft corner. Argh!!!!
ReplyDeleteCracks me up when I see names written on the back of cards. I never did that myself, but I can see why people did it. Same reason I wrote my names in my books when I was a kid. The only reason I didn't do it to my cards is that they were already collectible by the early 80's when I started collecting.
ReplyDeleteIt may be bland, but it's still a popular set to collect, or at least it is with older collectors.
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