Wednesday, April 23, 2014

My Sloooooow Pursuit of the '64 Topps Giants Set


I've liked this set for a long time. I honestly don't remember seeing it back when it was fresh in 1964 but when I started hitting the hobby shows in the mid-to-late 70s and early 80s I picked up the three of Orioles that are included and then a few others. I thought they were neat cards. The fact that 1964 is right in my wheelhouse when it comes to being a baseball fan certainly adds to it's appeal to me. If you hadn't noticed I am partial to postcard sized collectibles and these of course fall under that umbrella. And finally I dig the fact that they are really inexpensive considering the star power throughout the checklist.


There was a time in my youth when the Phillies were a team I followed. Going to Shea Stadium with my friends and their fathers who were mostly National League fans I guess I felt I needed a team in that league to root for. The Phils' outfield with Johnny Callison, Wes Covington and Tony Gonzalez were fun and Callison remains a favorite to this day.


As for this set collection, I didn't do much about them for a very long time. I bought a lot of about ten a couple of years ago and never even took them out of the sleeves they were shipped in. Then about a year ago I decided to add a few here and there. The only card I can recall paying more than a buck or two for is the Koufax. And at the time I bought it I was buying more for the spot in my Koufax PC than the '64 Giant binder but it was nice to add in any case.


I still lack a few short prints and a few slightly pricier cards as well as some 'commons' but I'll knock off the last dozen or so that I need without too much angst.  If you've never seen the back of one of these take a peek at the Koufax.


Just in case anyone has any of these hanging around, here is my needs list:


  • 11 BOB CLEMENTE
  • 20 CHUCK HINTON
  • 21 ELSTON HOWARD
  • 25 MICKEY MANTLE
  • 28 BOB FRIEND
  • 42 DICK STUART
  • 45 WAYNE CAUSEY
  • 47 GALEN CISCO
  • 49 HANK AARON
  • 51 WILLIE MAYS
  • 60 BILL SKOWRON


5 comments:

  1. I've always liked these cards.. Very underrated set. I have it about half completed. Chipping away slowly. Have the three Red Sox. The Dick Stuart is a short print... I believe the Koufax is a SP also

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    1. I think it's PSA that has a checklist with the 'difficulty factor' (or whatever they call it) for each individual card. That hasn't always corresponded to pricing online though.

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  2. Getting slower as I get older. I read this twice because I found it odd that your Giants set had As, Phillies, Colts and Dodgers. Kept looking for the Giants.

    Ye gads.

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    1. Ha! I have the same issue when searching for these on eBay and such. Put in '1964 Topps Giants' and oodles of Willie Mays cards pop up. I've started searching for individual cards with player name and card #.

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  3. Your wantlist looks amazingly like my wantlist... I've been collecting these since the early 1980's and I've got everything but the SP's. I really need to finish it.. one of these days...

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