The Post War Cards Newsletter #40
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⚾️ The Backsides of Willie Mays’ Topps Cards
A few weeks ago, Roselle Avenue raised an intriguing question about the 1967 Topps #200 Willie Mays card. He noticed that there appeared to be a missing line below the cartoon, leading to speculation that Topps may have intended to include something in that space but ultimately removed it during production.
However, I think it’s just formatting, as many other 1967 Topps baseball cards have a gap between the cartoon and the text. Listing Mays’ yearly major and minor league batting record doesn’t leave much space!
Plus, in the 60s, Topps couldn't write that much about Mays' career since his statistics took up so much space. Here's the text on the back of a few of Willie Mays' cards:
1962 Topps (no year-by-year stats): One of the most feared hitters in baseball, Willie has been tearing the National League apart for 10 seasons. The Giants’ famed centerfielder won the N.L. batting title in 1954 when he hit .345. Willie took the home run crown with 51 circuit clouts in 1955.
1963 Topps: The cartoon notes that “Willie has an All-Star Game Batting Average of .425.”
1964 Topps: One of baseball’s all-time greats, this exciting ballplayer holds many records. Willie crashed 4 home runs in a game in April 1961.
1965 Topps: One of the game’s all-time greats. Willie holds the N.L. home run record for righthanded hitters. Willie crashed four home runs in one game in ‘61. The outfielder was the N.L. batting champ in ‘54.
1966 Topps: The cartoon reads, “Willie led the majors in homers last year.”
1967 Topps: Truly one of the giants of the game, Willie is now second on the all-time list of Home Run hitters.
1968 Topps: Willie is the all-time right-handed, home run hitter.
1969 Topps: Only Babe Ruth ever hit more big league homers than Willie!
1970 Topps: None
1971 Topps (no year-by-year stats): The only player with more than 300 Homers to top 300 Stolen Bases, Willie holds NL mark with 6,662 Putouts in outfield. Hit 20 or more Homers 17 times to set big league record. Voted Sporting news Player of 1960’s.
1972 Topps: None
1973 Topps: The cartoon reads, “Willie has been a member of 19 consecutive All-Star teams.”
🗞️ In The News
CNBC: Fanatics holds second investor day as the company moves toward IPO
Sports Collectors Daily: No Arrests Yet, But Details of Stolen Items, Damage Costs Emerge in Panini America Burglary
Sports Illustrated: Michael Jordan’s ‘Flu Game’ Shoes Fetch Massive Price at Auction
YNetNews: Bazooka gum brand is up for sale, priced at $700 million
Sports Collectors Digest: CCG merging grading companies to create new card-grading service
Vending Times: Brand Vending intros trading pack machine
Sports Collectors Daily: eBay to Limit Break Listings to Pre-Approved Accounts
PBA: Leaf Trading Cards Announced an Exciting Partnership With PBA
The Globe and Mail: Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card is the Holy Grail of Canadian sports collectibles – and I own one
🧼 The 1978 Topps/Zest Soap Set
Topps partnered on a unique little oddball set in 1978 with Zest Soap. The promotion included five cards that looked nearly the same as regular Topps cards, but had backs that were printed in Spanish and English, included a MLB and MLBPA logo, and were numbered differently.
Two bath bar wrappers would get you a complete set that was shipped wrapped in cello material. For eight wrappers, they threw in a Cesar Cedeno poster.
PSA has graded 50 cards across the set, and back in 2019, someone sold a set of five on eBay for $129.99. It included a PSA 9 (OC) Andujar, A PSA 9 Campaneris, a PSA 9 Figueroa, a PSA 9 Montanez, and a PSA 6 Mota. But most historical individual sales are for less than grading fees. However, they aren’t easy to find since the promotion only lasted a few months.
If you’re interested in more, SABR’s Baseball Cards Research Committee and Sports Collectors Daily have written a bit about the set, too.
⌨️ On The PostWarCards Blog
June 12th, 2023: The Golden Era of Inserts: Exploring the 1991, 1992, and 1993 Donruss Signature Series Cards
June 13th, 2023: Unveiling a 1964 O-Pee-Chee Baseball Box and Exploring its Significance
June 19th, 2023: Exploring Mickey Mantle’s Home Run History Through 14 Iconic Baseball Cards
June 20th, 2023: Inside the Baseball Card Business: Insights from a 1966 Topps Baseball Point of Sale Order Booklet
🏀 1957 Topps Basketball Wax Packs Part 2
Remember that 1957 Topps Basketball 5 Cent Wax Pack graded PSA 7 that sold for $130,744.08 that I highlighted in Newsletter #32? I was going through some of my photo archives, and in August 2020, I grabbed this screen capture of an eBay auction for a GAI 6.5 graded pack with an asking price of $33k (plus $4.95 shipping). Many of us thought the price was a little high then; I guess not!
