McMurray: Looking back at 1960s Topps World Series cards
From SABR member John McMurray at Sports Collectors Digest on October 23, 2014:
The most enduring innovation in baseball card collecting during the 1960s was the introduction of World Series cards. Appearing for the first time in the 1960 Topps set, these cards were included in every Topps regular-issue set during the decade, other than in 1966.
World Series cards served as a complement to the popular multi-player cards and the array of hard-to-find high-numbers, which helped to characterize the decade in collecting.
It is the action photos on World Series cards which collectors remember most. World Series cards typically offered the only shots of game action collectors would find on Topps cards during the entire decade. And, in many cases, like the image of Pittsburgh’s celebration following Bill Mazeroski’s home run to win Game 7 of the 1960 World Series (1961 Topps #312) or of Carl Yastrzemski slugging a homer during Game 2 of the 1967 World Series (1968 Topps #152), they are some of the most recognizable baseball cards of that era.
The cards themselves are of varying quality. Images on World Series cards from 1960-62 often have a somewhat blurry aspect, while scenes on these cards became sharper in 1963.
Read the full article here: http://www.sportscollectorsdigest.com/featured/fall-classics-topps-1960s-world-series-cards
Originally published: October 23, 2014. Last Updated: October 23, 2014.