Giant Phillies on the Loose

1964 Topps Giant set is supposed to be post-card sized, measuring 3 1/8" x 5 1/4", so that's pretty giant for the time. Not quite modern boxtopper size, but they dwarf the standard size cards. The set is 60 cards, including 7 shortprints of Koufax, Mays, Bill Skowron, Bob Friend, Wayne Causey, Dick Stuart, and Galen Cisco. There were three Phillies in the set, of which I've managed to pick up two so far. The missing Phillie is Jim Bunning, which would be his first card with a Phillies hat.  The others on the team checklist are pictured below, both long time Phillies, Tony Gonzalez and Johnny Callison.

Compared to the regular Topps issue from that year, the entirety of the player is the focus of the image.  There's even enough space to include some background color.  The 1964 Topps set's prominent feature was the team name at the top of the card. The reverse of the card is also unique for the time because of the inclusion of a 2nd photo and the newspaper-style text.  The baseball element in the corner was duplicated in the 1969 Topps set.

I like to collect oversized cards.  At some point, I'll create a real display on the wall with them all.    They're usually striking just because more detail can be included in a larger shot....think baseball-panorama in collectible form.  Happy weekend everyone....