As in the past two years, when the Heritage brand comes out, I'm going to attempt (with that being the operative word) to collect the corresponding vintage Phillies team set from the year that the Heritage brand is replicating. So far this year, I'm having a devil of a time locating affordable 1963 Topps Phillies cards. For some reason, 1961 and 1962 cards were comparatively easier to find. Any suggestions for locating these wayward cards of yesteryear on the intertubes besides the world's biggest marketplace?
These cards I purchased at a show late last year, and even there, 1963 was in much less quantity compared to other years around that time period (or maybe it was the Phillies cards only, memory is fuzzy like that).
With what little I have, I've decided to present the pieces of one of the most improved teams from year to year ever (because 1961 was that bad),in which the Phillies managed to improve by 34 games (probably due to the addition of the two expansion teams) and still only finish in 7th place, at least they beat the expansion teams....
Bobby Wine: Years on the Phillies: 1960-1968. Notable fact: Never had a greater than .600 OPS for any season of his career.
Bob Oldis: Years on the Phillies: 1962-1963. Notable Fact: Had one career home run and had higher OBP than SLG for his career.
Dallas Green: Years on Phillies: 1960-1964, 1967... Notable Fact: Member of the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.
Art Mahaffey: Years on Phillies: 1960-1965 Notable Fact: Was selected as an all-star in 1961 despite finishing with 11-19 record.
Clay Dalrymple Years on Phillies: 1960-1968...Notable Fact: Threw out 48.8% of runners trying to steal for his career and led the league with 8 sacrifice flies in 1964. This is the last card until 1969 that shows an image of him doing a catcher's squat.
That is all I was able to rustle up so far. I think I like them better than 2012 Heritage, but then again, Heritage is not a brand I normally collect. Anything with a color swap variation that is random and requires a visual checklist to determine if you have one is not something I will actively seek out in large quantities.
Here's to the 1963 Phillies....if only I can find more of you to continue my collecting trend.
1 comment:
I have about 60 cards in the 1963 set, with only one of them being a duplicate. That happens to be Tony Gonzalez. If you need him, it's yours. (send me an email on my profile page)
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