Topps Topics: Studies in Uncut Sheet Arrays - 1961 to 1964

 

Presenting part three of an ongoing series examining the use of short prints and double prints by Topps in their vintage era; part one can be found HERE and part two HERE. Today Mark Pekrul is looking at the 1961 to 1964 press sheets for the annual Topps Baseball sets. Mark, who posts as “deweyinthehall” on Net54 Baseball  has dug into these along with a couple of other stalwarts over there and worked to reconstruct most of the print arrays for all Topps Baseball series from roughly 1955 to 1970 (1971 and 1972 are mostly known but will be covered here nonetheless).  This work has essentially been compiled independently of anything I’ve posted previously. Mark maintains a website that covers Topps Baseball sets from 1965 to 1994 in some commendable depth as well,  CLICK HERE to be transported.

As a reminder, from 1957 through 1995, all Topps standard-sized (i.e. 2.5 x 3.5 inches) sets (baseball, football, hockey, basketball and non-sports) were printed on sheets containing two large blocks of cards, 11x12 cards each.  This created groups of 132 cards each, in many cases giving us complete set counts which are very recognizable today – 132, 264, 396, 528, 660 and 792.  Some early hockey and football sets, as well as many non-sports sets, had only 66 cards – exactly half of 132.

Therefore, when we hear the term “uncut sheet” today, we typically think of a roughly 2' x 4'array of 132 cards. However, a full standard-sized uncut sheet was twice as large, and had 2 groupings of 132 cards (as above).  The outside margins were white (even for sets with colored borders, such as 1971 or 1962) and contained various notations including positioning and cutting guides and other errata.  They eventually even featured commodity codes, just like Topps used for cases, boxes and packs.

Down the middle ran a thick white space called the “gutter” – full sheets were sliced down the gutter before each half-sheet, or ‘slit’, was then fed into a cutter. 

Each slit contained 12 rows of 11 cards.   For ease of reference, we can label the rows A-L and columns 1-11. Any card position can then be designated as A-1 (far upper left), L-11 (bottom right), and so forth, as shown below.

             SLIT A                                                                      SLIT B

Let's dive in...(Note-There have updates to the series 5 and 6 arrays for 1961 and 1962, series 5 in 1963 and series 6 in 1964, HERE.)

1961 Topps Baseball – 587 Total Cards in Set

In 1961, things got a little more complex.  For the first time, Topps included checklists as numbered cards in its main set.  The first series checklist was typically double printed with series 1, and every series included a checklist from the next series to whet the kids’ appetites for the next spate of new cards.   Except the last series…but that should be obvious.   Topps also chose 1961 to introduce League Leader and World Series cards.   Why they decided to lessen the overall number of individual player cards from the previous year at the same time as the leagues were expanding is hard to understand.  

While we’re on the subject of checklists, from 1961 through 1966 the checklist cards did not reflect each series correctly.  In these years, the series 1 checklist only listed cards 1-88.  The series 2 checklist listed cards 89-176, series 3 was 177-264, series 4 was 265-352, series 5 was 353-429, series 6 was 430-506, and series 7 was 507 to the last card in the set regardless of the number.  In 1967, Topps began having each checklist accurately reflect those cards in the series the checklist represented.  (NOTE-this has been covered here in the past to some degree, click HERE for a ton of info on how Topps lagged their checklists over they years.)

Why did they do this from 1961-1966?  It probably was another attempt to tease kids to be sure to keep buying packs as the year went on, although with the checklist for the next series already included in the previous one, it is hard to tell what else, exactly, they hoped to achieve.  What this arrangement did create was the belief, occasionally, that each series really did contain only those cards listed on the checklists.  Some folks did have the notion that series 1 only include cards 1-88, for example, and that the series 7 ‘high numbers’ began at card 507 instead of 523 or some other number.  This can even be seen in some price guides over the years. 

Anyway, back to our regular programming. 

Series 1: 1-109, 109 different cards plus an extra 1^st series checklist

Series 2: 110-196, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 2 checklist from series 1

Series 3: 197-283, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 3 checklist from series 2

Series 4: 284-370, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 4 checklist from series 3

Series 5: 371-446, 76 different cards plus a repeated series 5 checklist from series 4

Series 6: 447-522, 76 different cards plus a repeated series 6 checklist from series 5

Series 7: 523-587, 65 different cards plus a repeated series 7 checklist from series 6

The series 7 checklist lists the final card in the set, Warren Spahn All Star, as #587.  However, the card itself was erroneously printed as #589.  This gave rise for a time to the misperception that cards 587 and 588 “do not exist”, meaning they were supposed to be printed but for some reason never were, a la 1958’s Ed Bouchee.  But, 1961 series 7 was never meant to be anything more than a standard 65 card series, plus the repeated checklist. 

For series 1, research has reconstructed a single slit which features a row pattern of A. B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, H, I, J.  This is enough to let us know that 22 of the total 44 series 1 over-printed cards are in rows A and B.  Without knowing the arrangement of the other slit, we cannot be sure of the other 22.

                                             

 

The row A and B over-prints are:

A

Stu Miller (72)

Alex Grammas (64)

Jerry Staley (90)

Moe Thacker (12)

A.L. Pitching Leaders (48)

Al Pilarcik (62)

Harvey Haddix (100)

Jim Grant (18)

Lenny Green (4)

Bob Bruce (83)

Roger Maris (2)

 

B

Ron Piche (61)

Richie Ashburn (88)

Ted Kluszewski (65)

Wynn Hawkins (34)

Whitey Herzog (106)

A.L. ERA Leaders (46)

Ken Johnson (24)

Jim Davenport (55)

Curt Simmons (11)

Brooks Robinson (10)

Ruben Amaro (103)

 

Series 2-4 feature the standard 88-card pattern.

Series 5 and 6 feature seven 11-card rows – a number not previously utilized and one which creates its own problems that can only be resolved by even more differences in print quantities per series.

In a series with seven rows (a prominent feature in later years), each will appear three times, forcing Topps to print three one extra time to achieve the 24 total row requirement.  All 77 cards (including that pesky extra checklist) will appear three times, and 33 will appear four times.  Over the years, the 44 cards printed just three times have come to be referred to as short-prints.  Being something of a curmudgeon, I don’t think this is the correct way to consider them.  I don’t believe any cards can properly be considered to be short-printed when they make up the majority of the cards in the series.  In a 77-card series, I think it’s more accurate to say that the 33 are overprints.  By planting this flag, I know I am running against many years of entrenched hobby thought, but I will stick to my guns.  Every 77-card series features 33 over-prints.

Having said this, we do not have any images, original or reconstructs, of any 1961 series 5 or 6 slits, so we do not know the row arrangements, hence we do not know with any certainty which cards were overprinted (eBay card counts can help get us there, but they are not definitive). 

Series 7 used the typical 66-card pattern.

 

1962 Topps Baseball – 598 Total Cards in Set

Series 1: 1-109, 109 different cards plus an extra 1^st series checklist

Series 2: 110-196, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 2 checklist from series 1

Series 3: 197-283, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 3 checklist from series 2

Series 4: 284-370, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 4 checklist from series 3

Series 5: 371-446, 76 different cards plus a repeated series 5 checklist from series 4

Series 6: 447-522, 76 different cards plus a repeated series 6 checklist from series 5

Series 7: 523-598, 76 different cards plus a repeated series 7 checklist from series 6

Topps expanded its set size slightly in 1962 by adding one more row of 11 cards to series 6.  It seems they had reason to expand the sizes of their sets to an even greater degree, considering that between 1961 and 1962, four expansion clubs were added by MLB, upping the total player count by about 100.  However, a Topps set wouldn’t crack 600 cards until 1967 (and then only by 9 cards) and they wouldn’t break the 700-card barrier until 1970 after four MORE clubs were added in 1969!

One series 1 slit has been reconstructed and its row patter is A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, A, B.  Therefore, while the pattern may be different from the known 1961 series 1 slit, the over-printed rows are the same, A and B. 

22 of the total 44 over-prints from 1962 series 1 are:

A

N.L. Win Leaders (58)

Tony Cloninger (63)

N.L. Batting Leaders (52)

Barney Schultz (89)

A.L. Home Run Leaders (53)

Carl Sawatski (106)

Carroll Hardy (101)

N.L. Strikeout Leaders (60)

Jack Baldschun (46)

N.L. Home Run Leaders (54)

Mike Rourke (87)

 

B

Cuno Barragon (66)

Dick LeMay (71)

Howie Bedell (76)

Phil Ortega (69)

Cliff Cook (41)

Tom Tresh (31)

Boog Powell (99)

Darrell Johnson (16)

Ted Savage (104)

Ray Washburn (19)

Series 2 Checklist (98)

 

Series 2-4 were arranged in the standard 88-card pattern.

Series 5-7 each feature 33 over-printed cards (there – I said it again!), but with one exception we don’t now know any of the row patterns.  The exception is that one series 6 slit has been reconstructed, and shows a pattern of A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, F, G.  Even here, without knowing what the other slit looks like we cannot say for sure which cards were over-printed, other than to assume they aren’t likely to be from rows D or E, which only appear twice on the known slit. 

 

1963 Topps Baseball – 576 Total Cards in Set

 Series 1: 1-109, 109 different cards plus an extra 1^st series checklist

Series 2: 110-196, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 2 checklist from series 1

Series 3: 197-283, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 3 checklist from series 2

Series 4: 284-370, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 4 checklist from series 3

Series 5: 371-446, 76 different cards plus a repeated series 5 checklist from series 4

Series 6: 447-511, 65 different cards plus a repeated series 6 checklist from series 5

Series 7: 512-576, 65 different cards plus a repeated series 7 checklist from series 6

For 1963, we have a full image of one series 1 slit and a partial image of the other:

First of all, 1963 sheets and slits can make your eyes hurt because of the way the cards are flipped this way and that – a by product of the design used that year with a single colored bar at the bottom of card front – except for the checklists and 4-player rookie cards(!).

Nevertheless, from these images we know that the 44 over-printed cards from series 1 are:

A

Series 1 Checklist (79)

Ray Moore (26)

Tony Gonzalez (32)

Jim Umbricht (99)

Joe Gibbin (101)

George Thomas (98)

Dal Maxvill (49)

A.L. Home Run Leaders (4)

Ron Hansen (88)

Ed Lopat (23)

Phillies Team Card (13)

 

B

Curt Simmons (22)

Ryne Duren (17)

Bob Bruce (24)

Jim Gilliam (80)

Terry Fox (44)

Rookie Stars (29)

Pete Burnside (19)

Charley Maxwell (86)

Reds Team Card (63)

Jim O’Toole (50)

Joe Cunningham (100)

 

I

Birdie Tebbetts (48)

Series 1 Checklist (79)

Angels Team Card (39)

Ken Hubbs (15)

Lou Clinton (96)

Rookie Stars (54)

Veteran Masters (43)

Charlie Lau (41)

Elston Howard (60)

Bob Veale (87)

Cal Koonce (31)

J

Stan Williams (42)

Chuck Essegian (103)

A.L. ERA Leaders (6)

Bobby Bragan (73)

Bob Schmidt (94)

Bob Bolin (106)

Bill Virdon (55)

Bo Belinsky (33)

Tommie Aaron (46)

Jim Hickman (107)

Series 2 Checklist (102)

 

Series 2-4 were formatted in the typical 88-card pattern.  

For series 5, we have been able to reconstruct one of the slits.  The row pattern presented is A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, A, B, C, D.  We can speculate with some assurance that rows E and F were not over-printed, but without the other slit we do not know for sure.

                                              

Series 6 and 7 featured the standard 66-card pattern.

1964 Topps Baseball – 587 Total Cards in Set

Series 1: 1-109, 109 different cards plus an extra 1^st series checklist

Series 2: 110-196, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 2 checklist from series 1

Series 3: 197-283, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 3 checklist from series 2

Series 4: 284-370, 87 different cards plus a repeated series 4 checklist from series 3

Series 5: 371-446, 76 different cards plus a repeated series 5 checklist from series 4

Series 6: 447-522, 76 different cards plus a repeated series 6 checklist from series 5

Series 7: 523-587, 65 different cards plus a repeated series 7 checklist from series 6

For series 1, we actually have an image of a full sheet – the oldest known such image:

This allows us to know the row patterns on each slit:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, A, B

Slit B: C, D, H, I, J, A, B, C, D, E, F, G

And to therefore identify with certainty the 44 cards in rows A, B, C and D which were overprinted:

A

Dave Nicholson (31)

Willie Davis (68)

Jim Wynn (38)

Hank Aguirre (39)

Billy O’Dell (18)

George Altman (95)

Felipe Alou (65)

Chuck Hinton (52)

Woody Held (105)

Moe Drabowsky (42)

Milt Pappas (45)

 

B

Willie Kirkland (17)

Earl Battey (90)

Carl Sawatski (24)

Jim Fregosi (97)

Mets Team Card (27)

Jerry Adair (22)

Elston Howard (100)

Giants Rookie Stars (47)

Ron Perranoski (30)

Gus Triandos (83)

Art Mahaffey (104)

 

C

Leo Cardenas (72)

Mickey Mantle (50)

Jim Davenport (82)

Boog Powell (89)

Angel Backstops (61)

N.L. Strikeout Leaders (5)

N.L. RBI Leaders (11)

John Boozer (16)

Steve Ridzik (92)

Jim Perry (34)

Friendly Foes (41)

 

D

Reds Rookie Stars (33)

Gino Cimoli (26)

Dodgers Rookie Stars (14)

Eddie Fisher (66)

Cardinals Team Card (87)

Sam Mele (54)

Rusty Staub (109)

Carl Willey (84)

White Sox Rookie Stars (107)

Bob Friend (20)

Series 1 Checklist (76)

  

Series 2-4 were arranged in the typical 88-card pattern. 

For the 77-card series 5, we have a composite image (made up of two partials) of what appears to be slit B.  An examination of card counts at eBay has allowed us to be all but certain that the 33 cards over-printed by 33% are:

A

Ron Santo (375)

Jim Umbricht (389)

Chuck Cottier (397)

Dennis Bennett (396)

Ken McBride (405)

Sam McDowell (391)

George Alusik (431)

Bob Miller (394)

Johnny Keane (413)

Bill Skowron (445)

Jim Pagliaroni (392)

 

B

Ed Bailey (437)

Dave Morehead (376)

Don Nottebart (434)

Bob Duliba (441)

Jackie Brandt (399)

Jim Maloney (420)

Norm Cash (425)

Tony Martinez (404)

Camilo Carreon (421)

Charlie Neal (436)

Orioles Rookie Stars (418)

 

E

Juan Pizarro (430)

Reds Team Card (403)

Tony Kubek (415)

Ken Harrelson (419)

Bob Bolin (374)

Jack Fisher (422)

Lee Maye (416)

Curt Simmons (385)

Bob Skinner (377)

Casey Teaches (393)

Wes Stock (382)

 

Both series 6 slits have been reconstructed.  The identified row patterns are slit A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E and slit B: D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A.  Hence, the over-printed cards are:

A

Frank Baumann (452)

White Sox Team Card (496)

Ralph Terry (458)

Ted Bowsfield (447)

Fred Valentine (453)

Jesse Gonder (457)

Tommie Aaron (454)

Joeff Long (497)

Bob Purkey (480)

Joe Amalfitano (451)

Lou Jackson (511)

 

D

Angels Rookie Stars (502)

Bob Aspromonte (467)

Red Sox Rookie Stars (459)

Cookie Rojas (448)

Don Lee (493)

Jim Bouton (470)

Diego Segui (508)

Tom Haller (485)

Bob Gibson (460)

Yankees Rookie Stars (488)

Twins Rookie Stars (516)

 

E

Cardinals Rookie Stars (479)

Bobby Bragan (506)

Claude Raymond (504)

Al Jackson (494)

Cubs Rookie Stars (469)

Deron Johnson (449)

Indians Rookie Stars (499)

Dick Howser (478)

Charlie Smith (519)

John Edwards (507)

Dodgers Rookie Stars (456)

 

Series 7 is arranged in the typical 66-card pattern.

---

Next time out Mark will be discussing arrays from 1965-1969, which will get into the super popular high numbers from 1966 and 1967.

At Present

I wrote a fairly extensive piece about four years ago covering the 1959-63 Topps Baseball Presentation Sets, which have long been rare beasts. Friend o'the Archive Don Johnson showed off some of his 1963 Presentation cards recently to a small circle of friends and I was lucky enough to get a viewing and some scans. Some other details have now come to light that are interesting and also add a bit to to the mystery of how these were produced.

The cards from these special sets have been described as being cut with a beveled edge and some are known to be "slightly" undersized. Well take a look at this John Goryl presentation card, pulled directly from one of the boxes:

Compare that to borders on this regular issue card:

Both of those are factory cuts!  I'll get deeper into the production process in a minute but that gives a new meaning to "short cut" doesn't it?  Here's the presentation back for Goryl:

And the regular issue:

Yikes!  But wait, it gets worse.  Here's the Yogi Berra card from Don's presentation set:

Yeah, that's totally off but until you turn it over, you may not realize by just how much:

Kind of ruins the whole extra gloss and bright colors bonus that comes with these! Now it's not all like that, many cards in these presentation sets measure up and look great-the boxes can yield PSA 8's and 9's.

Heritage Auctions just listed some presentation set cards and also featured the mailing box from the 1963 set:

As it turns out, it wasn't mailed to that Phillies executive until March 8, 1964:

Seeing this, I went back to the mailer I covered in my post from five years ago that sent a 1963 presentation set to a Yankees executive:

Same date!  This all begs a few questions:

• Did Topps save up sheets from each series then cut them up well into the next year's production cycle?
• Did Topps have new sheets printed up to take care of the presentation sets?
• Did some executives write in after the fact to request a set?
• Who cut these things? 

Better gloss seems like it's just a matter of applying a shinier varnish, while the more vivid colors can be attributed to a fresh stock of inks or a slightly more intense mix on them. But the cuts can be wild!

Before I sign off, check out the inside peek at the 1961 mailer:

The date can't be found on this, nor the recipient unfortunately but it illustrates how the cards were packaged (with exposed edges in the smaller boxes), and how tight a fit the outside mailer offered.

So once again, some questions on a Topps obscurity have been answered, which in turn have created new ones.  Just another day at the office at the main Topps Archives Research Complex and Vault!

A Series Of Fortunate Events

We're half a day early as I screwed up my scheduling of posts!

There's a really good thread going on over at Net54baseball.com about the 1963 Topps Baseball set and how the series stack up SP and DP-wise.  I won't immediately ruin for you, here's the linky dink.

While we are on the subject, here is a 4th series half sheet from '63, a thing of beauty:

It's a great set to study as the color scheme of the cards made it necessary to invert half of them to facilitate printing; the inset circles also are symbiotically tied to the main color at the bottom of the card as well.  This, coupled with the Topps practice of pushing the next series checklist onto the current sheets made for an interesting observation or five by the Original Poster, one Kevvyg1026.

Herewith the executive summary:

• The idea that the last (7th)  series started at #523 is incorrect

• The idea that there are short prints in the last series is also incorrect.

• The idea that short prints could occur in anything other than multiples off 11  is wrong (we already knew this here at the blog)

• For whatever reason, there is one subset of 11 cards that were "extra prints" in the 5th series. Other than the 1st series, which traditionally held 110 cards (109 plus an extra checklist) in this era, the rest of the series work out to either three impressions of each card over a full 264 card sheet (series of 87+1 extra checklist=88) or four (series of 65 + extra checklist=66) except for the 5th which has 77 (76+1) cards.  For some reason a row was double-printed in this series. Those 60's Topps 1st series runs usually had 22 extra card per half sheet, but the quantities were so high you can't tell the SP's from the DP's.

Here's the likely series breakdown (you would need the sheets to be 100% confident), kudos to Kevvyg1026 for figuring all of this out:

Series 1: 1-109 (110 cards incl. extra checklist)
Series 2: 110-196 (88 cards, ditto)
Series 3: 197-283 (88 cards, ditto)
Series 4: 284-370 (88 cards ditto)
Series 5: 371-446 (77 cards, ditto)
Series 6: 447-511 (66 cards, ditto)
Series 7: 512-576 (66 cards, ditto)

These won't actually match the series configurations on the printed checklists by the way:

Series 1: 1-88
Series 2: 89-176
Series 3: 177-264
Series 4: 265-352
Series 5: 353-429
Series 6: 430-506
Series 7: 507-576

It's All In The Presentation

After digesting Bowman in early 1956, Topps would ride the cresting age curve of baby boomers by cutting back on ancillary sets such as 1955's Double Header and 56's Baseball Buttons--the latter truncated as a result of said purchase--and concentrating on cranking out their regular baseball and football issues.  Simple card designs were the norm in the years following as the marketplace, devoid of any major competitors for a handful of years, was reset by Topps.

1959 though brought resistance from Fleer, who were able to snag an exclusive contract with Ted Williams and also brought out a big seller with a Three Stooges set. Topps, as usual, responded once it became clear measures had to be taken.  They added some (gorgeous) baseball and football cards to the back of their Bazooka party boxes and rapidly cranked up their PR and marketing apparatus.  The end result of the latter was the "Elect Your Favorite Rookie" campaign and the inaugural Rookie Banquet, held after the end of the baseball season.

Topps would really start bulking up their response to Fleer in 1960 and continue with a growing onslaught of extra sets and bonus inserts through 1963 before they prevailed against their Philly based baseball card issuing competitor in court and downshifted a bit in '65. During this period, yet another campaign was also waged, with Fleer offering ballplayers extra funds if they provided a copy of their Topps contract. Fleer was signing up players at a furious clip, although not under as many exclusives as Topps, at least at the major league level. Topps began firing back with their own campaign, this one primarily at more of an executive level.

The annual Rookie Banquets were one likely part of this campaign; I've written extensively about them and it's worth clicking over via the labels at right if you want to bone up. The other thing I think they did was start sending out Presentation Sets of their baseball cards every year. These went to various team executives, key ball players and other such luminaries.

Sy Berger is on record saying he gave presentation sets to Willie Mays and it would be very interesting to see what players actually got these from Topps.  Was it just superstars?  Of interest in particular in this regard, is Joe Adcock receiving a set in 1963, which was much later consigned to auction. Adcock, no longer a major name in the sport, was famously part of the 1963 Fleer set and is semi-short printed therein (replaced by a checklist, or vice-versa).  He is also in the second series of Topps that year. Coincidence?

Not very well known today, these sets were issued in five boxes annually, each with roughly 114-120 apiece inside and designated a "Limited Edition" by Topps.  Here's the breakdown by year of set lengths and how they divide out:

1959: 572 cards with 114.4 per box average
1960: 572 cards with 114.4 per box average
1961: 587 cards with 117.4 per box average
1962: 598 cards with 119.6 per box average
1963: 576 cards with 117.4 per box average

The boxed sets were all issued at once, like so:

(Mile High Auctions)

It's a little hard to see but each box states "XXXXX Collectors Set 1959" with "XXXXX" being First, Second, Third, Fourth or Fifth as filled.  Here's a better shot, with one example from each year through 1962:

(Robert Edward Auctions)

To state the obvious:

1959 Red

1960 Black

1961 Green

1962 Blue

1963 Brown

Here is the '63, with a couple of side views thrown in:

(Robert Edward Auctions)

These have never been plentiful and a few sets (very few) were auctioned here and there in the 90's but most all have been broken up and only the empty boxes pop up now, and infrequently at that.  The reason these have all been pillaged is that the cards within are super high quality in general, although some pinching of the inner and outer-most cards has been noted by (lucky) prior owners.

Friend o'the Archive Don Johnson, who has seen several cards liberated from the 1962 boxes and owns a '63 presentation set, describes the presentation cards as "stunning, jawdropping......you name the adjective." He goes on to say they are "a little smaller" (more on this in a second) but also "outrageously glossy and colorful".

The smaller dimensions seem to be the result of a different cutting method being used when compared to how the "regular" cards were sliced. Anthony Nex, yet another Friend o'the Archive, describes the cuts as a "bevel" and I have seen a couple of references to this phenomenon over the years.  The end result is some of these get rejected by PSA when submitted for grading as not meeting minimum size requirements.

I have also heard the gloss referred to as being similar to the gloss found on the 1980's Topps insert "All Star" and "Rookie" sets, which would make it very noticeable indeed .

A couple of auctions have featured mailing cartons that give a glimpse as to who might have received these treasures.  Here is a 1963 set with its Topps labeled mailer, slightly blurred address-wise by Heritage Auctions:

Here is a better view of the label:

Hamey, as almost none of us will recall, served as the Yankees General Manager from 1961-63, succeeding George Weiss.

Here's another 1963 set addressed to Clarence Campbell, the President of the National Hockey League from 1946-77:

(All Sports Auctions)

O-Pee-Chee was issuing Hockey cards in Canada at this time, using Topps supplied materials, so maybe this wasn't as big a stretch as it seems. Friends in high places.....have influence in many corners. And to answer an obvious question, I am unaware of presentation sets for any other sports.

Keith Olbermann advises he recalls the son of Irv Kaze bringing Presentation Sets from 1961-63 to work one day in the 80's.  The elder Kaze was the Angels Director of PR in those years and those sets ended up with his son. A lot of these sets probably went directly to the kiddies in the house when dad got home from work.

Some slabs from PSA and SGC identify the entombed card as being from a presentation set. Here's a 1961 Bob Friend.  You can see that despite the many superlatives one could assign to these, at least one derogatory adjective, namely "snowy", can also apply!

There's clearly a lot more to learn about these sets and the ways they were manufactured and distributed. If you know anything, drop me a line.