Topps Topics: Studies in Uncut Sheet Arrays - The Update

 

Tday we recap and update Mark Pekrul's six part series covering the Topps vintage uncut sheet arrays that examined the use of short prints and double prints by Topps in their vintage era. Part one can be found HERE, part two HERE, part three HERE, part four HERE, part five HERE, and part six HERE. This work was 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 some of the analysis relied upon recreations of sheets from various partial snippets and miscuts of varying degree, a few years are really works in progress. As such, some updating is necessary. I've cross-post links and updates for the affected years in the prior posts accordingly.

FROM 1961-1964:

Entries on 1961 series 5 and 6 completely updated: 

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 later years, Topps would develop a fairly standard way in which to format 77-card series, but initially things were a little crazy.

 We are fortunate to have images of both 1961 series 5 slits:

           

These establish the following row patterns:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, G

Slit B: E, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D

Cards in rows E and G are printed in ¾ the amount of cards in rows A, B, C and D.  These short-prints are:

E:

Hank Aaron (415)

Jack Chesbro Baseball Thrills (407)

Larry Sherry (412)

Braves Team Photo (463) [error – card number should be 426]

Dick Bertell (441)

Cliff Cook (399)

Eddie Yost (413)

Lou Gehrig Baseball Thrills (405)

Vern Law (400)

Bob Hendley (372)

Ralph Terry (389)

 

G:

Ken Boyer (375)

Dick Howser (416)

Ken Walters (394)

Walter Johnson Baseball Thrills (409)

Yogi Berra (425)

Bob Aspromonte (396)

Tom Borland (419)

Babe Ruth Baseball Thrills (401)

Mike Roarke (376)

Dick Ellsworth (427)

Frisco First Liners (383)

 

Only appearing two times, cards in row F are short-printed by ½ compared to cards from A, B, C and D:

F:

Ray Barker (428)

Charlie Neal (423)

Christy Mathewson Baseball Thrills (408)

Ty Cline (421)

Bill Mazeroski (430)

Juan Marichal (417)

5^th Series Checklist (361)

Bill Skowron (371)

Bob “Hawk” Taylor (446)

Don Larsen Baseball Thrills (402)

Jim Maloney (436)

 Reconstructions of each series 6 slit demonstrates the exact same row patterns as with series 5, and the exact same number and variety of short-prints. 

Those cards printed in ¾ the amount of the majority are:

E:

Jim Pagliaroni (519)

Ernie Banks MVP (485)

Harvey Kuenn (500)

Andy Carey (518)

Red Schoendienst (505)

Elston Howard (495)

Indians Team Card (467)

Hank Aaron MVP (484)

Jack Fisher (463)

Dick Farrell (522)

Johnny James (457)

 

G:

Phil Rizzuto MVP (471)

Joe Morgan (511)

Jim Bunning (490)

Ken MacKenzie (496)

Smoky Burgess (461)

Gil Hodges (460)

Willie Mays MVP (482)

Art Ditmar (510)

Jim Lemon (450)

Willie Tasby (458)

John DeMerit (501)

 

As in the 5^th series, the cards in row F appear at 50% the rate of the majority:

F:

Joe Cunningham (520)

Jackie Brandt (515)

Tom Cheney (494)

Series 7 Checklist (516)

Yogi Berra MVP (472)

Roy McMillan (465)

Ray Herbert (498)

Leroy Thomas (464)

Bob Will (512)

Walt Dropo (489)

Roy Campanella MVP (480)

  

Entries on 1962 series 5 and 6 updated:

Series 5-7 each contain 77 cards, but we don’t have enough information to know whether they continue the odd formatting from 1961 or not.   One slit from series 6 has been reconstructed, which displays the following row pattern:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, F, G

This is different from 1961 but doesn’t offer enough information to make any firm assessment of what the other slit looked like or what cards may have been over- or short-printed.   

 

Entry on 1963 series 5 update:

For series 5, we have been able to reconstruct one of the slits.  77-card series were still apparently flummoxing Topps because this slit shows a row pattern of:

A, B, C, A, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, A

That’s 4 times for row A, 2 each for rows B and C, and only one time each for D, E, F and G.  This sets up no end of short- and over-printing possibilities, but until the appearance of the other slit can be determined, we don’t yet have enough to go on. 

 

  

1964 series 5 introduction update:

For the 77-card series 5, we have a composite image (made up of two partials) of one of the slits.  It presents a much more orderly arrangement than previous 77-card slit layouts:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E

An examination of card counts at eBay has allowed us to be all but certain that 33 cards (three rows) were over-printed by 33%:

1964 series 6 introduction update:

Both series 6 slits have been reconstructed.  The identified row patterns are:

A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E

B: D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A

This creates a scenario in which three rows are over-printed (four times each) compared to the other four (three times each).  Though specific row arrangements occasionally vary, this pattern of 4x/3x with three rows over-printed continues in subsequent Topps 77-card series, and all but certainly applies to series 5 of this 1964 set. 

1967 Series 6 introduction update:

Recently, an image of a full series 6 sheet appeared on eBay.  This confirms the following row pattern:

Slit A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E

Slit B: C, D, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A

Cards in rows A, C and D were over-printed:

 

From the 1969 series 4 introduction update:

For the first time since 1961 (perhaps 1962 and/or 1963 as well), a Topps series contains short-printed cards.  Rows D, E and I appear only twice each across a full sheet, while the other rows make 3 appearances each.  D, E and I are therefore short-prints.

-------------

There could be more updates down the road.  Stay tuned!

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.

A Red Letter Year

An accumulation of promotional materials here at the Topps Archives Research Complex concerning the 1964 Topps Baseball offerings has finally hit criticality and, after a comprehensive review, I can confirm it's a definite feast for the eyes.

1964 was the year Shea Stadium opened in Queens along with the World's Fair next door, and MLB held the All-Star Game in the borough on July 7th. The Mid-Summer Classic was hosted by the Mets in their brand spanking new ballpark amid all this wonderful tumult, as the National League squad won the star-studded exhibition. Topps clearly decided to take advantage and issued five colorful sets in '64, some of which specifically celebrated the event taking place practically (16 miles away) in their backyard.

The regular Baseball set is well known of course, and sported a design intended to show off the player photos unencumbered by graphics:

That popping out of Stallard's cap from the photo into the frame of the card was a feature of the set and most player cards exhibit this flourish. Now this is all well trod territory but I'm betting most collectors have not seen the 1964 gift box Topps came up with. I'm guessing this was offered after the season had concluded to burn off extra stock:

That image was provided by Friend o'the Archive Tom Daley and it's also appeared over at Sports Collectors Daily, which has some additional details, including a look at the sell sheet, which you should click over to see. However, there is another interesting box from 1964, one that displays Stan Musial, who had retired after the 1963 season, as a possible coin (and inferred card) subject on the front panel:

Musial publicly announced he was retiring in August of 1963, so his use here by Topps seems to have been a deliberate ploy to get the kids buying up packs to find him. It was an early series box (which we will see evidence of below) and the design was eventually changed:

(Courtesy Rockhurst Auctions)

The Baseball Coins were the sole insert for the year and we'll get to them in a New York minute. First though, I just want to highlight the special cello packs Topps issued in '64:

(Courtesy Robert Edward Auctions)

That's a pretty good deal for a dime I'd say; love the red and see-through readability! Here's a peek at two of the coins (not the ones in this pack):

The Baseball Coins look to me like they were issued in three waves. There were 120 early subjects, likely split into smaller coin batches that may have been "overlaid" with each other at various points. Here's an old auction ad from Leland's showing a full sheet, with description:

Some sources indicate the coins were found only in third, fourth and fifth series packs but this Salesman's Sample makes me believe it was really from the get-go:

Mantle, of course, was a first series card and the back of this sample really makes it clear the coins were there along with the cards; now! in fact:

Note the Musial coin image on that front panel!

Later in the season, Topps issued a "high number" series of 44 "All Stars", which were part of their multi-pronged All Star attack.  These had a special design, with blue backgrounds for the AL, red for the NL:

Yes, Lumpe was indeed an All Star that season...

...but many of the players in the All-Star subset were not.  Instead, Topps was going with players who had once or still were, All Stars. There's 44 players in the All Star subset, but 47 subjects in the master series as Wayne Causey was shown on the reverse of his coin as both an NL and AL player with the Athletics, and Chuck Hinton also managed the same trick, albeit with the Senators.  And of course, Mickey Mantle appears as a switch hitter on two different AS coins. Unlike Causey and Hinton though, the Mick has two distinct poses. I make that a 165 coin base set then, plus two variations but your mileage may vary. 

Hinton was a 1964 All Star but Wayne Causey never played on a major league All Star team. He was quite solid in 1963 and in '64 but I can't find any kind of information indicating he was selected and then could not participate; in fact he played in 157 games in '64 so I doubt he was injured and needed to pull out of the game. Maybe Topps believed he would be the representative for the Athletics, but instead that honor went to Rocky Colavito, who was having a really good season, so it's a definite headscratcher.

At least Topps was able to predict the NL starting pitcher for this sell sheet, which also features the phantom Musial:

We now turn to the Baseball Stand-Up set. This 77 subject green and yellow themed issue was not marketed as an All Star set but was essentially one in spirit.  The wrapper was a colorful beacon, in one and five cent form.  Here's the penny version: 

The sell sheet for this standalone set was pretty instructional, with this one straight from Woody Gelman's files:

Here's an uncut sheet of the set, which some notorious short prints. Coupled with the self-destructive nature of these cards, those SP's, which I covered in 2013 (!) can be tough indeed:

(Courtesy Robert Edward Auctions)

One set that did give an actual nod to the All Star theme was the one we refer to today as Giants or sometimes Giant Size All Star cards. The retail wax box was a thing of beauty:

(Courtesy SABR Baseball Cards blog)

By the way, that was not how Ford's card appeared in the set:

Whitey's does not, but some of the card backs reference events from the 1964 All Star Game itself. Check out the narrative on Johnny Callison's:

Talk about hot off the presses!  However, that attempt to harness post game energy flopped big time, and Topps had a gazillion leftovers. Reports from L.A. fans of the Sixties indicate they were sold at Dodger Stadium in made up packs of 25 for years and a well-known dealer purchased an immense lot of them in the Seventies.  You can find nice cards today with ease but don't be deterred by the numbers, it's one of the best looking things Topps ever put out.

A Baseball Photo Tatoo release also peppered the candy counters of the day and it's a little hard to find examples in nice shape. 

Here is the immortal Don Lock:

There were also twenty team logos mixed in:

I should probably revisit this set as it has a fair number of variations and nuances. For another day then but before we go, there's three more sets to deal with, one of which was 1964-adjacent and one of which was more traditional.  In reverse order, the traditional in the form of Bazooka's annual release:

Coupled with its amazin' box insert, long sheets of Bazooka Baseball Stamps:

These were advertised on the end flaps of the box, with ten different sheets available:

As if that wasn't enough, Topps also supplied fifty images for the 1964 Wheaties Baseball Stamps:

1964 was very much the year of Baseball and Beatles (with the mop tops not yet covered here in any kind of depth) for Topps.  Both were concentrated efforts that really helped fill the ol' coffers!

Cut Up

I talk a lot about uncut sheets here but never really show any. That will change today, with a short object lesson.

My fascination with uncut sheets began about 25 years ago when I reconstructed, using a grainy b&w photo from one of the numerous hobby papers at the time and my trusty Sport Americana Team Checklist, a 1967 Topps high number sheet, which had several anomalies when compared to the known list of short prints. A little while later it dawned on me that Topps had printed two sheets of high numbers, each different than the other.

What I did not realize at the time was that what I thought was a full uncut sheet of 132 (12 rows of 11 cards each) was actually a half sheet. A full Topps press sheet is actually 264 cards, divided into two halves.

Here is a fairly standard looking 132 card half sheet, from the first series in 1971:



It looks a little weird due to the black borders. Now here is a full 264 card press sheet from 1964 (sorry about the duct tape), another first series beauty:



For some reason, more uncut sheets seem to survive from the first series of Topps baseball cards. I don't know why that is. You can see how the two halves would be separated into 132 card sheets. Also note the left and right sides, while containing the same cards, have different arrays. Topps would use different orders for the rows on each side. When you have a 66, 88 or 132 card series, then the different structure of each sheet would not matter (allowing for the next series checklist card "preview" usually printed with the prior series and likely the reason for so many checklist variations over the years).

However, when you had a 110 card series, you would get into "overprints", which are usually from first series sheets. An overprint is really a triple print in such circumstances. Where you had 55 and 77 card series the fun would begin as the opposite effect would take place and yield short prints.

A lot of this had to do with how Topps packaged their cards and I still do not know why those 1967 high numbers have such crazy quilt short prints, although I do have a theory which will be expanded upon here real soon.

I am fairly certain the 264 card full press sheets began in 1957, along with standard sizing. Working our way back, in 1955 and '56 a 220 card full sheet most likely was printed. In 1953 & '54 either two 100 card half sheets or 200 card full sheets were printed, I can't quite tell.(Update: 6/28/23-1954 used a 110/220 array as it turns out).  In those four oversized years, the effect was the same no matter what, with planned overprints and also some intentional gaps in numbering on the sheets. The 54's have crazy holes that lead me to believe they only came out in two series. There is more on that story here.

1952 probably just had similar 100 card half sheets that almost certainly were printed in 10 x 10 format but the largest known uncut 52's are in 25 card quadrants, arrayed 5 x 5. A full uncut 1952 sheet would be quite the find!

As is stands, full 264 card uncut sheets are very difficult to find in the wild. I also have a theory many uncut baseball sheets that exist in the hobby (through 1965, when the last of Topps baseball cards were printed in Brooklyn) were either top and bottom protectors for pallets of uncut sheets where the top or bottom few sheets would bear the brunt of the metal or twine bands holding the stacks in place as they were shifted around. The sheets used for such purposes may have been rejected from earlier printings for whatever reason. These protective sheets were then discarded into the legendary Topps dumpsters, where friendly sanitation and production department workers salvaged them.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.