The Quest for the 1960 Topps Set, Part XXVII
August 5th, 2011 by slangon
This is the last batch of non-Top 5 cards from my big June Haul. I promise. Aside from all the Mets goodies I got, I was also able to cross off a bunch of cards from my 1960 Topps checklist. Aside from Don and Roberto, I mean. Here they is.
#16 Pete Runnells
With the addition of Pete here (or should I say Jim) the first 3 pages of my 1960 Topps binder are filled and in order. Thats a pretty satisfying feeling. I keep meaning to pick up a box of pages so I can set that binder up properly with 64 pages and rejigger the cards so theres a card where there should be and a blank pocket where there should be. Or not. Actually, in hindsight, it would’ve been pretty cool if I just kept putting the cards into pages in the order that I got them, but unfortunately I’ve already reordered the cards a few times in the binder. It would’ve been fun to look through it when I finally kill this bee-atch off. I’d imagine the last page or 2 would be filled with the likes of Mantle and Mays and Aaron and Koufax and All-Star cards and the Red Sox team card.
#38 Jerry Casale
I’m always slightly intrigued when I see a baseball card where the guy featured just looks like he couldn’t give a good goddamn that he’s being photographed for a baseball card. Maybe it’s just the 6 year old kid in me, but I’d imagine that if I were being photographed for a baseball card you’d need an extra wide angle lens just to fit in the shit eating grin that would be on my face. Interesting fact about Jerry: He owns a restaurant in New York called Pino’s. His business card is a copy of his 1959 Topps card. I guess he was excited to be on a baseball card after all.
#56 Steve Korcheck
Maybe it’s because I’m actually trying to collect the 1960 set and thus have many more 1960 cards than any other vintage set, but I swear there’s more nerds in this set than any other.
#458 White Sox Coaches
These coaches cards are some of my favorites in the set. I kind of wish Topps would’ve done them more. Quick round of trivia. Johnny Cooney once umpired a game between the Dodgers and the Braves. When Don Gutteridge passed away in 2008, he was the last surviving member of the Gas House Gang. Tony Cuccinello was the final out of the very first All-Star game in 1933. Ray Berres was 7 months shy of 100 years old when he dies in 2007.
#463 Dodgers Coaches
With these two coaches cards, I’m down to only needing 5 more. Another quick round of trivia. Bobby Bragan was one of a handful of Dodgers who refused to play with Jackie Robinson when he was called up. He later got to know Jack and became friends with him. In 1946, Pete Reiser stole home 7 times. Supposedly, when Sandy Koufax was still young and wild, Joe Becker would have him throw bullpens behind the barracks at Dodgertown so he wouldn’t embarrass himself or hurt his teammates. Greg Mulleavy’s son, also named Greg, was an actor who appeared in The Rockford Files, Bonanza and Hawaii Five-O.
#501 Bob Schmidt
Bob Schmidt and Hank Sauer were the first 2 players in baseball history to ever hit back to back pinch hit home runs, which they did on June 4, 1958, off of Braves pitcher Ernie Johnson. I know that sounds like a random achievement, but I’m always a little fascinated when I hear that something someone did was the first time it happened in baseball history. I mean, when you think of home many different guys have played the game over however many years, it’s amazing to think that there’s still things that have never happened before.
So that’s it. There’s only one card remaining from my big June haul. I wonder what it could be. Actually, I don’t wonder about it because I know what it is. But I bet you’re wondering, right? Right?
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