Bazooka date convention, 1966/67

[MCoxon]

Hi there - does any one know why Bazooka cards from 1966/67 have separate listings for 1966 and 1967 in both SMR and Beckett, yet several PSA labels are 1966/67?

Is it simply that the same card pictures were used in both years, and there is no identifier as to whether the card was manufactured in 66 or a 67?

[skil55voy]

Mike,

The Trading Card Database has them listed as 2 separate issues. For good reason: Koufax is only in the 66 set. No reason for PSA to not differentiate. The numbering is different.

[MCoxon]

Here's my Colavito, listed by PSA as 1966-67. It's interesting as I looked it up and Colavito is numbered 15 in both 66 and 67. Also Mantle, Mays and others are similarly numbered in both 66 and 67.

But as you point out, some cards like Koufax only appear in one and not the other year and so they would be obvious as either a 66 or 67. Maybe PSA marks them 66-67 only if the player has the same number in both sets and therefore the year can't be ascertained.

Certification Number: 23588655
Reverse Cert Number/Barcode: No
Year: 1966-1967
Brand: BAZOOKA
Sport: BASEBALL CARDS
Card Number: 15
Player: ROCKY COLAVITO
Variety/Pedigree: HAND CUT
Grade MINT 9
Population: 4
Population w/Qual: 0
Population Higher:

[AustinMike]

Hi there - does any one know why Bazooka cards from 1966/67 have separate listings for 1966 and 1967 in both SMR and Beckett, yet several PSA labels are 1966/67?

Is it simply that the same card pictures were used in both years, and there is no identifier as to whether the card was manufactured in 66 or a 67?

If a player is included in both years, there is no difference in the card between the two years. Therefore, if the card is cut out as a single, there is no way to tell which year it is from. If the card is still part of the 3-card panel, you might be able to tell which year it is from based on the cards in the panel. For instance, if your Colavito is on a panel with McMillan and McCovey, it is from 1966. If it's on a panel with McClain and McCovey, it's from 1967. However, some panels didn't change from 1966 to 1967. In order to tell which year they are from, you'd have to have the complete box. A small photo of Koufax is on the front of the 1966 box and a small photo of Mantle is on the front of the 1967 box. This information is from SCD.

[toppcat]

I believe half the panels are the same in 66 and 67. If you have a full panel that's cut big or the full box there is a code under the card on the right hand side (under the dotted line) that reads 1-190-38-01-6 (or something quite similar) which means it's actually a 67. There is no code on the 66's. I have a big blog post on Bazooka Baseball coming up tomorrow, I'll post the link here once it pops.

There's a good article here too: http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/sets-week-1966-1967-bazooka-baseball/

[MCoxon]

Thanks Dave. Your info is very helpful and the SCD article is very relevant. Thanks.

[toppcat]

Here is the link to my blog post, it shows who is on what panel and includes an alphabetical checklist for all the players from 1959-71: http://toppsarchives.blogspot.com/2016/12/bazooka-blast.html

What I don't have is a scan of each year's box fronts, which is I would love to corral some day.