1964 Topps Giants

[TheNightmanCometh]

I’m having a convo with my Dad and we were both wondering if these cards came factory sealed. Thanks.

[Griffins]

They initially came in packs, and then years later in envelopes of 25 for $1 at Dodger Stadium.

[TheNightmanCometh]

Originally Posted by Griffins

They initially came in packs, and then years later in envelopes of 25 for $1 at Dodger Stadium.

Thank you! I bought an Aaron that was packaged in a cellophane and it had me curious.

[Griffins]

I've never seen or heard of a cello or rack pack for this set, but it's possible it was a repackage from vending, like the envelopes.

[TheNightmanCometh]

Originally Posted by Griffins

I've never seen or heard of a cello or rack pack for this set, but it's possible it was a repackage from vending, like the envelopes.

Ya, it was cello’d with cardboard inside, and my mind didn’t consider that they’d be packaged in Topps packaging. Just thought it wasn’t something that was considered back then, but I was very wrong. The only logical conclusion after that was that the seller did it.

[ALBB]

and also I recall a massive hoard of them uncovered in the... 80's ? ??

[GasHouseGang]

Do a search in this forum for "Why the seeming lack of interest in 1964 Topps Giants". Lots of info, plus they mention these were available in 1000 card blocks. I don't have first hand knowledge of this, but know I bought a complete set in the early 80's for $4.

[TheNightmanCometh]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

Do a search in this forum for "Why the seeming lack of interest in 1964 Topps Giants". Lots of info, plus they mention these were available in 1000 card blocks. I don't have first hand knowledge of this, but know I bought a complete set in the early 80's for $4.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you got a good deal there. :-)

I really do like the look of the set, but my interest was solely in the 3 Braves cards, Torre, Spahn, and Aaron. Had the first two for the longest time and finally pulled the trigger on an Aaron, so my work is done.

As a matter of fact, I love everything Topps did in '64. Base set, Giants, Coins, Venezuelans, etc....

I know, visually, that the '64 set isn't well regarded, but I disagree with the majority. I love the look of that set. When I think about venturing outside of my Braves collecting, I always find myself gravitating to the '64 set. Collecting everything '64.

[KCRfan1]

The set is loaded with stars. Has anyone seen a set that was autographed?

[brian1961]

The 1964 Topps Giant cards are flat-out beautiful. Using some decent conjecture, the backside of the Dean Chance offers us a clue. It tells of Dean being the starting pitcher for the AL in 1964's All-Star game. Being a mid-season staple, that would tell us Topps was late to market with these. Perhaps their distributors were cold towards them, with the football season hastening.

Back in the mid-70s, I distinctly read somewhere (The Sport Fan?) that a California dealer by the name of Will Davis bought all the unsold inventory from Topps for a song. The number of cards that sticks in my mind was 6 million. Maybe one of our elder California brothers can confirm it was Will Davis. Not that it really matters now. The Wholesale Cards Company mail order firm had them available in the late 60s for a few bucks, but they also had the entire 1954 Red Heart Dog Food set available for a few bucks.

All that to say they were readily available, and cheaply too, within a few years of their 1964 production. There's something about overabundance that cools collectors' jets. Furthermore, it has taken a couple generations for collectors to warm up to over-sized cards that would not have fit in with youngsters' regular Topps. Being a large, attractive Topps card that would look great in a PSA player set registry assemblage, or a graded set that is still readily available to track down, either way works well for today's collectors. Just never think of 1964 Topps Giant All-Stars in terms of potential investment; rather, beautiful cheap eye candy.

--Brian Powell

[detroitbaseball]

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=197279

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by KCRfan1

The set is loaded with stars. Has anyone seen a set that was autographed?

There are a couple near complete auto'd sets on the 'bay right now.

My son and I are working on this set signed and currently have 50 of 60 cards. We'll prolly pick up a couple more, but will most likely never finish it. The signed Clemente card brings quite the premium as only a handful are known to exist.

[GasHouseGang]

Thanks Kevin for posting that link. I wasn't sure how to do it when I'm not on my computer.

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by Griffins

They initially came in packs, and then years later in envelopes of 25 for $1 at Dodger Stadium.

I almost completed the set from those packs at Dodger Stadium...I think it was either 1971 or 72. Took me until the early 80's (remember, this was pre-internet) to find a local card shop that had the Mays and the Koufax (in vg condition but nowhere near as nice as the others). Found both later in NM at the National and upgraded. Still love that set.

[ALR-bishop]

One of my favorite sets.

[tschock]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

There are a couple near complete auto'd sets on the 'bay right now.

My son and I are working on this set signed and currently have 50 of 60 cards. We'll prolly pick up a couple more, but will most likely never finish it. The signed Clemente card brings quite the premium as only a handful are known to exist.

I always thought that THIS was the set that was meant to get autographed. Plenty of room for some nice, bold signatures. Good luck with your quest!

[Griffins]

I've got a friend that has a complete auto'd set, matted and framed. Hopefully he'll post it or allow me to.
Clemente is expensive, Dick Farrell is the really tough one. He left the US in 1971, and eventually ended up in England, working on oil rigs in the North Sea, and was killed in a car crash in 1977.

At shows in the LA area in the early '70's Will Davis always had a table full of '64 Giants, we suspected that he was the source for the Dodger Stadium supply, which was sold thru at least '77.

BTW, the full press sheet debunks the myth of short prints in this set. There were 49 cards printed once, 10 cards double printed, and Mantle triple printed, for a total of 72 on a standard Topps press sheet. This lines up with the Dodger Stadium envelopes, we had tons of Mantles, and plenty of Koufax, Causey, Stuart, Friend,Mays, etc all cited as short prints.

[commishbob]

One of the best ideas Topps ever had. Nice, big clear pics of the stars of the day. I love this set.

And it's really easy to put together, a great way to add affordable superstars to your collection.

[ALR-bishop]

Anthony is always debunking something.

Thanks for posting the sheet. See you next month

[tschock]

Originally Posted by Griffins

There were 57 cards printed once, 11 cards double printed, and Mantle triple printed, for a total of 72 on a standard Topps press sheet.

Sorry, the numbers don't jive. That would be 69 distinct cards and 82 total. Without checking the sheet and counting, I would guess you meant 49 (SP), 10 (DP), and 1 (TP)?

[Griffins]

Taylor, you are correct. I'll edit my post, should've proofed the math!

[JollyElm]

Made me think of a thread from way back when, talking about some of the cropping variations I 'discovered' in the 1964 Giants set...
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=218122

[ALBB]

Way back in the day, at a decent size show in NY NJ area..I recall being shocked seeing a dealer with multiple 5000 count monster boxes with nothing but NM looking 64 T Giants ..it made me think..no way am I going to bother with that set after seeing that

[Bigdaddy]

double post.....

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by Griffins

BTW, the full press sheet debunks the myth of short prints in this set. There were 49 cards printed once, 10 cards double printed, and Mantle triple printed, for a total of 72 on a standard Topps press sheet. This lines up with the Dodger Stadium envelopes, we had tons of Mantles, and plenty of Koufax, Causey, Stuart, Friend,Mays, etc all cited as short prints.

Thanks for posting the sheet. Very interesting. Also of note is that all the cards regularly regarded as 'SP' (except the Mick Mantle) are on the left border of the sheet. I wonder how those cards got labeled as 'SP' to begin with??

Even now, this is a great vintage set for a new collector (maybe a young son) to start out with.

[TheNightmanCometh]

Lol, you guys gotta stop talking about this. You’re getting me into collecting the set, but I still got goals left to achieve!