1961 Fleer - have I lost my mind or is this actually a fun set
 

So in one of my stranger projects I have started a PSA 8 set of 1961-2 Fleer baseball greats. I know this traditionally hasn’t been a popular set but I think we are forgetting these are cards that were distributed in wax packs nearly 60 years ago. The cards are pretty hard to find in high grade and I think that they are actually pretty good looking cards. No one will convince me that the 1940 Playball old timers are better looking. Curious what people think of this set
I am six cards in with 148 left to go

I like the 1961 set but actually kind of like the previous years issue better. The golden press set is also a great way to get reasonable hofers. I agree that I don’t love the bulk of the 1940 play ball set but the Alexander and joe Jackson cards in that set are great.

The second series, which Bob Lemke used to say was printed in 1962, is tougher than the 1st 88 cards.

I liked the toughness of the higher numbers when I was working on the set back in the day.

Rich

They are a beautiful set, nice cards.

Agreed

One of my favorite post-war sets. The design is wonderful in my eyes, with the patriotic design elements. I know the photographs showing many players as coaches or in retired civilian life are not popular, but I like that the set does not recycle the same photos seen 1,000 times before and after.

The 2nd series is a lot tougher relative to the first, the difference is night and day, though they aren't actually rare by any means. The 2nd series is higher quality as well; the colors are printed darker, giving a bolder appearance than the softer printing of the 1st series. You can tell if a card is 1st or 2nd series just by looking at the front brightness and clarity.

I've not seen the evidence it was a 1961 and 1962 issue, would like to see it. As far as I recall the card backs don't indicate the 2nd series was one year or the other.

My set is 7 or 8 cards away from completion.

Love Rhode Island native Nap Lajoie in the suit and brimmed hat! I may need one of those!

If you didn’t know who he was you might think he was teller of the month at the local bank

I always liked this set. Nice looking, no commons and reasonably priced. Have fun collecting.

I vividly remember the Fleer All-Time Greats second series because they appeared during my first year of card collecting, late in 1961, in my home town of Skokie, Illinois. I was late to discover the Fleer ATG, but I recall getting a bunch of packs of the second series, as well as the second series of Topps football, on the same day. I think my parents let me pick them out at the Ben Franklin Dime Store. --- Brian Powell

Were you ever in a barber shop quartet in Skokie Illinois?:D

Sorry couldn't resist.

I think it's the most underappreciated postwar set. The fact that you can get so many vintage cards of HOFers for peanuts (don't care if it were their playing days or not) makes it incredibly collectible. Most importantly, I absolutely love the design. Can so easily imagine some 10 year old chap tacking up one of these, fresh out of the pack, bad boys on his bulletin board (much like I sadly did with several 93 topps Jeters). Looks like a background prop you'd see on Leave it To Beaver, which I find cheesy but wholesome and in a weird way very much needed as a vestige of how great the american culture once was (not trying to get political). I find it odd that people are willing to pay 10x for some Topps 2020 SP of one of these greats but completely overlook this set. The Gehrig is on the cusp on potentially becoming somewhat iconic (although that's a stretch), but the rest are incredibly affordable. I love the autograph versions and have thought about doing some type of psa/dna subset at some point.

As I mentioned above, I like the 61 set, but prefer the 60 set just because of the challenge of trying to add the 3 # 80 cards ( I only have one)

No, Ben. When my family moved from Skokie in April, 1964, I was 9 years old. While I was never in a barber shop quartet, I do love to sing. I understand all the Powells may be traced to Wales, Great Britain. The Welsh are known for their enthusiastic, lusty singing. Fits me to a T. All the best to you my friend. Recently, my family traveled through Mitchell, South Dakota on I-90. I thought of you; however, it was about 4 am, so .......;)

Back to the 1961 Fleer, I have a real fondness for the set. I loved many of the tinted photos, and the colorful backgrounds. Among my favorites were Honus Wagner, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Hack Wilson. Really, the set introduced me to many of the greats of the game. Several of the photo selections were lousy, but Fleer did well for the most part. Let's face it--few sets are perfect, but then, has that ever stopped us?????

--- Brian Powell

PS--- I will always remember my older cousin, Greg. He was eight years old when he collected the '61 Fleer.. For some reason, the portrait of Cap Anson, with his long, rapier-pointed mustache, bothered Greg. He tore up every Anson he got, except one. During a visit at his home in Iowa, I was shuffling through a deck of his Fleers with him, and we came to another Cap Anson. He tells me, "Be my guest"; and I tore up the Anson. Glad it wasn't a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle!