Recent Acquisitions: Three from 1967 Topps

I posted recently about my 1972 Topps set project.  I have another goal after I complete that, to work on a 1959 Topps set, which is probably inspired by the Baseball Cards magazine cut-outs that I cut out as a kid.  For now, I'm going to occasionally pick up a couple of 1959 cards (like the Robin Roberts I showed recently) while I focus on the 1972 set.

When I was deciding on these goals, I thought a lot about also wanting to put together a 1967 set.  Until now, I only had two 1967 Topps cards in my collection, Bill Mazeroski and Eddie Mathews.  From what I've gleaned, the 1967 set is popular and especially difficult to assemble.  I've decided not to go for the whole set, and to let 1972 and 1959 satisfy my need to collect vintage sets.  But I wanted a few cards, still, so I now have three more 1967 Topps cards.

Bob Uecker.

Bob Uecker is of course known to my generation as the dad from Mr. Belvedere, for the Major League movies, and for numerous beer commercials.  To Brewers fans I'm sure he's known as the voice of the Brewers.  To an earlier generation than mine, he is probably known for his approximately 100 Johnny Carson appearances.

But apart from all that, there are two other pieces of his work that made me want to get his baseball card.  First, his book, Catcher in the Wry, is one of my favorite things I've read about baseball.  He wasn't a star player with his .200 career batting average -- I think he calls the players like him the scrubs.  It was a different time, and hearing it from his point of view was great and hilarious.  The second thing I like is his Hall of Fame speech, when he won the Ford C. Frick award for broadcasting.  If you have time, it's fun to watch.

Ok, on to some star players.

Willie Stargell.

I picked up this 1967 Stargell for my player collection.  I already had the 1965, 1968, and then all of his Topps cards starting with 1971.  I decided to fill in a few of the gaps.  I don't really like the 1966 set, so I skipped that, but I wanted the 1967, 1969, and 1970.  I haven't picked up the 1969 yet, but I did get the 1970 in addition to this one.  Another baseball book I like is Pops: The Willie Stargell Story; it isn't a complete biography, but instead focuses on his time in baseball.

1966 NL Victory Leaders.

Finally, my third 1967 Topps card pickup is this NL Victory Leaders card.  I think I understand why the "batting leader" is the leader in batting average, but I don't really get why the "pitching leader" is the leader in wins.  Sandy Koufax led the NL with 27 wins in 1966, Juan Marichal was second with 25, and Bob Gibson and Gaylord Perry were tied for third with 21. 

I love this card for so many reasons.  First, it's my first good card of Sandy Koufax.  Until now, all I had of him were things like Baseball Immortals.  Second, you could say that the three great pitchers of the 60s were Koufax, Marichal, and Gibson, and here they are all together.  Third, add in Gaylord Perry, and you have four Hall-of-Famers in one card. 

As much as I like them, I don't have big plans to get more 1967 cards, but we'll see what I come across.  Like I said, 1972 and 1959 will be my focus for some time.  Thanks for reading!