April 5, 2018: Sports & Americana Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/5/2018
It is the only significant mainstream non-Topps baseball card issue of the decade, Fleer’s final attempt in 1963 to jostle the Brooklyn-based Topps from its perch along atop the baseball card world. This was the first of what was planned to be several series, with Fleer issuing its cards with an uninspiring “cookie” rather than bubble gum in an ultimately futile effort to evade the dictates of Topps’ legendary exclusive contracts with major league ballplayers. While stymied in the courts and forced to abandon hopes of subsequent series beyond this classic, the 1963 Fleer Baseball issue wound up securing its well-deserved place in the hearts of collectors. Presented here is a truly handsome example of that historic effort in a binder, a basically Excellent to Ex-Mt array (no checklist), with a handful above the range and only 17 cards below. Here’s the breakdown: Near-Mint (4) – No. 28, 41 Drysdale, 43 Wills o/c and 54 o/c; Ex-Mt (17) – No. 6, 8 Yastrzemski, 9, 10, 14, 15, 18, 22, 23, 25 o/c, 27, 29, 30, 42 Koufax, 52 o/c, 57 and 58 o/c; Excellent (28) – No. 2, 3, 4 Brooks Robinson, 5 Mays, 7, 12, 13, 16, 17, 20, 24, 32 Santo, 34, 35, 36, 39, 46 Adcock, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53,56 Clemente, 59 Mazeroski o/c, 60, 63, 64 Cepeda o/c and 65; Very Good to Ex (11) – No. 1, 19, 21, 33, 37, 38, 40, 44, 49, 55 and 61 Gibson; Very Good (5) – No. 11, 26, 45 Spahn, 62 and 66: and Good – No. 31.
1963 Fleer Baseball Complete Set (66)
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