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Beginning in 1961, Topps started including league leader cards in its sets and there are 12 league leaders cards kicking off the 1965 Topps set.
Building the Set
December 25, 2020 from Marco Island, FL - Card #184
This is one of 32 cards (mostly commons) I received from Jenna and our sons on Christmas morning, as I was asked to do some surrogate shopping on their behalf and I gladly obliged. Hunting specifically for first series cards, this is one of 5 cards I added from eBay seller Super Bowl Auctions from Marco Island, Florida. Thanks to the presence of Bob Gibson (#320) and Don Drysdale (#260), this league leaders card was $10, making it the third most expensive card added behind the Rico Petrocelli (#74) Rookie Stars card and the A.L. RBI Leaders (#5) card featuring Mickey Mantle (#350).
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Cardinals Team Set / Dodgers Team Set
December 25, 2020 from Marco Island, FL - Card #184
This is one of 32 cards (mostly commons) I received from Jenna and our sons on Christmas morning, as I was asked to do some surrogate shopping on their behalf and I gladly obliged. Hunting specifically for first series cards, this is one of 5 cards I added from eBay seller Super Bowl Auctions from Marco Island, Florida. Thanks to the presence of Bob Gibson (#320) and Don Drysdale (#260), this league leaders card was $10, making it the third most expensive card added behind the Rico Petrocelli (#74) Rookie Stars card and the A.L. RBI Leaders (#5) card featuring Mickey Mantle (#350).
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I'll admit Bob Veale (#195) had been completely off my baseball knowledge radar until I received this card and I started looking closer at his career. A pure strikeout pitcher, Veale finished in the top ten in that category in five seasons, leading the league in 1964 with 250. His league leader finishes declined each year thereafter as he placed second in 1965 and third in 1966. His second place finish in 1965 was despite his career-high 276 strikeouts that season as he finished a distant second behind Sandy Koufax's (#300) 382 mark. Koufax by the way was the fourth place finisher in 1964 with 223.
Gibson would finish in the league's top ten for strikeouts a staggering 11 times, leading the league in 1968 with 268. Along with his second place finish in 1964, he was the runner-up in two more years - 1969 and 1970. Gibson is currently 14th on the all-time list with 3,117 strikeouts, one ahead of Curt Schilling. Drysdale also had 11 top ten finishes for strikeouts over his career, leading the league in 1959, 1960 and 1962.
Don Nottebart (#469) and Bob Miller (#98) just missed the cut for inclusion on the back of the card, as they each had 77 strikeouts in 1964.
Bob Veale probably gets lost in the brighter light of other NL pitchers of his time (Koufax, Gibson, Marichal, Drysdale, Jenkins, Bunning) because he played for the Pirates.
ReplyDeleteBy the time the Bucs made it back to the Series in 1971, Veale was way down on their bullpen ladder. Still, he made the All-Star team in '65 and '66.