#300 Sandy Koufax - Los Angeles Dodgers

Sanford Koufax
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  210
Born:  December 30, 1935, Brooklyn, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent, December 14, 1954
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1955-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1966
Hall of Fame Induction:  1972

On Sandy Koufax's biography page on the National Baseball Hall of Fame website, the first quote about the all-time great lefty comes from former Phillies great Richie Ashburn:  "Either he throws the fastest ball I've ever seen, or I'm going blind."

In a 12-year career shortened by arthritis in his left arm and Koufax's desire to retire at the top of his game, the Hall of Famer won the N.L. Cy Young Award in 1963, 1965 and in his final season, 1966.  He also won N.L. MVP honors in 1963, a season in which he went 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA, 20 complete games, 11 shutouts and led the league with 306 strikeouts.  Koufax was a six-time All-Star and helped the Dodgers to three World Series titles in 1959, 1963 and 1965.

October 14, 1965 - World Series Game 7

He threw four no-hitters including a perfect game on September 9, 1965.  Despite a relatively short career, his 2,396 strikeouts at the time of his retirement ranked seventh all-time, second only to Warren Spahn's (#205) 2,583 among left-handers.  One of the top Jewish athletes in American sports, Koufax's decision to not pitch in Game 1 of the 1965 World Series on Yom Kippur brought attention to the conflict between the sport and his personal religious beliefs.

Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972, his first year of eligibility, Koufax became the youngest player enshrined at the age of 36.  His #32 was retired by the Dodgers that same year.  Following his playing days, Koufax continued to work for the Dodgers as a minor league coach, a pitching instructor and an overall goodwill ambassador for the game.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the Set
October 17, 2022 from Tomball, TX - Card #594
I'm composing this post on a cloudy day in mid-November, appreciating that for the first time since March, I'm about to be completely caught up with posting cards we've added to our 1965 Topps set.  We had added 102 cards at The Philly Show in early March, and creating posts for each of those cards had taken me until mid-October.  There were eight more cards added piecemeal between April and September, reducing the number of cards needed for our complete set down to five.

In early October, with the Phillies improbably in the postseason and about to go on a month-long journey that would culminate with a trip to the World Series, I received an e-mail announcing a sale in the online store for The Battersbox, located in Tomball, Texas.  I had had my eye on this Koufax card for quite some time, and I had assumed this would be the second to last card added to our set, with just the Mickey Mantle (#350) card remaining.  Riding the high of the good vibes brought on by the Phillies, and realizing it had been over a month since I had added any vintage cards, I happily added this card to my cart along with two cards to be added to my not-yet-collecting 1969 Topps set.

I had intended for this Koufax card to be a Christmas present to myself from my family.  But impatience won here, and rather than see this card sit by itself on my project table for the next month, it's entering the collection and its spot in the set's binder a little over a month sooner.  In early December, Doug and I will attend the next Philly Show, and I'll be laser focused on the final four cards needed - Mantle, the Tony Perez rookie card (#581), Orlando Cepeda (#360) and the surprise of the quartet, Gordy Coleman (#289).

The Card / Dodgers Team Set
All of Koufax's Topps flagship cards are iconic, including this one.  This is his second appearance in the set, as he shares a 1964 National League ERA Leaders card (#8) with Don Drysdale (#260).  The card has been reproduced a few times, first within the 1990 Topps set (see below) as part of the Turn Back the Clock subset.

1965 Season
In his penultimate season, at the age of just 29, Koufax enjoyed one of his three best seasons to go along with his Cy Young/MVP winning season of 1963 and his final season of 1966.  Koufax was 26-8 with a 2.04 ERA in 43 appearances, leading the league in wins, ERA, complete games (27), innings pitched (335 2/3) and strikeouts (382).  He won his second of three Cy Young awards and finished second in the MVP voting behind Willie Mays.

His 382 strikeouts blew past the modern-era record of 349, held by Rube Waddell since 1904, and Koufax's mark would be broken in 1973 by Nolan Ryan (383).  As mentioned above, Koufax threw a perfect game on September 9th against the Cubs, striking out 14 batters.  It was the eighth perfect game in major league history, and Koufax's fourth no-hitter.  He famously declined to pitch Game 1 of the World Series in order to observe the Jewish religious holiday of Yom Kippur.  Pitching in Games 2, 5 and 7, Koufax threw two complete game shutouts as his Dodgers won the Series, and Koufax would take World Series MVP honors.

1955 Topps #123

1959 Topps #163

1963 Topps #210

1966 Topps #100

1990 Topps #665

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #123
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1955-1967, 1975, 1990
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Panini Diamond Kings #71

1,735 - Koufax non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/13/22.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #299 Jerry Zimmerman - Minnesota Twins

Next Card:  #301 Birdie Tebbetts MG - Cleveland Indians

#385 Carl Yastrzemski - Boston Red Sox

Carl Michael Yastrzemski
Boston Red Sox
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175
Born:  August 22, 1939, Southampton, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent, November 29, 1958
Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1961-1983
Hall of Fame Induction:  1989

For over two decades, Carl Yastrzemski was a mainstay at Fenway Park, as the team's regular left fielder, then first baseman and finally designated hitter.  One of the all-time Red Sox fan favorites, Yastrzemski made his first of 18 All-Star teams in 1963, while also being awarded his first of seven Gold Gloves.  That was also the season he won his first of three batting titles with a .321 average.  He'd produce consistently stellar seasons throughout the 1960s, culminating with his triple crown win in 1967 (.326 average, 44 home runs, 121 RBIs) en route to the league MVP award and an American League pennant for his Impossible Dream Red Sox.  Yastrzemski continued his superstar output throughout the 1970s, again helping to lead the Red Sox to the World Series in 1975.  On September 12, 1979, he became the first American League player with 3,000 career hits and 400 home runs.

He retired at the end of the 1983 season having appeared in 3,308 games, 2nd on the all-time list behind Pete Rose (#207).  His career at-bats (11,988), hits (3,419), doubles (646) and walks (1,845) are all currently in the top ten all-time.  Yastrzemski tallied 452 home runs and 1,844 RBIs, and along with Ted Williams, the player he replaced, is at the top of just about every offensive category on the Red Sox all-time lists.  His #8 was retired by the Red Sox in 1989, the same year he was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

Building the Set

September 15, 2022 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #593

This card was part of a larger stress-induced purchase from Kit Young Cards in mid-September.  The stress was all work related, and while some people choose to relieve stress through less productive means, I opted to purchase several vintage baseball cards.  The centerpiece of the haul was this Yaz card, which dropped the number of cards needed for our complete set down to five.  Joining Yaz were Diamond Stars cards of Joe Stripp and Lloyd Waner, along with a League Leaders card from the 1969 Topps set, which will be my focus after the last five cards needed from 1965 are tracked down.  

September 2022 was a blur.  I travelled for work the better part of two weeks, school started, the boys' fall sports schedules (cross country and baseball) were non-stop and there was little to no time to rest or to enjoy baseball card purchases.  Taking a mental health day in early October, I was happy to have the time to catch my breath and truly appreciate the new baseball cards that helped get me through that month.

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
I feel this is an iconic baseball card, and I love it's now in our collection.  Topps reprinted this card for its 2010 Topps Cards Your Mom Threw Out insert set.  Yastrzemski's name appears in white text on the front of the card, while every other Red Sox card in the set uses yellow for the player's name.  The back of the card mentions his two batting titles to date, in 1959 in the Carolina League and in 1963.  Yastrzemski's fielding skills often get overlooked, and he led all outfielders in assists in seven different seasons between 1962 and 1977.

1965 Season
The Red Sox would lose 100 games, but the all-star play of Yastrzemski gave fans reasons to hope.  In 133 games, Yastrzemski batted .312 with 20 home runs and 72 RBIs as the club's regular left fielder for the fifth straight season.  He hit for the cycle on May 14th, adding an extra home run for bonus points.  On September 25th, the Red Sox faced off against the Athletics and their starting pitcher, 58-year-old Satchel Paige.  Paige pitched three innings with Yastrzemski collecting the only hit, a double, against him.

1960 Topps #148

1963 Topps #115

1967 Topps #355

1975 Topps #280

1983 Topps #550

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #148
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (25):  1960-1984
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Pristine #149

2,870 - Yastrzemski non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/12/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #384 Johnny Klippstein - Minnesota Twins

Next Card:  #386 Cubs Rookie Stars

#513 New York Yankees Team Card

Beginning in 1956 and going all the way through to 1981, with a one year absence in 1969, Topps included team cards in its flagship sets.  There are 19 team cards in the set, and this is the final one we needed.  Only the Houston Astros, in flux because of their name change from the Colt .45s, did not receive a team card in the set.

Building the Set
August 15, 2022 from Houston, TX - Card #592

From a collecting perspective, I spent a lot of the summer avoiding the urge to buy the seven remaining cards needed for our set from eBay or online dealers.  It would have been easy enough to simply click a few buttons, enter my credit card information, and wait for the envelopes to arrive in the mail.  (I still think the Mickey Mantle (#350) will be the final card added to our set, simply due to its high price tag.)  But I was mostly successful in resisting the urge to click our way to completing this set, wanting to finish the set in person at a baseball card show.  I failed a few times, including when I purchased this Yankees team card in early August from eBay seller txsurf, located in Houston, Texas.

I couldn't resist the price of this card, especially since Yankees cards continue to carry a premium in the northeast.  I also added a Bobby Murcer card from the 1969 Topps set, and I'll be starting with that set's blog soon.  After adding this team card, we were down to needing just six more cards for a complete set, and (spoiler alert) I ended up splurging and adding the Carl Yastrzemski (#385) and Sandy Koufax (#300) cards in September and October, respectively.  After nearly three years of collecting, the final four are now Mantle, the Tony Perez (#581) rookie card, Orlando Cepeda (#360) and for some strange reason, Gordy Coleman (#289).

The Card / Yankees Team Set

I couldn't find an exact match for the source photo Topps used for this card, but I easily found a photo taken from the same shoot but from straight ahead and not from the right.  The angle of the photo used for the Topps team card is unusual, with all players and coaches shifting their view sideways.  The 1964 Yankees had minimal transactions during the season, so there's no way to determine at what point during the year this photo was taken.

Former Yankees manager Yogi Berra (#470) is seated in the front row, to the left of the team logo, and he'd be unceremoniously fired following the World Series loss to the Cardinals in 1964.  Berra would spend the 1965 season as a player-coach for the crosstown Mets.

1963 Topps #247

1964 Topps #433

1966 Topps #92

1967 Topps #131

1965 Season

This was the first of what would be a decade-plus of seasons in which the Yankees would bid farewell to a number of aging veterans and attempt a rebuild process.  They'd finish in sixth place in 1965 and drop all the way into last place in 1966.  Under new manager Johnny Keane (#131), who had just defeated them in the World Series as manager of the Cardinals, the team was 77-85, enduring their first losing season since 1925!  The club played the first exhibition game in Houston's Astrodome on April 9, 1965, with Mantle hitting the first home run in the history of the new domed ballpark.  Not one Yankees player crossed the 100-RBI threshold, with center fielder Tom Tresh (#440) winning the team's triple crown with a .279 average, 26 home runs and 74 RBIs.  Mantle was limited to 122 games and batted only .255 with 19 home runs.

On the mound, Mel Stottlemyre (#550) was a 20-game winner, with Whitey Ford (#330) winning 16 games.  Pedro Ramos (#13) was the team's top reliever, saving 18 games.  Shortstop Murcer made his major league debut on September 8th, and he'd be one of the team's few bright spots throughout the early 1970s.

Update Cards

For each team card featured, I'll be building a checklist of cards that could have been included in a 1965 Topps update set.  I'm trying to come up with six potential cards for each team, and easily got to that total for the Yankees.  As is the case with teams going through rebuilds, there were quite a few candidates to pick from here and I narrowed it down to those players with the most games without a card or those players who would have an impact on the club in the coming years.  Of the six players listed below, only Edwards wouldn't appear with the Yankees in the 1966 Topps set.

• Bobby Murcer (ss) - As mentioned above, Murcer made his big league debut as a September call-up.  He'd be a four-time All-Star with the Yankees and win a Gold Glove in center field in 1972.
• Roger Repoz (of) - Repoz appeared in 79 games, batting just .220 as the team's fourth outfielder.
• Ray Barker (1b) - Barker came over the Yankees on May 10th with Pedro Gonzalez (#97) going to the Indians.  Barker, who appears with the Indians on a Rookie Stars (#546) card, played in 98 games for New York.
• Horace Clarke (3b) - Clarke saw action in 51 games.  He'd spend 10 seasons with the Yankees, and was their every day second baseman between 1967 and 1973.
• Doc Edwards (c) - The back-up catcher is in the set with the Athletics (#239), but he appeared in 45 games for the Yankees after a trade on May 3rd.
• Roy White (of) - White made his debut a day before Murcer and he'd be the regular Yankees left fielder between 1968 and 1977, making two All-Star Game appearances.

Sources
Baseball Reference

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #512 Cap Peterson - San Francisco Giants

Next Card:  #514 Joe Azcue - Cleveland Indians

#377 Willie Stargell - Pittsburgh Pirates

Silver Dornel Stargell
Pittsburgh Pirates
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  188
Born:  March 6, 1940, Earlsboro, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent, August 7, 1958
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1962-1982
Died:  April 9, 2001, Wilmington, NC (age 61)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1988

Willie Stargell spent his entire 21-year career with the Pirates, and was one of the most feared power hitters of his generation.  As the club's regular left fielder throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Stargell made his first of seven All-Star teams in 1964.  In 1971, he helped lead the Pirates to a World Championship title over the Orioles, batting .295 during the season with a league leading 48 home runs and 125 RBIs.  He'd continue to slug home runs throughout the 1970s, with his tally of 296 home runs leading all players during the decade.  His blasts were often moonshots, and he holds the distinction of hitting the longest home run in Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium history.  In 1973, he crossed the 100-RBI plateau for the fifth and final time, leading the league with 119 RBIs, and also leading the league in home runs (44), doubles (23) and slugging percentage (.646).

Moving to first base in the mid-1970s, he emerged as a veteran team leader, earning his affectionate nickname of "Pops."  In 1979, he again won the N.L. MVP, to go along with NLCS MVP and World Series MVP honors as his Pirates again defeated the Orioles in the World Series.  He retired following the 1982 season with a career average of .282, 2,232 hits, 475 home runs and 1,540 RBIs.  The Pirates had retired his #8 a month before his final game, and Stargell was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 1988.

Stargell briefly served as the first base coach for the Braves (1986-1988) following his retirement, and he'd also later work in the Pirates front office.  Two days before he passed away, the Pirates unveiled a statute of Stargell at their new PNC Park.

Building the Set

August 4, 2022 from Fremont, CA - Card #591

I got an itch for some vintage baseball cards in late July, as I hadn't added any new cards to our 1965 Topps set since May or my Diamond Stars set since June.  Taking advantage of some discounts offered at The Battersbox online store, I settled on a relatively pricey Ernie Lombardi card along with the card of former Phillies manager Steve O'Neill.  Also arriving in early August was this Stargell card, purchased from eBay seller gmw422 from Fremont, California.  Adding this Stargell card gets us down to needing only seven cards before our set is completed and I thought the card was a bargain at $27.

These cards arrived during the Phillies' Alumni Weekend, one of the best weekends of the year for Phillies fans.  I wrote about Doug's success in adding autographs from several returning alumni over at this post at The Phillies Room.  Following the game of August 5th, the Phillies were 58-48 and in third place in the division, nine games behind the Mets.  Writing this post nearly three months later on October 28th, I'm killing time getting ready for World Series Game 1 in Houston, with the Phillies facing off against the Astros.  This whole postseason experience has been surreal to me, with the Phillies now just four wins away from clinching the franchise's third championship title.  Hard to believe, Harry.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
This is Stargell's third appearance in a Topps flagship set and his second solo card, as his 1963 Topps appearance came on a multi-player, floating heads Rookie Stars card.  The back of the card highlights his high school basketball career, as well as his 1964 break-out season.

1965 Season
Stargell was the Pirates' regular left fielder, with Bill Virdon (#69) in center and Roberto Clemente (#160) in right.  He made his second All-Star team and drove in over 100 runs (107) for the first time in his career.  Stargell started in left field for the National League All-Stars, hitting a two-run second inning home run off Mudcat Grant (#432).  In 144 games overall, he batted .272 with 27 home runs, leading the Pirates.

1963 Topps #553

1971 Topps #230

1975 Topps #100

1979 Topps #55

1982 Topps #715

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #553
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (20):  1963-1982
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Pristine #163

1,287 - Stargell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/28/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #376 Jim Landis - Kansas City Athletics

Next Card:  #378 Chuck Estrada - Baltimore Orioles