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The 1964 World Series opened in St. Louis on October 7th and it ended 8 days later back in St. Louis with the Cardinals winning the decisive Game 7.
It was the fifth time these two teams had faced each other in the World Series, with the Yankees winning in 1928 and 1943 and the Cardinals prevailing in 1926 and 1942. This also marked the end of an era for the Yankees, as the club had appeared in 14 of 16 fall classics since 1949 and they wouldn't appear again until 1976. Former Yankee catcher Yogi Berra (#470) was in his first year as the team's manager, and he'd be unceremoniously fired following the series loss and replaced with (ironically enough) the Cardinals' manager, Johnny Keane (#131). Keane would only last with the Yankees until 20 games into the 1966 season.
World Series cards were a key subset in Topps offerings throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with a card highlighting each game along with a series capping "Celebration" card.
Building the Set
April 3, 2021 from Roaring Spring, PA - Card #251
It's a strange time. Spring has arrived, we finally attended a Phillies game in person and it seems as if with the arrival of the vaccine the pandemic could soon be behind us. But I still find myself anxious, occasionally having trouble sleeping at night, and I know many of my friends and family feel the same way. I went the entire month of March without adding to our 1965 Topps set, and as the month came to a close I decided to start off April with the purchase of a group of commons. In search specifically for series two cards, I veered into the higher series when I found sellers on eBay auctioning off batches of cards from recent set breaks. Over the course of a few days, I ended up winning 16 cards for $48 for an average of $3 per card.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Yankees Team Set
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Prior Card: #135 World Series Game 4
Building the Set
April 3, 2021 from Roaring Spring, PA - Card #251
It's a strange time. Spring has arrived, we finally attended a Phillies game in person and it seems as if with the arrival of the vaccine the pandemic could soon be behind us. But I still find myself anxious, occasionally having trouble sleeping at night, and I know many of my friends and family feel the same way. I went the entire month of March without adding to our 1965 Topps set, and as the month came to a close I decided to start off April with the purchase of a group of commons. In search specifically for series two cards, I veered into the higher series when I found sellers on eBay auctioning off batches of cards from recent set breaks. Over the course of a few days, I ended up winning 16 cards for $48 for an average of $3 per card.
This World Series card came from eBay seller Mom and Pop Card Shop from Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania for a winning bid of $4.99. With the weather getting warmer, having enjoyed a beer at a few Phillies games and 16 new cards in our collection, the month is starting off on the right foot.
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The series was tied at two wins a piece when the teams faced off for Game 5. Starting pitchers Bob Gibson (#320) and Mel Stottlemyre (#550) were locked in a pitching duel until the top of the fifth inning when the Cardinals scored a pair of runs. Gibson singled to center off Stottlemyre and then Curt Flood (#415) reached on a costly error by Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson (#115). Lou Brock (#540) singled home Gibson with Flood advancing to third. Flood then scored when Bill White (#190) grounded out to second.
Both pitchers then cruised through eight innings with the Cardinals holding their 2-0 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth. Mickey Mantle (#350) led off and reached when shortstop Dick Groat (#275) couldn't cleanly field his ground ball. Gibson then retired Elston Howard (#450) and Joe Peptione (#245). With two outs, Tom Tresh (#440) homered to deep center, dramatically tying the game. Pedro Gonzalez (#97) popped out to end the inning, and the game went into extras.
With Pete Mikkelsen (#177) now on the mound for the Yankees, White walked to begin the 10th and advanced to second on a Ken Boyer (#100) bunt base hit. White stole third and Boyer was forced at second on a fielder's choice ground out by Groat. With runners on the corners, Tim McCarver (#294) launched a home run to right field over the head of Mantle, giving the Cardinals a 5-2 lead. Gibson came out in the bottom of the inning and retired the Yankees to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead overall in the Series.
In the video embedded below, you can see the exact moment the photo used for this card was taken at the 0:27 mark. Colorizing the black and white photo, Topps got the Cardinals' helmet color right but they're actually wearing red sleeves and not blue. That's Shannon, White, Groat and McCarver from left to right.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Prior Card: #135 World Series Game 4
Next Card: #137 World Series Game 6
