This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/22/2018
Just as the 1960 baseball season was about to start, fans in the "Big Apple" were anxious to get back to a winning tradition as the New York Yankees, for the first team in many years, were not representing the American League as pennant winners. In fact, the pinstipers limped home with a lackluster 79-75 season in 1959, spending the entire season at or below the .500 mark virtually the whole way. The Mick held up his end, leading the Yankees with 31 dingers, 75 runs batted in and 21 stolen bases, but several other hitters as well as the heralded New York pitching staff was not up to the previous year's accomplishments. Bob Turley, a 21-game Cy Young award winner in 1958, fell to just 8 wins in '59 while ace Whitey Ford posted a 16-10 record with a 3.04 ERA, strong numbers for just about any other hurler but for "The Chairman of the Board" it was the lowest winning percentage and highest ERA of his career to date. So you can imagine stepping into a candy store in 1960 and getting a rush of excitement as you notice the new cello packs for the 1960 Topps series had just started to make the rounds and you're able to pluck a pack that features "The Commerce Comet" front and center. A sealed 1960 Topps baseball cello pack is tough enough, but when Mantle stares right back at you from on top, it's truly a piece to headline any unopened material collection. Graded GAI 5, the cards inside retain plenty of color with ably strong corners and edges (if Mantle's pasteboard is any indication). With 572 cards in the series and very few surviving cello packs, the probability of coming across another example with Mantle on top is pretty remote, so have at it!