This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/7/2009
For the first time since 1955 Topps decided to shorten the 1963 set to 576 cards, however the '63 set remains one of the most popular of the decade due to the introduction of the Pete Rose rookie card. The colorful lower borders were a smash hit with collectors, but their susceptibility to chipping right out of the pack made this a difficult set to build in high grade condition. Released in three series, the middle cards have proven tougher to find in high-grade than either the first or third series. Aside from Rose, other rookie cards in the set include Willie Stargell, Bill Freehan, Rusty Staub, and Tony Oliva. The 63' series opened with the AL and NL Leaders cards and also included the popular multi-players issues (Friendly Foes, Pride of the NL, Bombers' Best, etc....). The '63 set offered here is phenomenal and includes 206 PSA graded cards. The ungraded cards are 80% NM or better. It's amazing to go through the album and see card after card of high quality '63 gems with minimal to no chipping, pack-fresh quality gloss, and fantastic corners and edges. It's very clear that this set was assembled over time and each card had to meet exacting standards for admission into the elite set. Both the Mantle and Rose rookie cards are graded PSA 8, as are the large majority of the PSA graded issues. Other graded cards include; MINT PSA 9: #190 (Minoso), 436, 493, and 551. NM/MT PSA 8: #2 (AL Batting Leaders), 4 (AL HR Leaders), 6 (AL ERA Leaders), 18 (Buc Blasters), 41, 57, 59, 60, 68 (Friendly Foes), 77, 91, 96, 97, 106, 111, 122, 127, 136, 138 (Pride of the NL), 140, 150, 151, 158, 159, 164, 170, 171, 172, 177, 178, 180, 185, 199, 200 (Mantle), 202, 203, 204, 206, 207, 213, 224, 231, 233 (Stengel), 234, 236, 241, 243, 245 (Hodges), 257, 261, 267, 275 (Mathews), 276, 288, 295, 296, 300 (Mays), 304, 307, 311, 313, 328, 345 (B. Robinson), 352, 356, 365 (Bunning), 366, 378, 380 (Banks), 384, 393, 396, 397, 398, 399, 403, 408, 409, 414, 415 (Gibson), 417, 420, 422, 424, 426, 427, 431, 432, 433, 438, 439, 443, 445, 446 (Ford), 450, 451, 452, 453, 455, 456, 457, 460, 461, 463, 465, 468, 470, 473, 476, 482, 483, 485, 486, 487, 488, 490 (McCovey), 491, 494, 496, 497, 498, 500 (Killebrew), 503, 510, 512, 513, 518, 519, 524, 525 (Fox), 527, 528, 529, 530, 532, 533, 534, 535, 537 (Rose RC), 538, 539, 540 (Clemente), 541, 542, 543, 544 (Staub RC), 546, 547, 556, 557, 559, 561, 563, 564, 565, 568, 572, and 576. NM PSA 7: #3 (NL HR Leaders), 9 (NL Strikeout Leaders), 10 (AL Strikeout Leaders), 23, 25 (Kaline), 53, 62, 65, 66, 71, 72, 85, 94, 107, 108 (Wilhelm), 116, 120 (Maris), 126, 182, 210 (Koufax), 320 (Spahn), 323, 330, 344, 347, 369, 390 (Aaron), 412 (Dodgers' Big Three), 413, 462, 466 (Freehan RC), 472 (Brock), 504, 520 (Cepeda), 549, 552, 553 (Stargell RC), 562, 567, and 570. EX/MT PSA 6: #250 (Musial) and 514. EX PSA 5: #163 and 195. Key ungraded cards include: #115 Yastrzemski NM, 173 Bombers' Best NM, 242 Power Plus NM+, 340 Berra EX/MT, 400 F. Robinson NM/MT, and 550 Snider NM+.