Card fact: This card displays the last horizontal flagship set that Topps has ever produced. The 1960 set was another colorful one and also featured the large mug shot with the smaller black-and-white action shot, much like the 1955 set. In fact, the 1960 set looks a lot more like a '50s set than it does a '60s set.
What I thought about this card then: Now, I KNOW this was one of the first cards that I ever pulled from a pack that I had purchased. You'll see it in a minute. No real thoughts back then other than Maris' crew-cut seemed rather different to me. He looked like a tough guy.
What I think about this card now: I'm so familiar with the beat-up version of this card that I pulled in 1975 that the newer version still looks odd.
Other stuff: I'm sure not a lot of people outside of Pittsburgh remember or even have heard of Dick Groat. He played for some terrible Pirates teams as Pittsburgh's regular shortstop in the 1950s. But he was fortunate enough to be around when Pittsburgh returned to the World Series in 1960. He also finished second in the MVP voting in 1963. Somebody named Sandy Koufax beat him out that year.
OK, now you're asking why I haven't said much about Maris. Yankees get talked about so much. Time to give it a rest.
Other blog stuff: Here is the card that I pulled when I was 9 years old:
Yikes. That thing is disintegrating from the outside in.
