Completed insert set – 2012 Topps Heritage Baseball Flashbacks

This is my first completed insert set in 2012 Topps Heritage.  This is one of two “flashback” insert sets – this one is the “Baseball Flashbacks”, honoring baseball news from 1963.

Info about the set:

Set description:  “10 highlights from the 1963 season.”  As always with the Heritage inserts, these cards have a loose connection to the relevant year’s Topps base design (1963 in this case).  The front shows a player inside a white border with a “Baseball Flashbacks” pennant in the top left.  The player name and team is in the top right, while the specific headline for the 1963 accomplishment is included in a green circle in the bottom right of the card.  The back describes the accomplishment in more detail.

Set composition:  10 cards, 1:12 odds (2012 Topps Heritage)

Hall of Famers: 9.  Al Kaline, Ernie Banks, Early Wynn, Hank Aaron, Juan Marichal, Stan Musial, Koufax, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey.  Every player in the set is a Hall of Famer, but Sandy Koufax has 2 cards.

How I put the set together:

• 4 cards from the two hobby boxes I bought
• 2 cards from either Check Out My Cards
• 4 cards from trades

Thoughts on the set:  This is a set that Topps does every year, and I like the continuity, particularly for this product.  I actually think this year’s set has a few more interesting accomplishments than the previous set – maybe 1963 was a better year in baseball!

Here are some of the things I think they missed, or at least should have considered, in order of how strongly I think they should have made it into the set.  The first three are particularly glaring oversights.

• The Polo Grounds shut down in 1963.  The Mets played the final regular season game there September 18th, and there was a Hispanic All-Star game
• The 3 Alou brothers batted consecutively in a game on September 10th, and on September 15th, they all played in the same outfield
• Mickey Mantle hit what may have been the longest homer of his career on May 22, 1963 against Bill Fischer of the KC Athletics.  He barely missed becoming the only player to hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium.  It struck the top of the facade in right field and careened back to the outfield.
• Pete Rose made his MLB debut and finished as the The Houston’s Colt 45’s had their first season as a franchise (Topps wouldn’t be allowed to include this for obvious reasons)
• Don Nottebart threw a no-hitter for the Houston Colt .45’s in their second year of existence
• Willie Mays and Duke Snider both hit their 400th home run

Card that completed my set: #BF-WMC – Willie McCovey

I got this last card from a trade with Mark from This Way to the Clubhouse.  This card honors McCovey’s 100th home run, as he became one of the youngest sluggers to reach that mark.

Highest book value: #BF-SKO – Sandy Koufax, BF-SK – Sandy Koufax, BF-HA – Hank Aaron, BF-WM – Willie Mays

Since there is no Mickey Mantle card in this set, these guys are all valued equally by Beckett.

Best card (my opinion): #BF-SKO

I’ve got to go for the best milestone in this group, and this card honors the record-setting performance that Koufax had in game 1 of the World Series.  He struck out 15 Yankee hitters, besting the previous Series record held by Carl Erskine.