1963 Topps

A Great New Gift Idea! The Topps 1964 Baseball Gift Box

by

My favorite thing about the hobby is interacting with other collectors and hobby historians and learning about new items. Well, on the morning of May 1st, 2023, a collector contacted me via e-mail after perusing the site with two photos of an empty box of cards I’d never seen before.

1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box
1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box Lid

He thought maybe they were issued around Christmas time in 1964 to sell leftover cards after the season had ended and asked if I knew anything about it. I searched some of my older books and came up empty-handed. He mentioned the box didn’t have any code on it, so I asked if he’d be ok with my sharing it on Facebook to see if anyone else could help.

On Facebook, a collector mentioned he had seen a reference to the box before and shared the following sell sheet.

1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box Sell Sheet

One collector on Facebook commented that the box on the sell sheet looks a lot like a carton of cigarettes! And another was pretty sure Topps only made this product in 64.

The box wasn’t really meant for Christmas; it’s a gift box for any occasion, “what better way to say ‘happy birthday’ or just ‘hello.’ The boxes came 24 per case for $14.40 or 60 cents a box. Each box had 20 5-cent packs (100 total cards), though given the gift theme, I don’t think they were meant to be sold by the pack. 

A ton of collectors reached out to me asking if the owner was interested in selling the empty box, but he’s not. Given how much interest it garnered in such a short period, I presume bidding would be intense.

I’m unsure how you’d price such an item, though. However, one collector shared that there was one on eBay many years ago, and he thought it was for $500, or maybe $338, but acknowledged it would go for much more these days. Another collector thinks he saw one around 2004.

The owner later shared three more photos of the box with me.

1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box – Angle 1
1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box – Angle 2
1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box – Angle 3

An interesting thing about the box is that that’s not Whitey Ford’s 1964 Topps baseball card printed on it; it looks like a 1964 design, but with his 1963 Topps photo. 

1964 and 1963 Topps Whitey Ford Cards

Some collectors surmised it could have come out as early as December 1963, given the difference in Ford’s card design. And maybe the low item number of 400 (on the sell sheet) indicates an early release, along with the image of the smiling kid being the same as the one on the 1962 Topps Baseball Bucks dealer sell sheet?

1962 Topps Baseball Bucks Sell Sheet

Funny enough, Topps did something similar with the 1964 Topps Giants set; the picture of Whitey Ford on the box isn’t identical to his card.

1964 Topps Giants Box and Whitey Ford Card

If you have more insight into this unique Topps product, please leave a comment or e-mail me.

Ranking the Top 5 Topps Baseball Card Set Designs of All Time

by

Many months ago, a collector asked me, disregarding value completely and going strictly by design, what years were my top 5 standard Topps sets. The first two sets that came to mind were the colorful 1969 Topps football cards and the 1954 Topps Hockey backs, which I think are the best in hobby history. But this collector clarified that he just meant baseball card fronts. After browsing through all of Topps’ post-war sets (through 1991), here are my top 5 best looking Topps baseball card designs.

5. 1984 Topps

1984 Topps Baseball Cards

When you disconnect your mind from the sets being overproduced, there were many great Topps designs in the 1980s. My favorite is the 1984 Topps set with its great dual-photo design. Topps chose some really great action shots to pair with the smaller headshots, and I think the team name in large vertical letters along the side makes for a well-balanced card.

4. 1971 Topps

1971 Topps Baseball Cards

I love the way this set presents as a whole. The team names along the top really pop out from the black borders, and the white frame around the color photos helps focus your eyes on the player. I also think the facsimile signatures are a bit nicer since they match the black borders, and I like that compared to other sets that feature them.

3. 1956 Topps

1956 Topps Baseball Cards

While the 1956 Topps design is similar to their 1955 set, with player portraits and in-action photos on the front of the card, what I like better about the 56 designs are the more interesting (rather than single color) backgrounds. 

2. 1963 Topps

1963 Topps Baseball Cards

This might end up being my most “controversial” pick. I like the balance between the large likeness and the smaller black-and-white pictures in circles. I also found many of the set’s themed cards to be well executed.

1. 1953 Topps

1953 Topps Baseball Cards

The only set I’m confident will always be in my Top 5 is the 1953 Topps Baseball set. It’s stood the test of time from Topps’ early days as one of the greatest set designs ever; the player portraits are gorgeous. Plus, the black or red boxes along the bottom with the player name, position, team, and the diamond-shaped team logo are simple but well-executed bonuses. 

A few other sets I considered were 1975, 1960, 1959, 1969, and 1987. What’s funny, though, is if you ask me to put this list together in another few months, you’ll probably get a completely different answer (other than 1953). I’d love your thoughts on the best-looking Topps Baseball card designs. Feel free to share your opinion in the comments or on X/Twitter, and happy collecting!