1962 Topps - Ted KluszewskiKlu had a hastily put together Angels card in the 1961 set. He is listed on the Angels, but there was no attempt to cover up his White Sox hat. Ted retired after the 1961 season and Topps saw no reason to grant Kluszewski a final card in the 1962 set.
Ted made Angels history on April 11, 1961, when he hit the first home run of the franchise's existence, in the first inning of the first game. That home run traveled to deep right field. Big Klu followed that up with a home run to deep right field off of another pitcher the following inning.
Despite being a part time player in his last few years, Ted appeared in 107 games for the Angels in their inaugural season. I would think that this would be enough for a final card in the following year's set, but apparently not. This corrects that oversight.
5 comments:
10/10. I am in awe...
I appreciate that. Thanks! :-)
Nice Card Steve!
Back then, Topps made no effort to make a "final card" for a player if he had already retired before the following year's set was designed. If Klu retired shortly after the close of the 1961 season, he would naturally be excluded from the 1962 set. It's the same reason Sandy Koufax didn't appear in the 1967 set.
Perhaps the most well-known "post-retirement card" of the 1960s was the 1969 Mickey Mantle card. But, if I recall correctly, Mantle announced his retirement during spring training in 1969, so his card was already in the works. Likewise with the 1967 Joe Nuxhall card.
An exception to all of the above was the final "in memoriam" card for Cubs 2nd baseman Ken Hubbs.
Do you sell printed versions of your cards that never were?
I haven't made any printed versions of cards available for purchase yet. That all depends on copyright issues with the designs from companies like Topps. I will be looking for some way to legally make this set available for purchase, but it may be a long wait.
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