1963 Topps

 Before we get into this, let me get one thing out of the way... Most of us will NEVER properly complete this team set. I know what you must be thinking to yourself.

"There is no way that I can possibly know that. I have mad collecting skills. I am resourceful and always find a way, even though I'm on a budget. I get things done. I overcome my challenges."

Let me reiterate. Most of you (not all) will NEVER properly complete this team set.

"Nellie Fox can't be worth that much! It's far from Luis Aparicio's rookie season. What gives?"

I hate to break it to you, but Luis Aparicio is not in this team set. Topps already has him on the Orioles.

You most likely will never properly complete a White Sox team set and it's not because of any White Sox player. In fact, the only White Sox connection to this player would be through his son, who played in the White Sox minor league system from 1994 through 1996.

If you are up to the challenge, there are a few ways around this problem. One path leads you to acknowledge that you will never have a complete team set. Another way is to travel down a dark and seedy, illicit path. Another way would be to miss a couple of mortgage payments in order to obtain this card.

Are you ready?

It is the infamous Pete Rose.

It's just unfortunate that Al Weis is also on this card.

If you haven't sacrificed your living situation and you haven't resigned to the fact that your set will be always incomplete, what is the third option?

EBay.

More specifically, you will be looking for a particular counterfeit version of the card that was involved in a famous court case.

These original fakes are stamped on the back. That's the route that I went. My white whale card is out of the way, albeit rather cavalierly. Newer reprints are flooding eBay, some for as low as a dollar. So, it's not impossible, just slightly unethical.

So, now that that is out of the way. Let's enjoy this set!

After the original Topps wood grain, the 1963 set exploded with color. Most cards have a nice head shot with a smaller "action" photo in a circle with a colorful background. There is simplicity in the design, but the color is what really pops. It especially pops when comparing the cards to the 1962 and 1964 sets. Classics in their own rights, but not like this.

I liked the design so much, I even made a Birth Year card for Conan O'Brien during that short-lived Tonight Show debacle.

The 1963 Topps set is one of my favorites from the 60s. There are very few that can compare to it in the time frame. When Upper Deck did their Vintage line and basically stole designs from Topps, it didn't feel right. There is just something about the originals that feels right. I can't put my finger on what exactly though. All the elements work well together.

The White Sox have thirty-three cards in this set.

2 - Floyd Robinson (Hinton, Mantle, Runnels, Siebern) AL Batting
6 - Eddie Fisher (Bunning, Pascual, Aguirre, Roberts) AL ERA
8 - Ray Herbert (Donovan, Bunning, Pascual, Terry) AL Pitching
10 - Juan Pizarro (Bunning, Kaat, Pascual, Terry) AL Strikeout
16 - Al Smith
35 - John Buzhardt
54 - Dave Debusschere (Matthews, Fanok, Cullen) Rookies
66 - Mike Joyce
86 - Charley Maxwell
100 - Joe Cunningham
118 - Sherm Lollar
160 - Juan Pizarro
181 - Sammy Esposito
223 - Eddie Fisher
234 - Dave Nicholson
253 - Deacon Jones (Wojcik, Jernigan, Gabrielson) Rookies
254 - Mike Hershberger
271 - Dean Stone
288 - White Sox Team
308 - Camilo Carreon
324 - Pete Ward (Davalillo, Roof, Williams) Rookies
332 - Joe Horlen
354 - Dom Zanni
381 - Frank Baumann
405 - Floyd Robinson
424 - Charley Smith
458 - Al Lopez
485 - Jim Landis
499 - J.C. Martin
522 - Gary Peters (Nelson, Quirk, Roland) Rookies
525 - Nellie Fox
537 - Al Weis (Rose, Gonzalez, McMullen) Rookies
560 - Ray Herbert

With thirty-three cards in the master team set, this would be a monumental task, even without the Al Weis rookie card. It shows how good and underrated these sixties White Sox teams were. If divisional play was in baseball before 1969, these sixties White Sox cards would be even more difficult to obtain at a fair price. It's a double edged sword. I hoped the White Sox would do well, but if they did well, the card prices would skyrocket.

You may not be able to complete a White Sox team set legitimately, but these are great cards for your collection. They feature a great variety of players, rookies and leaders. Plus the colors really pop.