I decided to fill the only gap between 1965 and 1969 by starting this blog. I didn't collect baseball cards in 1966, but in the 1980s I obtained all the Phillies cards (and a few others) from the 1966 set. Since the fall of of 2008, I have collected over 450 of these cards. I now have 533 of the 598 cards (89%). -- 16-OCT-2009
The 1966 Topps set included 598 cards. Most of the cards had horizontal backs. Topps instituted a new color scheme to identify each team (2 teams per color - 1 NL, 1 AL) which they would also use in the 1968 and 1969 sets.
Among the cards are 19 team cards (no Astros team), 20 manager cards (no Cubs manager, but 2 Astros managers), 46 rookie stars cards (down from 55 the previous year), 5 multi-player and 12 league leader cards. The World Series highlights cards were not included in the set, for the only time in the decade.
The 1966 set includes the final cards for over 50 players, including long-time veterans such as Sandy Koufax, Robin Roberts, Del Crandall, Bob Friend, Roy McMillan, Harvey Kuenn, Billy Hoeft, Ed Bailey, Ray Herbert, Joey Jay, Jerry Lynch, Bob Purkey, Roger Craig, Joe Cunningham, Gene Freese, Lenny Green, Hector Lopez, Frank Malzone, Don Mossi, Vic Power, Bobby Richardson, Steve Ridzik, Bob Skinner, Wes Covington, Marty Keough, and Dick Stuart.
Others whose final card was in the 1966 set include Jim Gentile, Willie Kirkland, Albie Pearson, Johnny Blanchard, Ernie Broglio, Camilo Carreon, Joe Christopher, Ken Hamlin, Don Landrum, Dick Bertell, Joe Gaines, Art Mahaffey, Tracy Stallard, Dick Stigman, Dom Zanni, Frank Kreutzer, Carl Warwick, George Banks, Bob Heffner, John Herrnstein, Howie Koplitz, Merritt Ranew, Chuck Schilling, Buster Narum, Aubrey Gatewood, Gary Kroll, and managers Birdie Tebbetts, Charlie Dressen, Billy Herman, Bobby Bragan, and Don Heffner.
Notable rookie cards in the set are Bill Singer and Don Sutton (on the same card), as well as George Scott, Dave Johnson, Cleon Jones, Roy White, and Lee May.
Veteran players who had been in the majors continuously for several seasons (including 1966), but were not in the 1966 set were Maury Wills, Chris Short, Joe Adcock, Dick Hall, Wes Stock, Lou Clinton, Don Blasingame, Doug Clemens, Frank Bolling, Bob Lillis, Eddie Kasko, Joey Amalfitano, Ed Roebuck, and Jay Ritchie.
1966 rookies with significant playing time who were omitted from the set include Jay Johnstone, Larry Elliot, Jackie Hernandez, Dick Lines, Ron Davis, and Ken Holtzman.
Significant errors in the 1966 set:
The Dick Ellsworth card features a photo of Ken Hubbs, the Cubs’ 2nd baseman in 1962-63 that was killed in a plane crash prior to the 1964 season.
Other quirks in the 1966 set:
- As mentioned above, there was no team card for the Houston Astros.
- The Phillies’ multi-player card (Power Plus) featured Wes Covington, who had been traded to the Cubs in the off-season.
.jpg)
.jpg)
