30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Bigger Is Better #2: 1964 Topps Giants #9 Rocky Colavito

Last week... I asked you guys about your favorite oversize cardboard sets.  Chuck's Used Cards & The Shlabotnik Report both mentioned the 1964 Topps Giants set.

I immediately headed over to Check Out My Cards and eBay to see what the had to offer.  After about fifteen minutes I settled on this particular Rocky Colavito:



What's so special about 1964 Topps Giants?  Isn't it obvious?  They're huge.  They're oddballs.  And they're simple & attractive at the same time.

Why Rocky?  Well... I knew I wanted a member of the Kansas City Athletics and discovered there were only three players to choose from: #9 Rocky Colavito, #15 Jim Gentile, and #45 Wayne Causey.   Colavito was the only player I had heard of, so it wasn't too difficult of a decision.

Known primarily for his years with the Cleveland Indians, he played for Kansas City in 1964.  That year, he hit 34 home runs, batted .274, scored 89 runs, drove in 102 RBI's and was a member of the AL All-Star team.  By the time he wrapped up his 14 year career in 1968, he managed to hit 374 home runs.

Why this particular card?  I had a bunch to choose from and some of them were cheaper than this one.  But in the end, I chose this card because it was in really good condition, had decent centering, and was reasonably priced.  The card was $4 (free shipping) and looks like it was pulled from a pack yesterday.

Thanks Chuck & Joe for your suggestion.  Without it... I wouldn't have added this card to my collection.

Okay... so Colavito may have been a star, but his numbers weren't worthy of Cooperstown. And according to all of you who responded to this thread, neither is Nomar.  So today, let's do this...

Share some of the players you enjoy collecting... even though they'll never be enshrined at Cooperstown.

Who knows... your response just might lead to another one of my cardboard purchases.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

25 comments:

Commishbob said...

Funny, I am in the middle of my write up of the '59 Colavito. He's one of the guys I collect that are not Hall of Famers. Others include:

Elrod Hendricks
Mike Cuellar
Bobby Richardson
Jim Gentile
Roger Maris
Boog Powell
Art Ditmar and
Lance Berkman

BA Benny said...

Are you kidding, I am a Mets fan and collector, 99% of my collection will never make the Hall. Ha Ha. Edgardo Alfonzo is one of many I love to collect that won't make it.

Greg Zakwin said...

Al Rosen.

He should be though.

http://plaschkethysweaterisargyle.blogspot.com/p/al-rosen-collection.html

night owl said...

Ron Cey, Hideo Nomo, Fernando Valenzuela, just to name 3. And I have oversized cards of all three.

Stealing Home said...

everyone the night owl mentioned...and...Johnny Podres

Chuck's Used Cards said...

If its baseball, then Thurman Munson, Pete Rose and Ron Guidry.
If its hockey, then its Tim Horton, John Vanbeisbrouck and Mike Richter.

I've got an extra 1964 Giant - Harmon Killebrew.

CHUCKS USED CARDS

Anonymous said...

Nice Colavito. You know, Rocky will get lonely in that special-sized plastic sheet, you should get him some company.

All right, rabbit. Where's Rocky? Where's he hiding?
He's not in this stove!
Oh, ho! He's hidin' in the stove, eh?
Would I turn on the gas if my friend Rocky was hiding in there?

...sorry, mentally went off into a Bugs Bunny cartoon there...

Non-HOF players I collect? Too many to mention, but I'll try to name a few off the top of my head... Frank Catalanotto, Kirk McCaskill, Willie Harris, Darren Daulton, B.J. Surhoff, Ty Wigginton. Many, many more.

Fuji said...

There's that name again... Jim Gentile. I guess I'd better look that guy up... and possibly add his card to the collection too.

Fuji said...

What ever happened to Alfonzo? That guy was the man in the late 90's... early 2000's. Haven't heard his name in a few years though.

Fuji said...

Wow... that's an awesome collection. Just looked up his stats on baseball reference and wow... he had a tremendous year in 1953. Thanks for sharing.

Fuji said...

I collect Nomo too... and I'm in the process of finding a Fernando memorabilia card, so I can wrap up his trifecta.

Fuji said...

Just looked up Podres... heck of a year in 1961. I just posted a few offers on COMC for his 61 Topps card. We'll see if I can get someone to bite.

Fuji said...

Wow... those are some awesome names (for both sports). I've considered building a Ron Guidry trifecta. I have his autograph... and I think his rookie card. Like Fernando... just need a memorabilia card of him. When I was a kid, I had a video game on my Apple IIe. And I would play with the 1978 Yankees because of Guidry's amazing stats.

Fuji said...

Another great list of players. Catalanotto might just be one of the greatest players to never make an all-star appearance. Hmmm... might have to grab an autograph of him.

Anonymous said...


Elston Howard
Mark Fidrych
Dave Parker
Tim Wallach
Darryl Strawberry
Don Mattingly

Though I still hold out hope for all buy The Bird and Straw to eventually be inducted

Fuji said...

I too collect Fidrych. That guy was something else. Wallach, Strawberry, and Mattingly are also great names.

But do I have something to show you within the next few weeks... it has to do with Dave Parker. It might just be the best deal I've ever found on the internet. However... I won't believe it until I see it.

Zippy Zappy said...

*Roger Maris
*Jose Bautista

Bautista was fairly easy. He was a no-name prior to 2010 who (with the exception of his rookie year way back in 2002) never had more than one card made of him before 2010. Although his breakout performance in 2010 and encore performance in 2011 made things difficult for me this year.
Maris is trickier. He's got so many inserts and cards (thanks to his ties to the Mick I'm guessing) that I've decided to limit my PC to his vintage base cards and notable oddities. Unfortunatly my budget and limited resources has made it so that I only have 1 base card from the 60's and his die cut from the diamond giveaway.
Other players I collect but not in Cooperstown would be Jorge Posada and Dellin Betances but Posada has an interesting borderline-HOFer case that'll be tested 5 years from now and Betances' MLB career has yet to get started.

Fuji said...

Love your Maris selection. I'd consider going after more cards of his... but I just have too many other vintage cards I need to acquire first. I guess my 1959 Topps card will have to do for now.

I'd love to build a trifecta of Posada... but his autographs are pretty expensive and I can pick up several hall of famers for the price of one Jorge.

jacobmrley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jacobmrley said...

My Todd Hundley super collection is a fine example of a player I love that

a) has no chance to get into Cooperstown without a ticket and

b) is pretty much universally hated.

I don't care, though, he's my boy.

Fuji said...

The guy had four Opening day home runs in a row... he's a legend!

Zippy Zappy said...

Steady as she goes I guess. One of the best things about Maris and his vintage cards are that you don't have to spend a whole college savings worth on them. His rookie card & his base from '61 might cost a tad more than his normal base cards but that's understandable, plus it'd still be less than half the price of a vintage Mantle base card.
I'd love to build one too (currently planning a Betances one), but I think I'll wait until Posada fades into obscurity 20~30 years from now. Sad as it maybe it happens to most ex-players regardless of if they're in Cooperstown or not and that's when Posada cards'll take a semi-drop or at least become stable money-wise. Right now he just retired and everyone wants what's left on the shelves and should he be inducted into the HoF his cards are going to have their one last moment in the spotlight and then go down once and for all.
Hmmm I can see how cards being treated as investments ultimately failed.

gcrl said...

Garvey, cey, Russell, Lopes (of course). I also have a soft spot for maury wills and Jim lonborg.

Fuji said...

Yeah... I've considered writing a post on this particular subject. The fact is value usually comes down to supply and demand. And you're exactly correct, demand is usually at its peak when they're in the spotlight: reaching certain milestones, retiring, entering the HOF, and sadly when they pass away.

If people don't capitalize when the athletes are in demand, 99% of those investments will usually fall in value.

Fuji said...

Yeah... that whole infield was something special. The chemistry and longevity they experienced together is something that probably will never be duplicated.