1963 BAZOOKA COMPLETE SGC HIGH GRADE All Time Greats GOLD Set RUTH COBB GEHRIG +

Very high grade complete set of 41 cards from the 1963 Bazooka (Topps) All Time Greats set. These were inserted 5 at a time into boxes of 1963 Bazooka Gum, which had cards of current MLB players printed in panels of 3 cards. This set is the only Bazooka card product that did not have to be cut from a box. Cards were printed with both Gold and Silver background plaques, on which appear headshots of the greats.

This is the complete GOLD set. Each and every card has been graded by Sportscard Guaranty Corp (SGC) under the old numbering system, which includes both a 1-10 number grade and a 1-100 number grade. SGC has since gone to only a 1-10 system. Complete graded sets are very scarce. In this set, not a single card grades below EX 5 and a majority (24/41) grade NMT 7 or higher.

That group includes many of the biggest names in the set: Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Rogers Hornsby, Tris Speaker, Walter Johnson, Grover Cleveland (Pete) Alexander, Connie Mack, John McGraw and Mel Ott. Biggest names in the EX-MT 6 gang are Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Cy Young and Hank Greenberg. The Tinker to Evers to Chance combo grade 5-6-7, respectively. The complete breakdown by grade is as follows. NMT+ 7.5 2 cards.

EX+ 5.5 3 cards. All cards are pictured front and back.

You'll also note the shadow on one side - which is why I had to go with scans of the full set. The scanner unfortunately does not bring out the true look of the cards. I find it interesting that in 1963, Topps did not yet consider ballplayers who were active in the pre-WW II period and continued after the war ended, but were retired when the set was produced, to be among the All-Time Greats. Williams and DiMaggio would have qualified for sure, but perhaps it was too soon for Topps. At any rate, the set has a great selection of the true legends plus other Hall of Famers stretching from the early days (Cap Anson) up through the 1930s (Greenberg, Dickey, Lyons, Ott).

Even without the inclusion of a couple more of the biggies it is still a great set to own and should be an excellent investment for the future. With a significantly inferior graded set reaching the level it did, I believe this set is an excellent value in the current very active market for vintage cards. When the bloom has come off the rose of the market for ultra-expensive ultra-modern cards that are artificially-created'scarce', vintage will retain its value.

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