1963 Topps All Stars - The National League Outfield

This is something I have been thinking about doing for a long time. In fact longer than I have been doing this blog. I made a 1973 Topps All Star card for my previous blog, 6 Degrees of Ron Santo. Recently I came across 1965 Topps All Star Cards That Never Were on The Baseball Card Blog and it inspired me to take on this project.

A few bloggers out there dismiss these as "filler cards". (Along with League Leader, and Highlight cards to name a few.) That may be the case, but as a kid, I loved these cards. I still do. It gives some perspective on the times. Even though many of these all stars were never enshrined in Cooperstown, they were (for a season at least) the best at their position. They were right there, rubbing shoulders with future Hall of Famers. 

I won't make all of these cards at once but plan to put them out in groups. By year and league, I will group Outfielders, Infielders, Battery and finally Managers. Starting with the 1962 National League Outfield.

1963 Topps Tommy Davis AS

Tommy Davis was having a career year in 1962. He hit 27 homers and led the league in RBIs and batting average. This was his first All Star selection and he started both games. Unfortunately, he was 0 for 5 over the 2 games.

1963 Topps Willie Mays AS

Willie is an All Star perennial. He played in every All Star game going back to 1954 and started in every one since 1957. In 1962 he would be a starting All Star for his 9th and 10th consecutive time. He went 0 for 3 in with a walk and a stolen base Game 1. In Game 2 he was 2 for 2, both singles.

1963 Topps Roberto Clement AS

I debated whether to refer to Clemente as Roberto or Bob. I personally don't recall anybody calling him Bob Clemente. But his name was "Bob" on every Topps card from 1957-1969. Clemente went 3 for 3 in the first game but was 0 for 2 in the second game.