Topps All-Star Misses: 1962 AL Infield

 In 1962 The Topps "Sporting News All-Star" cards for the AL infield most closely resembled the second ASG of 1961.  Topps had three of the four starters from game 2; Norm Cash at first, Luis Aparicio at short, and Brooks Robinson at third.  The only player in the 1962 Topps AS set that was an actual "Sporting News All-Star" in 1962 was Brooks.  Cash and Robinson were also 1961 Sporting News All Star sections.

So who could've been on these cards? At first base there could have been a card for Norm Siebern.  He was the actual Sporting News All Star selection in 1962.  Although he never was an All Star starter he was a four-time All Star from 1962-1964.  He al so received AL MVP votes three years running from 1961-1963

At second base there could have been cards for Johnny Temple who and Bobby Richardson. Temple started both All Star games in 1961.  Richardson was the Sporting News All Star selection in both 1961 and 1962.

At shortstop you can see a changing of the guard in New York. The outgoing shortstop, Tony Kubek could have been included because he was the starting shortstop in the first ASG of 1961.  He was also the Sporting News All Star selection in 1961.  The 1962 Rookie of the Year, Tom Tresh, was the Sporting New All Star selection in 1962.  This would be another case where a player could have had a rookie card and an All Star card in the same Topps set.  His rookie card appeared in the Series 1.  By Series 6 (where the All Stars appeared in 1962) Topps could have made a second card for the eventual ROY.

Who probably didn't merit inclusion in the 1962 Topps All-Star set, but was in it anyway?

Chuck Schilling

In 1961 Schilling Tied for 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting. His teammate Don Schwall won the title. Although Schwall won the AL ROY and another 1961 Red Sox rookie, Carl Yastrzemski would enter the Hall of Fame, Schilling was given the Thomas A. Yawkey award for Most Valuable Red Sox in 1961. A wrist injury in 1962 would shorten his promising career. After being traded to the Twins in 1966, Schilling retire rather that take a demotion to the minors.  Ironically, the last ling from the back of his 1962 All Star card read: "Chuck is assured of a long major league career."

Even More For 1963 Fleer

In my previous post I pointed out some other types of cards that might have been included in the 1963 Fleer set had it not been cut short due to Topps' lawsuit. In my last post I added manager, rookie and team cards. But what set would be complete without leader cards?

Again I made one example from the American League and one from the National. Not a bad selection of players either. Five out of six are in the Hall of Fame now.  I tried to remain true to the Fleer design, but when I was done it looks reminiscent of Topps 1964 Leader cards.

Also missing from the initial 66 cards were World Series cards. Not necessarily essential, but usually a source of action shots in the 1960's when most cards were posed. Again, one card example featuring the National League team, and one for the American League.

 I decided to go with black and white photos out of necessity. While I could find a few color photos of the 1962 Series. Topps colorized their WS cards in the early 60's but revered to black and white in the later part of the decade.

One of my favorite subsets, the All Star cards, were notably missing from the 1963 Topps set. When Topps did  include All Stars, they weren't often the starting All Stars from the previous season. Often they were labeled "Sporting News All Star" but often that wasn't the case either.

In my examples, both players were Sporting News All Stars in 1963.  Luis Aparicio played starting shortstop in the 1962 All Star Games while a member of the White Sox. In 1963 he was the backup to Zoilo Versalles . Johnny Edwards was the Sporting News All Star in 1963 but was a backup to Ed Bailey of the Giants in the 1963 All Star game. Edwards took over for Bailey as the Reds catcher in 1961 when Bailey was traded to the Giants. Edwards, a three time All Star and two time Gold Glove catcher was succeeded by Johnny Bench in 1968.

In the Original 66 cards was the rookie card of Maury Wills. On that card, instead of the usual player drawing, Fleer put "N.L. Most Valuable Player '62". They replicated that for their 1998 Mickey Mantle insert card. I made a Rookie of the Year card for Ken Hubbs using the same design.

While most sets of this era didn't have "Award" cards, it seem like a logical extension. So here is the other R.O.Y. from 1962, Tom Tresh and the 1962 Cy Young Award winner, Don Drysdale.

1975 Topps 1962 Rookies of the Year

In 1962 both Rookie of the Year players made their way onto a regular issue Topps card. Both players also had short careers, but for different reasons.

Tresh's 1962 season was spent as a replacement at shortstop for 1957 Rookie of the Year Tony Kubek who was on military leave. He batted a career high .286 which was 41 points higher than his career average. He also hit .321 in the 1962 World Series including a 3 run blast in game 5 that proved to be the winning shot. When Kubek returned Tresh moved to the outfield where he would earn a Gold Glove in 1965. When his batting average diminished the Yankees traded him to the Tigers in 1969 who then released him in 1970.

Ken Hubbs was another great fielder but poor hitter. He was the first player to earn a Gold Glove in his rookie year. He also led the league in strikeouts and grounding into double plays in 1962. In 1963 his batting average dropped from a somewhat respectable .260 to .235. Hubbs crashed his private aircraft in February 1964 in Utah. Topps release a "In Memoriam" card featuring Hubbs in 1964. 

Ken Hubbs would appear on one more card in 1966 when Topps inadvertently used his photo on a Dick Ellsworth card.