My Favorite 1967 Cards

I started collecting baseball cards in 1967 - not at the start of the season, but sometime in May as I recall. I think Topps was into their 2nd or 3rd series by that time, but through trading with other kids, I was able to play catch-up and get all the earlier cards I missed (except for the Cardinals team).

 

Before I started collecting cards in 1967, I only knew who 3 of the players were: Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Harmon Killebrew. I had heard the name "Johnny Callison", but didn't know who he was. I don't think I had ever heard of Willie Mays though.

 

As best as I can remember, these were my favorite 1967 cards at that time:

The top row of players is self-explanatory. 

 

In 1967, Topps made 13 multi-player cards. These 3 were my favorites. (I was a Phillies' fan, but I'm not sure why I liked the other two cards over all the rest.) 

 

Chris Short and Johnny Callison were my two favorite Phillies players. I started following that team the same month I began collecting cards. 

 

 

Jim Palmer's card came along in the 4th or 5th series, as I recall. I became a big Palmer fan when I got this card. I don't remember why - he missed almost all of the 1967 season, and I wasn't following the Orioles. Maybe it was because the Orioles had just won the World Series in '66, and here was a good, young pitcher named "Jim"? 

 

Anyway, on one of the T-shirts I had bought from a local discount store (those surplus high school gym shirts with various schools' names on the front, that you could pick up for a dollar or so) I had written a big number "22" with a Magic Marker. (As I'm typing this, I am remembering the kid in the Vince Papale movie "Invincible", who made the number "83" on his shirt with bits of duct tape.) 

 

One of my friends who was a Cowboys' fan just assumed it was in reference to Bob Hayes. Ha!

 

So I had become a Jim Palmer fan before his great comeback in 1969. For that, I feel like I got in on the ground floor. LOL

Johnny Callison (#85)

I generally try not to post a player's card if he's already appeared on one of my other blogs (like this 1969 card of Johnny Callison), but I'm making an exception here for several reasons:

1. Callison is one of my favorite Phillies from when I was growing up in the 1960s (CommishBob's too!)
2. This was my first Callison card
3. I read a story today on the Philadelphia newspaper's website, and I needed a place to pass the link along, for all Callison fans to read
4. It's all-star day, and 49 years ago, Johnny Callison was the toast of the town.

Heeere's Johnny!

Callison also pops up here.

And check out Deal's take on his Phungo blog.

Hurlers Beware (#309)

Here's another of the 13 multi-player cards issued by Topps in the 1967 set. For some reason, 9 teams didn't get one of these cards (Red Sox, Yankees, Senators, Athletics, Angels, Cubs, Reds, Astros, Dodgers), while 2 teams (Orioles, Indians) got 2 such cards.

Johnny Callison and Richie Allen were the Phillies' top two sluggers in the mid-1960s.

The left-handed Callison played for the Phillies from 1960-69, and had big homerun totals from 1962-65. He also won the 1964 all-star game with a walk-off homer.

Right-handed Allen won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1964, and was the team's top slugger for 6 seasons, before being traded to the Cardinals after the 1969 season. He had some monster years for the White Sox in the early 1970s, before returning to the Phillies for the '75 and '76 seasons.

The Phillies also had a multi-player card in the 1966 set, titled "Power Plus" and featuring Callison and Wes Covington. (no Allen?)