Following in the path Topps began in 1961 by featuring a large, full-color player photograph on each card, the 1965 Topps issue includes a team logo as a design flourish, adding a bit of 1960s flair to the card layout. Featuring rookie cards of Joe Morgan, Catfish Hunter, Steve Carlton and Tony Perez, the set features an outstanding player selection, despite being occasionally overshadowed by the issues of the next few years.
Presented here is a beautiful mid to higher-grade complete set, the cards clean and presentable, largely sharp with less wear. The set breaks down as 2% NM/MT, 7% NM, 25% EX/MT, 42% EX, 23% VG/EX, with a few VG or lesser, including what appears to be a few irregular factory cuts. We selected ten cards to submit to SGC for grading. Those cards are as follows: #16 Morgan (SGC EX+ 5.5), #160 Clemente (SGC A, though the cut appears irregular and not trimmed, in our opinion), #170 Aaron (SGC EX/NM+ 6.5), #207 Rose (SGC EX/NM 6), #250 Mays (SGC EX+ 5.5), #300 Koufax (SGC EX/NM 6), #350 Mantle (SGC NM+ 7.5), #477 Carlton (SGC EX 5), #526 Hunter (SGC EX 5), and #581 Perez (SGC EX+ 5.5).
This set is from an original owner collection, which included many other complete and partial sets, all assembled in the year of issue and stored away. We do not feel the Clemente card which was graded AUTHENTIC by SGC is trimmed, though the cut is certainly wavy on the right edge. We feel that it is a factory cut and, in fact, the Juan Marichal card described below is similar, as are a few commons.
A breakdown of the remaining key cards is as follows: #50 Marichal (Miscut), 74 Petrocelli (EX), 95 Mazeroski (EX), 120 F. Robinson (EX), 130 Kaline (NM), 150 B. Robinson (EX/MT), 155 Maris (EX), 176 McCovey (EX), 193 Perry (EX), 200 Torre (EX), 205 Spahn (EX), 220 B. Williams (VG/EX), 260 Drysdale (EX), 320 Gibson (EX), 330 Ford (EX), 360 Cepeda (EX/MT), 377 Stargell (EX), 385 Yastrzemski (EX), 400 Killeberw (EX), 500 Mathews (EX), 510 Banks (EX/MT), 540 Brock (EX). A beautiful mid-to-higher grade set. 598 cards total.