We have made the decision to break up an EXTRAORDINARY 1963 Topps set
- the #4 Master Set on the PSA Set Registry. The 1963 set is a
particularly difficult set to complete in high grade due to Topps' poor
quality control in the era which resulted in
considerable print defects. The large and colorful border at the bottom
simultaneously lends a distinctive design element and a condition
challenge, as they are extremely susceptible to
chipping and wear.
The example offered here is card #295, Ed Roebuck, graded MINT 9.
Roebuck was known as one of the game's finest fungo hitters, who endeavored to hit fungo home runs from home plate in every MLB stadium. In 1964, still an active player with the rival Phillies, Roebuck was asked by Roy Hofheinz, owner of the Houston Colt .45s,
to hit the highest fungo fly balls he could in order to determine the
ideal roof height for baseball's first domed stadium, the Astrodome, which was still under construction at the time.
His 1963 card depicts the then-Dodgers pitcher smiling as he rubs a baseball in his hands. This example is nearly perfectly centered, but exhibits the slightest diamond cutting. Fantastic corners and edges, though. Registration imperfections in the green bottom border and the orange circle inset keep this card from grading even higher than it already has.
You won't find a nicer example of this card. And that isn't hyperbole. Not a single example ever seen by PSA has received a higher grade than the card offered here.