1960 Fleer Baseball Greats # 28 Lou Gehrig (HOF) - New York Yankees (VG/EX)

1960-1969 Baseball Cards

Few time periods in the history of the hobby garner as much interest as 1960s baseball cards. Packed with Hall of Fame players and valuable rookie cards, these products are a set collector’s dream. Ungraded commons are still very reasonable and can be readily found at card shows and online, while high graded stars command prices that push deep into the thousands. This decade was mostly dominated by Topps but a few popular Fleer products were released early in the 1960s that include a roster of retired players, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb.

Part of what makes 1960s baseball cards so special is the impressive lineup of players that filled the checklists. Established stars are joined by the new rookie class, which includes top players like Pete Rose, Nolan Ryan, Reggie Jackson, Tom Seaver, Johnny Bench, Rod Carew, Carl Yastrzemski, and Lou Brock.

1960 Fleer Baseball Cards

1960 Fleer Baseball Greats is one of the first sets to rely solely on retired players. Although not overly popular at the time, the checklist is nearly all Hall of Fame members and remains an affordable way to collect some of the biggest names in baseball history.

Product Details

Part baseball card product and part history lesson, 1960 Fleer Baseball Greats is more about the quality of the Hall of Fame names included instead of the actual cards featured. Boasting all-time greats in baseball from Cap Anson to Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, the affordable set covers an extensive period of the national pastime's legacy.

1960 Fleer Baseball is limited by Topps' exclusive rights to use current player photos sold with gum products. To offset this, Fleer issued the Baseball Greats set with retired players. In addition to their ongoing exclusive with Ted Williams, Fleer was also able come to terms with several recently retired stars like Bob Feller and Ralph Kiner. Unfortunately, the card design and choice of player photos failed to impress kids when it debuted.

There are a total of 79 base cards in the complete set, not including the # 80 variations. Nearly every subject that appears in 1960 Fleer Baseball is now immortalized in Cooperstown. The checklist consists of players, managers, executives and two league commissioners. However, some are featured in Old-Timers' or unfamiliar uniforms, and many were well past their playing days in the images that were showcased.

1960 Fleer Baseball card fronts feature a posed photograph of the depicted player, usually a head-and-shoulders shot, although a few cards do utilize action photos. Some are in color, but the majority of the images are colorized black-and-white photos. A solid-colored, octagonal shape frames the picture using either blue, green, red or yellow scheme. The player's name appears at the bottom of the card. Although primarily laid out in a vertical orientation, a few cards are horizontally arranged.

The 1960 Fleer Baseball backs have a short biography and the career batting or pitching statistics for the players. At the top, a crown inside a red box shows the card number, with the words "Baseball Greats" and the person's name, date of birth (and in some cases, his death) to the right. Measuring the now standard 2-1/2" by 3-1/2", the entire set was printed and released in a single series. One anomaly to the set is that of Ted Williams' card # 72, which was printed with extremely over-sized borders, creating a narrowed card image.

Although 80 cards are listed in the set, there are known variation cards of Joe Tinker, Eddie Collins and Lefty Grove that each have a #80 Pepper Martin back. It's likely that a Martin card was planned but ultimately scrapped because Fleer was unable to get permission to use his image. These variations are all limited, but the Joe Tinker version is the most scarce, followed by Eddie Collins and then Lefty Grove. The three variation cards are not considered part of the complete set. It is important to note that the #80 cards are normally found hand-cut or cancelled, but some have reportedly been pulled in packs.

Today, the concept of a set made up of great players from the past is fairly common, but it was a new idea in 1960. Unfortunately for Fleer, it wasn't a big hit with kids. They may have known about Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Lou Gehrig, but weren't overly impressed by having images from Old-Timers' Day or executives in suits on their cards. Despite those negatives, 1960 Fleer offers a way for many collectors to add cards of big-name stars to their collection without having to shell out huge amounts of money. This is especially true for the truly iconic players, like Ruth or Cobb, whose contemporary cards fetch enormous prices.

A fun and affordable set, 1960 Fleer Baseball Greats, has finally earned the respect that it deserves from vintage collectors. Cards in top grades command respectable sums on the secondary market. Compared to other sets from the era, the 1960 Fleer issue tends to be slightly more scarce as a whole. This is simply because of the lack of popularity the cards garnered at the time of their release.

How We Grade:

Gem Mint (GMT): (10.0) A flawless card. To be in Gem Mint condition, a card’s borders must have a ratio of 50/50 side to side and top to bottom. 

Mint (MT): (9.0-9.5) A perfect card. Well-centered with parallel borders which appear equal to the naked eye. Four sharp, square corners. No creases, edge dents, surface scratches, paper flaws, loss of luster, yellowing or fading, regardless of age. No imperfectly printed cards – out of register, badly cut or ink flawed – or card stained by contact with gum, wax or other substances can be considered truly Mint, even if new out of the pack. Generally, to be considered in Mint condition, a card’s borders must exist in a ratio of 60/40 side to side and top to bottom. 

Near Mint/Mint (NM/MT): (8.0-8.5) A super high-end card that appears Mint 9 at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may exhibit a very slight wax stain on reverse, slight fraying at one or two corners, or a minor printing imperfection. Centering must be app. 65/35 to 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. 

Near Mint (NM): (7.0-7.5) A nearly perfect card at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may have slight surface wear, slight fraying on some corners, slightly out-of-register picture focus, a minor printing blemish or slight wax stain on reverse. Centering must be 70/30 to 75/25 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

Excellent/Near Mint (EX/NM): (6.0-6.5) Card may have visible surface wear or a printing defect. A very light scratch. Corners may have slightly graduated fraying. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. Card may have minor wax stain on reverse, may have very slight nothing on edges. Centering must be 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

Excellent (EX): (5.0-5.5) Corners are still fairly sharp with only moderate wear. Card borders may be off center as much as 85/15. No creases. May have very minor gum, wax or product stains, front or back. Surfaces may show slight loss of luster from rubbing across other cards. Dark bordered cards may have one or two small nicks.

Very Good/Excellent (VG/EX): (4.0-4.5) Shows obvious handling, but still looks nice. Corners may be rounded or have minor creases. No major creases, tape marks or extraneous markings or writing. Surfaces does exhibit loss of luster, but the printing is intact. May have paper wrinkles. May show major gum, wax or other packaging stains. All four borders visible, though the ratio may be as poor as 95/5. Exhibits honest wear. 

Very Good (VG): (3.0-3.5) A well-worn card, but exhibits no intentional damage or abuse. May be “Mis-cut or Off-Center” with no border visible. May have major or multiple creases, however, creases are not so deep as to show the underlying paper. This card is completely readable, has not been written on, and has no tape marks or holes. Corner rounding may extend well beyond the border. 

Good (GD) (2.0-2.5) Shows excessive wear, along with damage or abuse. Will show all the wear characteristics of a Very Good card, along with such damage as thumb tack holes in or near margins, evidence of having been taped or pasted, perhaps small tears around the edges or creases so heavily as to break the cardboard. Backs may show minor added pen or pencil writing or be missing small bits of paper. Still basically a complete card. 

Poor (P): (1.0-1.5) A card that has been tortured to death. Corners or other areas may be torn off. Card may have been trimmed, show holes from a paper punch or have been used for BB gun practice. Front may have extraneous pen or pencil writing, or other defacement. Major portions of front or back design may be missing. Not a pretty sight. 

We believe that all our listings are 100% Original and Authentic unless otherwise noted. They are all covered by a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee, if for whatever reason you are not happy with your purchase we will exchange it, replace it, discount it or you can return it for a full refund.

Standard/Combined 1st Class Shipping via USPS is $3.95 for the first card and $0.15 for each additional card, with a max. of (40) items per invoice. Subject to change as postal rates continue to increase. Estimated delivery is 3-5 days. Subject to change as postal delivery schedules continue to increase. Please see shipping tab for current postage rates. All cards will ship in penny sleeves, top loaders, team bag & bubble wrap envelopes.

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