Topps League Leader Cards

The following are all of the league leader cards that included Roberto Clemente.

1961 Topps #41 - National League 1960 Batting Leaders - Clemente had finished fourth in the batting race. Groat won the MVP award for the season and as Clemente finished 8th in the voting, it most likely lot a fire under this ultra-competitive personality and allowed him to mature and succeed like never before. It should be noted that this is the first set that Topps included league leaders. After 1964, they usually only included the top three in each category, unless there was a tie. If they had only included three in this set, Roberto would have been snubbed again. Had Topps included league leaders as soon as 1957, Clemente had finished third in batting in 1956 and would have been featured.

1962 Topps #52 - 1961 National League Batting Leaders - Clemente finished first in batting, and I think his prowess can be traced from the MVP voting snub from the year before. This card is off-center and has some gum residue on the front, but otherwise is a great card. 

1964 Topps #7 - 1963 National League Batting Leaders - After finishing 8th the year before , Clemente was back on track, finishing 2nd by a slim 6 point margin. He is reunited with Dick Groat, although now he is ahead of him. 

1965 Topps #2 - 1964 National League Batting Leaders - Clemente wins his second batting title. Hank Aaron makes his second appearance on the same card. It's always a positive to have another hall of famer sharing a card. This card has gum residue and dinged corners. I wouldn't mind upgrading it. 

1966 Topps #215 - 1965 National League Batting Leaders - The big three, with Clemente in the lead. They always seemed to be best of buddies in their photos together, and they all played winter ball in Puerto Rico. This card is in great shape. I have another copy where I didn't notice some punctures from a staple at the top. This card carries a premium because all three are very collectible and hall of famers. 

1967 Topps #242 - National League 1966 RBI Leaders - This year, Clemente won the MVP, yet he only finished 5th in batting. Aaron is also the RBI leader. I always felt they gave him the MVP this year because they wished he had received it the year before. Actually, 1967 was his best year statistically.

1968 Topps #1 - National League 1967 Batting Leaders - The first card in the set usually carries a premium as kids always stacked their cards and the top card is #1, and is susceptible to rubber band marks and any other number of indicators of damage. This card escaped from those problems. Clemente obliterated the league in batting this year. He was a full 18 points ahead of his next rival at .357. I actually added up the spread on the four years he won, and it came out to 46 points ahead. He was only behind the leader in four other years by a combined 37 point deficit. A very interesting factoid. The image used for this card appears to be the same as was used for the 1965 leaders card and the 1964 base card. 

1968 Topps #3 - National League 1967 RBI Leaders - Clemente actually finished third in MVP balloting for 1967. If he hadn't won the previous year, I would think he would have won it this year. It becomes more of a factor of politics and if your team did well, and Clemente wasn't a huge fan of the press and he played for a smaller market team. If he had the supporting cast as Mantle, he would have won many more awards. Three hall of famers on this card.

1970 Topps #61 - 1969 National League Batting Leaders - Pete Rose won for his second year in a row, but by only 3 points determined in the final game of the season. Cleon Jones would help lead the Mets to a miraculous World Series title. Another unique photo of Clemente and those are always welcome to my collection.

Other Clemente cards in base sets

The following are the cards that included Clemente, that were not his base card, or league leaders, or team cards.

1959 Topps #543 - Corsair Outfield Trio - Topps started to make these group cards for the first time in 1959. Clemente was a starter in right field since his rookie year of 1955, but as of yet, had not distinguished himself as an elite hitter. Here he is more noted for his excellent speed and defense more than anything. Both are very important obviously. The card also seems somewhat prophetic, one year early, but the Pirates were poised to take the pennant in 1960.

1961 Topps #306 - This card is often overlooked as a card to be included in Clemente's collection. While it is Bill Virdon who actually makes the catch, and the title of the card is "Virdon Saves Game", Clemente was also tracking down the ball and would have made the play given the chance. Clemente is also mentioned on the back for an RBI in the first inning. It must have been very tough on the Yankees to go down in the first game. This card is off-center but in otherwise good shape. Mazeroski is also shown running out from second base to offer a cut off if needed or just preparing for the celebration to follow. He would be even more important in the final game of the series.

1963 Topps #18 - Buc Blasters - A great image showing some of the inequality Clemente endured in his early seasons. It would take a few years before the team became more integrated. There are some good comments on Clemente's feats on the back. He had won the batting title only once at this point, but he was a major factor on offense for a few years now. The card is in great shape and was one of the early cards in my collection given to me as a gift by my mother.

1967 Topps #361 - The checklists in 1967 and I believe also in 1969 allow collectors such as myself another opportunity to add another card to their collections of their favorite players. This is a great portrait. The card is unmarked and in great shape, which I must admit that early in my collecting career, I marked all of my checklists. These cards are also fairly inexpensive.

1968 Topps #374 - Topps didn't have too many All-Star card inserts during Roberto's career. It is almost surprising and definitely disappointing that he wasn't included in more of them. I wasn't originally going to include a picture of the back, but the fact that we get a close-up of Joe Torre's very hairy wrist, I couldn't pass it up. 

1968 Topps #480 - Manager's Dream - Three Hispanic players that are pictured in a moment of camaraderie at the All-Star game. It's a shame that Oliva didn't make it into the Hall of Fame. He would most closely resemble Clemente as far as hitting goes. On the back, Clemente is mentioned as the "odds on favorite to capture the '68 batting title." Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. He had already won his last batting title, but would battle for more as that was how Roberto played. He only had one speed, full bore. This card has a ding in the front near the top edge. It is a higher number, so it adds to the cost.

1972 Topps #310 - This is Clemente in action. It really isn't the best photo to emulate Clemente in action honestly. If he was making a great catch, or running hard to third, or even swinging at a pitch, that would be Clemente in action. They have caught him in his pre at bat gyrations that he always did to loosen up his neck. He was in a state of pain pretty much from his rookie season due to a car accident, as well as his very aggressive style of play. This card is in great shape. There isn't much to talk about on the back of this card, so I didn't show it. 

1972 Topps #226 - 1971 World Series Game No. 4 - Clemente was his usual self in this game going 3 for 4, but his offense didn't really figure into the scoring. The Pirates did win the game though and no doubt Clemente was a factor in some way in the win. Doing some research, I believe this image was actually taken during game three. The reason I believe this is because this image is actually moments before Bob Robertson hit his three-run and Clemente had actually tried to call a time out right before the pitch. It was a somewhat controversial play that probably didn't get too far from Earl Weaver's oversight. In game four, the first night game in the world series ever by the way, I don't believe Clemente got past first base. This picture obviously is taken from the foul area behind first base, with Stargell to the left in the foreground leading off from first base and Clemente on second. This is a great action photo nonetheless and a great card. How could Topps possibly have a postseason series of cards and not include one card with the Series MVP on it? Well, they couldn't. 

Topps complete base set

I am including the remainder of my Clemente base set in one long post. I am not including the years I have already shown in previous posts (1955, 1956, 1958, 1961 & 1962). I will include other Topps cards that were in the base sets (in action, postseason, group photos, etc.) in a future post. I can then show the Topps cards that were included in the insert sets, then the league leader cards, team cards, O-Pee-Chee, then who knows what I will show next.

1957 Topps #76 - This card features a great portrait of a young Clemente. It must be noted that this is actually the first photo of him used on a card. The 1955 and 1956 cards were not actually photos. They were artist renditions. Even the 1956 Pirates team card is an artist rendition. Imagine all of the starving artists that Topps created by changing their format. Also, this card makes the first in a long stretch of using the name "Bob" on his cards. The next time they use "Roberto" is in 1970. This card is in decent shape for the age, but there is a crease (not really visible in my photo) from his left ear to the edge of the card. Like most of my older cards, the corners have some wear. I think this card is on the darker side, with not a lot of good contrast with the background, similar to 1962, but a lot of cards in this set are like that.

 1959 Topps #478 - Another close-up of Roberto's face in the unique circular frame. This card has several creases, although they are also not overly visible with the light background. It is one of the earlier cards in my Clemente collection, another gift from my maternal benefactor. I am actively looking for an upgrade though.

1960 Topps #326 - Two great images of Clemente, both holding a bat. The horizontal format is always cool. I'm guessing Topps was trying to bring back the magic of the 1955 and 1956 sets after a three year hiatus of using portrait rather than landscape. This card has a corner crease in the upper left corner. It is also off-center from top to bottom. I can live with this card though.

1963 Topps #540 - In my previous blog on the 1962 Clemente, I commented about how he had finally made an impression since his card numbers were ending with zero. Well, from that point on, he continued to have a superstar number. It took me quite a while to find one of these cards in decent condition and at a reasonable price. The reason? This card is in the high number series. For those new to collecting, this means that it wasn't until the end of the season that cards were made available for purchase, and there just wasn't as many that made it to circulation, so they are more rare. Roberto's rookie card also was a high number, which adds to the reason they are so expensive. I think I got a decent price on this card because it was graded by an unpopular grading company. Not even sure they are still in business. The bottom edge does have some wear, it is off-center, and one of the corners has a crease, but otherwise, it is a fine example.

1964 Topps #440 - I was never a big fan of this card. It's a posed photo of Clemente swinging. He appears to be coming out of the frame slightly with his hat. The back is a bad color choice in my opinion. It also looks like there used to be a scratch off game to guess the trivia question. This card has a little stain in the upper left corner on the front. The corners are dinged and it is off-center from left to right. That is fairly par for the course.

1965 Topps #160 - One of Clemente's most popular and iconic cards. It features a great close-up portrait. He had just won his second batting crown. Another factoid on the back states that he tied a major league record by hitting three triples in one game. I doubt that has been beaten yet. Another interesting story about this issue: For years I had thought I had a copy of this card in my collection. It was badly trimmed and in need of an upgrade, but I had a filler copy. Well, up until even seven or eight years ago, I had not realized that what I actually had was the Dover reprint. It was given to me by my maternal benefactor again, but I just hope she didn't pay much for it. I did finally upgrade with this card and even upgraded the reprint card this past year. Needless to say, I am not a great fan of reprints, unless there is something on the card that distinguishes it from the original. The Dover reprints do have distinguishable language on the back of the card that says it is a reprint, and the back is also black and white, but unless you have knowledge about how the original card should look like, they can sometimes fool the best of us.

1966 Topps #300 - It's one thing to have your card number end in a zero, but another for it to end with two zeros. A higher echelon, with the likes of Mantle and Mays and Aaron. Never mind that #400 was Zoilo Versalles. A good player and MVP from the year before, but not quite Hall of Fame caliber in the end. Clemente was not MVP until the end of this year, although he had several votes up until now. He had just won his third batting title. Another great portrait of Clemente used for this card. The card itself is in decent shape with dinged corners. 

1967 Topps #400 - Another number in the hundreds. Clemente had just won the MVP award even though he didn't win the batting title. He was fifth in batting, far behind his teammate Matty Alou. I doubt there was much animosity between the two though. This card features another great portrait and facsimile autograph where Roberto just signed "Bob". Note on the back of the card that there is no mention of him winning the MVP award. Lots of great things are said about him but not that. A veritable mystery. Also, note that he had passed the 2000 hit mark late in the last season. He only had six more complete seasons to reach 3000 on the nose. The card is in decent shape, but it looks like a victim of rubber bands. There is indentations on each side. The corners are also dinged. 

 1968 Topps #150 - Not much to really say about this card. Most of my cards after this year are in better shape. Clemente just won his fourth batting title. Next stop....Cooperstown.

 1969 Topps #50 - Clemente was injured more the past season than usual. It was a very uncommon year for him. He didn't reach .300 either. This card always seemed like if you put on some 3-D glasses, Clemente would pop off the card. I'm also noticing that I should clean off the back of the card protector.

 1970 Topps #350 - Clemente was back in full stride the past year. The factoid on the back states that Pete Rose beat Clemente from his fifth batting title by a mere 3 points. It was decided on the last game of the season for each as they came into the last game tied. It was Rose's highest ever batting average for a season and he only won a total of three batting titles versus Clemente's four. This is also the first card since 1956 where Topps used his full name again. They would continue to do so, and except for reprints, I believe they have respected that on every card they have made since.

1971 Topps #630 - There is so much to like about this card. The posed swing is great. The facsimile signature is awesome. While the facsimile is good, a vintage autograph really shows his Latino roots. It is very distinct. This card also marks the change in Pirates uniforms and they had opened Three Rivers Stadium. I'm sure if Clemente hadn't perished in that plane crash, the turf at that stadium would have eventually did him in. The black borders on the 1971 set make it difficult to get a mint condition. This card is in fairly good condition, and I don't think the edges were colored black to match, which is apparently a common fix with this set. This card is also in the semi- high number series, so that raises the premium. I love the portraits they placed on the backs of these cards. The stats are severely lacking though. Some of the backs of the O-Pee-Chee variety are even more awesome. I don't have the Clemente 1971 OPC yet, but the only difference is that instead of a green color, it is yellow. It is very rare, especially due to the higher card number.

1972 Topps #309 - You all must be wondering why Clemente only received a mediocre number like 309. Well, in this set, there are several players with "In Action" cards as well as their base cards. Sometimes the base card ends up with a zero and sometimes the "In Action" card ended up with a zero. In Clemente's case, it was the latter. I'm not a huge fan of the photo on this card. It's a little depressing actually, because we know of his fate and he seems very alone. He had just won the World Series MVP. 3000 hits was a sure thing along with Cooperstown. His stats now hog up the entire back of the card. 

 1973 Topps #50 - The last Topps base card for Clemente and the first hero number in the first series of the 1973 set. Everyone's heart had sank from the events of New Year's Eve. The back mentions his final hit, his 3000th....a huge accomplishment. No mention of his death. It's as if Topps is trying to resurrect him. A noble effort, but impossible. The image on the front is very serene. It's almost as if you are watching Clemente in action without sound, in his afterlife. It is the most non-descript image of all of his base cards throughout his career, yet there is no question it is him at bat. At ease, in control, where he excelled.