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.
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.
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.
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