Today we're going to highlight our first iconic card from the 1960's. Although there are great arguments for the 1968 Tom Seaver, 1968 Nolan Ryan & 1969 Reggie Jackson amongst others, we've opted to go for the 1963 Topps Pete Rose card but we're sure that the others will make an appearance at some point in the future.
So why pick this card to go first?
I've got to confess that I'm a little biased towards Pete Rose. His was one of the first names that I heard about when I started getting into baseball and his number of hits - 4256 - was one of the first baseball numbers I learned, alongside 56, 2,632 & 755.
I had the opportunity to meet him - admittedly paying for his autograph and the opportunity to ask him a few questions - in Las Vegas, I jumped at the chance to speak to a baseball legend.
I forget what I asked him but remember walking away in awe of the guy. The autograph he signed for me continues to have pride of place within my collection to this day.
At this point though, it is important to mention that Pete Rose's reputation has, rightly, been significantly damaged in the years since he retired (not including the gambling, which we'll get to further down). He pleaded guilty for tax evasion in 1990 and in 2017 it was alleged that he had a sexual relationship with a minor in the 1970's. Whilst he hasn't been found guilty of anything in this regard, the Phillies did cancelled his Philadelphia Wall of Fame ceremony as a result.
Moving onto the card itself; this 1963 Topps card is his rookie card and, like most rookie cards of the bigger name players, it's highly sought after and valuable cards out there.
It's considered to be the only Pete Rose rookie card, which he shares with Pedro Gonzalez, Ken McMullen and Al Weis as part of a foursome forming a single rookie stars card.
The card is certainly visually capturing, although we can totally understand why some might consider the bright colours to be garish. We're not exactly fans of the faces, particularly of Rose and Weis, whose faces look strange with the way they have been photoshopped and don't appear to be in the centre of each red circle.
That said though, the card is unquestionably iconic. But we'd have to say the reason for that is almost, if not fully, because of Pete Rose; the baseball player.
Rose was an absolute superstar of a ballplayer. His record of 3562 games played, 15,890 plate appearances and 14,053 at bats lead the major leagues to this day. But his crowning achievement was unquestionably when he passed Ty Cobb for most hits all-time; making Rose the all-time hit king which is a record that will likely last long into the future.
By comparison, Albert Pujols is the highest active player on the list [at time of writing]. He has played 20 seasons and he is still over 1000 hits short of the 4,256 mark set by Rose.
Purely from a statistical perspective, Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. Period.
But things are never quite as simple as that for Rose. In the late 1980's, Major League Baseball proved that he gambled on his own team's games while he was manager in Cincinnati. This was, and still is, a cardinal sin in the baseball world. Although we aren't quite sure how this fits with present-day MLB actively encouraging bookmakers to advertise at ballparks.
He voluntarily accepted a place on baseball's ineligible list in return for MLB making no formal findings as a result of their investigations into gambling. As long as Rose remains on the ineligible list, he will be unable to get into Cooperstown. The Cooperstown Hall of Fame at least; Rose regularly goes there over the induction weekend to sign autographs while staying in unofficial hotels and isn't able to attend official events.
As is the case for many vintage baseball cards, the condition greatly influences their value. It's possible to pick up one of these cards at very low grade for a few hundred pounds. But as the grade increases, so does the value. PSA graded 9 cards can sell for over £50,000 and there is only 1 known to be in existence graded by PSA as a 10 so the value of that would be significantly more.
To finish this post off, it would be amiss to not weigh in on Pete Rose's Hall of Fame debate.
For us, the baseball Hall of Fame is just that. A museum celebrating the best baseball players of all time; and Rose certainly fits into that category.
He should be in Cooperstown. Recognition should be formally given to his gambling and legal proceedings, but for anyone to go to Cooperstown and not learn about Rose and his baseball ability is a real shame.
What are your thoughts on Pete Rose? Should he be in the Hall of Fame?
Let us know in the comments or on twitter.
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