The Five Essential Baseball Cards of Sandy Koufax
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Despite a relatively short career, the Dodger pitcher known as the "Left Arm of God" remains a favorite of collectors and is undoubtedly THE most collectible pitcher of his era. Though Koufax cards are particularly sought after by Dodger fans or collectors of Jewish players, his cards have a mass appeal that transcends team and religious affiliation. Though he was only an ace for four seasons, what a four seasons they were!
- 1963: 25-5, 1.88 ERA, 306 K, Cy Young Award, MVP, Triple Crown, World Series MVP
- 1964: 19-5, 1.74 ERA, 223 K
- 1965: 26-8, 2.04 ERA, 382 K, Cy Young Award, Triple Crown, World Series MVP
- 1966: 27-9, 1.73 ERA, 317 K, Cy Young Award, Triple Crown
And then he retired, at age 30 no less, a fact that at the time was undoubtedly disappointing to his fans but today only adds to his legend. Koufax's brief career may also spell good news for collectors hoping to "collect them all," or at least his major cards. After all, his complete Topps base run only amounts to a dozen cards. As for the Five Essential Cards of Sandy Koufax, two will come from that base run while three others will take collectors to some unexpected places.
1955 Topps Sandy Koufax
For many collectors, the list of Essentials begins and ends with a player's rookie card. In this case, that means the 1955 Topps card of Sandy Koufax, aptly numbered 123, which coincidentally described the typical Koufax inning. The card is an attractive one, as is the case with every card in the 1955 set, though many collectors would have preferred that the Topps artist provide Sandy with more than a blank uniform for the card's action pose. (It took 65 years, but Sandy finally got a uniform upgrade in Project 2020, courtesy of Topps artist Efdot.)
1956 Topps Sandy Koufax
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The back of Sandy's gorgeous second-year card reminds collectors that Koufax pitched a 2-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts in only his second big league start. Unfortunately, that gem was more the exception than the rule for the young southpaw. Koufax pitched in 12 games during his rookie season, and the Dodgers lost ten of them. As for the 1956 season itself, Koufax notched only two wins and topped five strikeouts only once!
1963 Fleer Sandy Koufax
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Nearly two decades before Fleer joined the ranks of Topps and Donruss in 1981 as a producer of major card sets, Fleer mounted an ultimately unsuccessful challenge to the Topps monopoly in 1963 with a set of big league stars. However, legal action from Topps stopped the set in its tracks after only a single series of 67 cards were issued. Still, the attractive set boasts a dozen Hall of Famers, highlighted by Koufax, Clemente, and Mays, and each of their cards is far more scarce than their corresponding Topps issues.
1967 Topps Venezuelan Sandy Koufax "Retirado"
Like many of the Hobby's more mysterious sets, the name Topps Venezuelan (ditto Venezuelan Topps) may be a misnomer. While Topps did issue several Venezuelan sets during the decade, a number of Hobby scholars believe the 1967 release had nothing to do with Topps beyond a pirated card design. Regardless of origin, Sandy's "Retirado" (Spanish for "retired") card is about as close as the Dodger legend has to a career capper. (His final Topps base card came in 1966.) It's also a great pickup for collectors who enjoy challenging, low pop issues or simply an air of mystery.
1981 TCMA Sandy Koufax
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Though any number of post-career Koufax cards would work well as the final card among his Essentials (signed Perez-Steele, anyone?), his 1981 TCMA card may be the most unique. For one thing, it's his only card as a pitching coach. For another, it's a card that shouldn't exist. As the story goes, once Koufax became aware that he was included in the set, he asked TCMA to pull the card, which had been issued without his permission.
Rather than incur the wrath of the Left Arm of God, TCMA dutifully removed the card from each of the Dukes team sets remaining in inventory, replacing Koufax with a far less heralded subject named Tack Wilson. All of this of course makes the Koufax a tough card for collectors, not to mention one that has lent itself to counterfeits.
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.