#188 3rd Series Checklist
Ah yes, the checklist. There’s no worse feeling than ripping open a pack of cards and seeing one of these sitting on top. You basically just got screwed. Nobody actually wants the checklist cards, but any complete set must have them. Sadly, this is one of the crispest cards I have in the set — sharp corners, great color on the back, and nothing marked off.
And helpfully, Topps just went ahead and put a check mark next to card #188 for you — since you actually have to have the checklist to check it off on the checklist. I always hoped that Topps would make a checklist for checklists.
Unsurprisingly, old checklists can command quite a price if kept in NM condition or better. Mostly, this is because a lot of people actually used the checklists for their intended purpose, and checked the boxes (and I have a few that demonstrate this). Of course, marking the cards instantly makes them virtually worthless, which most serious collectors figured out over the years. Thus, checklists are almost never used for utilitarian purposes, and really don’t make much sense anymore. This particular card lists in SMR for $12 in NM condition — $4 more than a common player from this series.
Seven Hall of Famers are listed on this particular checklist — Harmon Killebrew, Sandy Koufax, Nellie Fox, Carl Yastrzemski, Brooks Robinson, Al Kaline, and Frank Robinson. Also, Yastrzemski appears on #182 “Sox Sockers.”
I hated getting checklists out of packs. Fortunately there was a kid down the street who loved checklist cards for some strange reason. I made many a trade with him to get rid of the checklists. My dislike for checklists notwithstanding, it was a feeling of accomplishment to check off all of the boxes on these cards.
I always thought the player on the ’64 checklist should have caught that ball instead of letting it drop in front of him!