61 years ago

I'd like the Dodgers to sweep tonight, but I'm not confident about it. The Yankees would really have to be in rough shape to lose to Brent Honeywell Jr. and friends.

But it could be one those 13-11 games, so there's a shot, and if it's going to happen it will be the second time the Dodgers have swept the Yankees in the World Series. The first happened in 1963.

I wasn't around in '63. So I've often wondered what that was like. The Dodgers sweeping the Yankees on the grandest stage is my dream come true (why it needs to happen today). Damn, the only time in my life I've wished I was 10 years older.

All I can do is read about it. And go back in time thee way only my little blog can do to see what life was like 61 years ago.

 

Since this is a card blog, I'll address the card portion first. In 1963, the Topps monopoly was picking up steam with only Fleer mounting a minor challenge.

 

Fleer put out a dandy little set in 1963. (The green card backs might be the most '60s thing I've ever seen). But it didn't get to finish it thanks to Topps stepping in and taking Fleer to court.

 

 

For most collectors in 1963, this is what cards looked like. Topps was main card producer in the land. This was a long time before I started collecting cards. For quite awhile, 1963 Topps to me was just that Don Drysdale card in the upper left. It was the first and only 1963 card I owned and I was super proud about the condition of the card. I kept it protected in sleeve for quite awhile (it was the only card in my collection to warrant such treatment).

 

Topps also put out a set of Peel-Offs that I believe were inserted into regular packs? I'm not sure about that.

Post was the main oddball provider in 1963, with cards available off of cereal boxes. This Post set in particular is filled with variations and scarcities compared with other early '60s Post sets.

 

Bazooka also put out a couple of sets to go along with its bubble gum. They were printed in panels on the bottom of Bazooka boxes. 

 

Aside from that, there wasn't much baseball-card wise in 1963. There were several neat regional-type sets. Here are a few examples off of TCDB:

 

Dexter Press Los Angeles Angels

 

Kahn's Wieners

Pepsi-Cola Colt .45's

 

Schieble Press Rochester Red Wings

 

Salada Tea Coins

Seattle Rainers Popcorn

 Pepsi Tulsa Oilers

 

Outside of the Salada Tea Coins, I'm guessing most kids didn't see any of these in '63.

 

 

Popular music in 1963 was pulling out of the early 1960s malaise. Beatlesmania was booming in England in Europe. The surfer sound dominated American radio with the Beach Boys, Jay and the Americans, "Wipe Out," by the Surfaris; and the Trashmen's Surfin' Bird.

Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" was reaching its peak, really probably my favorite sound of the 1960s. "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes hit No. 2. Other music notables were The Cascades, "Rhythm of the Rain," Johnny Cash, "Ring of Fire," Peter, Paul and Mary, "Puff The Magic Dragon,"; The Four Seasons, "Walk Like a Man,"' 16-year-old Lesley Gore, "It's My Party"; 13-year-old Stevie Wonder, "Fingertips, Part 1"; Martha & The Vandellas, "Heat Wave"; and the bar anthem for countless college kids in the 1980s, "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen.

Top movies in the U.S. in 1963 were "How the West Was Won," "Cleopatra," "The Great Escape," "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," "Bye Bye Birdie" and "The Birds".

As far as national and world events, 1963 probably marked the official start of "the '60s" as we came to know them. Civil rights news dominated the news with violence across the south. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington" was later studied by children like me in school. President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War accelerated.

 

A first-class stamp cost 5 cents. Gas was 30 cents a gallon. But average income for one person was $5,800 a year.

 

Yup, it's been a long time since the Dodgers swept the Yankees in the World Series.

 

I don't know if people 61 years from now will be looking back on 2024 in a similar manner. But I hope if they do, they see the 22nd World Series sweep in baseball history.