1965 Topps All-Star Cards

They just don't exist. You know, 1965 is probably my favorite design of the Topps 1960s, and yet for whatever the reason, it was the one year that didn't include combo cards. It also didn't include all-star cards, which made sense at the time, I guess.

But all-star cards and Topps go together like ham and cheese, like Marshmallow Fluff and Wonder Bread. It's odd to me that the company didn't include separate all-star cards—or even an all-star emblem on regular cards from 1963 to 1967. It makes no sense, especially when you consider that Topps' set checklists got larger as the decade wore on. It could've been easy to add a subset, and even easier to do an emblem on the players' respective regular cards. Regular-card designs from these years allowed a little wiggle room, as seen with the Topps All-Star Rookie trophy, begun in 1961 and used throughout the decade.

It's with this background that I present my take on the 1965 all-star card. I chose to do an emblem rather than a subset. There were some great players in the 1964 All-Star Game starting lineups, and at least one guy—Ron Hunt—who would be appreciated more today if his all-star status had been recognized in some lasting way.

I will post the other 17 cards to our Facebook page in the next few days...