Even though its '63 Topps counterpart is far more popular, the 1963 Fleer baseball card set is still sought after by vintage collectors.
It also represents a key milestone in hobby history...
After years of trying to break Topps' stranglehold on the baseball card market, Fleer devised a creative way to launch this set.
Instead of offering bubble gum along with the cards as Topps did, Fleer offered a cookie.
Topps wasn't buying it and wasted no time taking them to court.
And unfortunately for Fleer, the judicial system sided with Topps.
So before Fleer could print a second series of cards, they shut down operations.
Hence, the checklist contains only 67 cards.
Fleer would come roaring back with a lawsuit of its own in 1980 that paved the way for its return to the market in 1981.
But until then, this 67-card checklist marked the last Fleer baseball card product in the hobby.
And in this guide, we'll take a look at the 15 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
1963 Fleer #5 Willie Mays
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $1,000
It must be a complicated burden to be the best baseball player alive.
No one could touch Willie Mays in 1963.
The immortal San Francisco Giants center fielder operated on a different plane, sitting in the middle of an unparalleled stretch of ten consecutive top-six MVP finishes.
The 1954 NL MVP and former Rookie-of-the-Year got the bag for his brilliance, receiving a raise to $105,000 before the year to become the highest-paid player in the game.
His '63 numbers backed up the paycheck.
Mays finished fifth in the MVP race, slashing .314/.380/.582 for the third-place Giants with 38 home runs, 115 runs, and 103 RBIs in 157 games.
He also remained leagues ahead as a defensive center fielder with his seventh consecutive Gold Glove award.
On the private side of things, Mays struggled mightily with the weight of traveling and loneliness, suffering through stress-related breakdowns, shaking fits, and sleepless nights both at home and on the road.
1963 Fleer Checklist
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $650
1963 Fleer #42 Sandy Koufax
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $500
Sandy Koufax's health almost derailed MLB's most dominant four-year pitching stretch.
The Los Angeles Dodgers lefty saw his career flash before his eyes in 1962 when he jammed his hand at the plate.
The index finger on his throwing hand was never the same, and yet he still powered through.
Come early 1963, Koufax missed three starts with soreness in his left shoulder.
Many wondered if this would become the norm.
The injuries would continue, but it wouldn't matter for quite some time.
Koufax pushed through everything in '63 to put together a historic gem.
The 27-year-old won the NL pitching Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (25), ERA (1.88), and strikeouts (306).
He posted complete games in half of his 40 starts and led all MLB pitchers with 11 shutouts.
The NL Cy Young wasn't simply great.
He was MVP great.
Koufax won both regular-season and World Series MVP honors, capping off his captivating season with two complete-game victories in Los Angeles' Fall Classic sweep of the Yankees.
1963 Fleer #56 Roberto Clemente
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $500
Other than winning the 1960 World Series, Roberto Clemente's first fifteen years of career were spent with a franchise spinning its wheels.
After finishing 93-68 in a stacked National League field in 1962, the Pirates retreated to the baseball wilderness in 1963, winning just 74 games to finish eighth in the ten-team Senior Circuit.
Clemente was the exception to the rule for a light-hitting Pittsburgh squad that posted the third-fewest runs in the Majors.
The 28-year-old right fielder was the only Pirates hitter with an OPS over .771.
He led the team in every major offensive category, including batting average (.320), on-base percentage (.356), slugging percentage (.470), hits (192), runs (77), and home runs (17).
There was no pop, consistency, or chance for the Pirates in 1963.
Clemente would get his return shot at the October spotlight in the 1970s, but the rest of the 1960s were a slog to get through.
1963 Fleer #8 Carl Yastrzemski
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $200
Carl Yastrzemski was solid in his 1961 rookie season.
He was very good in his 1962 sophomore effort.
And he was downright amazing in his 1963 follow-up.
The 23-year-old Boston Red Sox left fielder made the leap in '63, earning his first All-Star nomination and Gold Glove.
As complete a player as the game has ever seen, Yastrezemski won his first of three AL batting crowns with a .321 average.
That wasn't all.
The left-handed swinging wunderkind also paced the Junior Circuit in on-base percentage (an MLB-best .418), hits (183), doubles (40), and walks (95).
Yastrezemki's rise to fame was all hard work.
It also helped to have a mentor like Ted Williams, who took Yaz under his wing and showed the kid the finer points of the art of hitting.
"I think what dawned on me was that there can be a great swing that is not a home run swing at the same time," Yastrezemski said of Williams' tutelage.
1963 Fleer #43 Maury Wills Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $175
It's easy to paint Maury Wills' 1963 season as a disappointment.
After all, the Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop was coming off a jaw-dropping NL MVP season that included a modern-era record 104 stolen bases.
Wills once again led the Majors in stolen bases, but this time with just 40 swipes.
In addition, he was nabbed 19 times compared to 13 the year before.
The thing is that, despite his sharp drop in stolen bases, Wills was a much better hitter.
After swinging at a replacement-level clip in '62, the 30-year-old improved his OPS+ to a new personal-best 112.
He cracked the .300 mark for the first time (.302) and collected 159 hits while missing nearly a month of games due to injury.
Wills struggled in the Dodgers' four-game Series sweep of the rival Yankees, going just 2-for-15 with one stolen base.
Regardless, the now five-time All-Star put together a much better MVP follow-up than his stolen bases would have you think.
1963 Fleer #61 Bob Gibson
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $175
St. Louis Cardinals righty Bob Gibson took a step forward in 1962 with his first two All-Star nominations.
In 1963, he took a step back on a bum ankle.
In September '62, Gibson's breakout campaign was cut short after he broke his ankle during batting practice.
The hope was that the young fireballer would rehab the injury and return better than ever for a '63 follow-up.
Instead, Gibson was reportedly lax during his recovery process and came into Spring Training well behind the eight ball.
After a strong opening start, the 27-year-old right-hander gave up 12 earned runs over 6.2 innings in his next two outings.
He followed that up with a frustrating May, finishing 3-3 with a 4.81 ERA.
By June, everything came back together.
Gibson helped lead 93-win St. Louis to a second-place finish in the NL, casting aside his sluggish start to end the year 18-9 with a 3.39 ERA and 204 strikeouts in 254.2 innings.
1963 Fleer #4 Brooks Robinson
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $160
Brooks Robinson's 1963 slump may have shut the door on his manager's tenure with the team.
After a miserable 1962 campaign, Baltimore Orioles manager Billy Hitchcock was on the hot seat.
The O's had the talent to contend but seemingly lacked the direction to take the next step.
It all came to a head in '63.
Despite a lineup that included Robinson, new acquisition Luis Aparicio, and Boog Powell, Baltimore was essentially a league-average team.
Out of those three, only Powell had a good season.
Aparicio scuffled all year long, and Robinson wasn't much better.
The 26-year-old third baseman dropped nearly 50 points in batting average to .253 and hit just 11 home runs compared to 23 the season before.
Baltimore was leaning on Robinson to reach the top of the AL.
Instead, they finished fourth, and Hitchcock was dismissed at season's end.
It would be silly to blame Robinson for Hitchcock's firing, but his bad year surely didn't help.
1963 Fleer #46 Joe Adcock
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $150
Joe Adcock was a power-hitting force during his ten seasons with the Milwaukee Braves, an impressive decade-long run that included two NL pennants and a 1957 world championship.
In 1962, the ride came to an end.
Adcock was dangled in trade talks for most of the '62 season as a recurrent right knee injury limited his playing time.
Once Milwaukee's new ownership team came on in mid-November, Adcock's time with the team was over.
By the end of the month, he was shipped off to the Cleveland Indians.
The 35-year-old was immediately reunited with manager Birdie Tebbetts, who left the Braves after the '62 season to sign a three-year deal with Cleveland.
It didn't go too well.
Adcock labored through injury in his one-and-only year with the Indians, hitting just .251 in a platoon role with a .740 OPS and 13 home runs in 97 games.
He was dealt to the Angels shortly after the campaign.
1963 Fleer #41 Don Drysdale
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $145
Dodger Stadium has hosted ten Fall Classics since its opening in 1962.
The first World Series game played on the hallowed grounds came on October 5th, 1963.
Fittingly, Hall-of-Famer and reigning Cy Young winner Don Drysdale took the ball for the stadium's maiden Series voyage.
It was one heck of a rope-cutting.
With the Dodgers up 2-0 over the hated New York Yankees, manager Walter Alston turned to a well-rested Drysdale to put the Series in a stranglehold.
Buoyed by a few extra days off, the future Hall-of-Famer surrendered just three hits, walking one in a 1-0 complete-game win.
Drysdale's masterpiece broke the Yankees' back en route to a four-game sweep.
"The extra rest helped me," Drysdale said. "I felt strong."
It was the perfect end to the workhorse's All-Star year.
Drysdale pitched over 300 innings for the second of four consecutive seasons, posting a 19-17 record with a 2.63 ERA.
1963 Fleer #1 Steve Barber
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $125
Steve Barber burst onto the scene for the Baltimore Orioles in 1960, riding a blazing, darting fastball (reportedly the fastest in the game) to earn MVP consideration out of the gates.
Barber's number one was his calling card.
It was also an unpredictable mess that often missed the zone by a foot or more.
After strong yet wild showings in 1961 and 1962, Barber dialed in in 1963 to become Baltimore's first 20-win pitcher of the 20th Century.
The left-handed powerhouse pitched to a 2.75 ERA on the year, which was even more impressive considering he faced the most batters in the American League (1096).
Barber's big year coincided with a (temporary) boost of control.
Three years after leading the Majors with an MLB-worst 113 walks in 181.2 innings, the 25-year-old cut his free passes to 92 in 258.2 frames.
That added up to 3.2 walks per nine, over a walk better than his 4.3 career mark.
1963 Fleer #45 Warren Spahn
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $110
Warren Spahn was the prototype for every crafty lefty to follow.
The Milwaukee Braves ace pitched well into his forties thanks to an approach predicated on working smart, not fast.
"You've got to be a student of pitching," Spahn said. "I never tried to put too much strain on my left arm."
It's wild that Spahn could say that, considering how many innings he ate up year after year.
He has an easy claim for the most durable starting pitcher of the modern era, tallying no fewer than 245.2 innings in every campaign from 1947 to 1963.
The last of those seasons was something to marvel over.
Spahn earned his 17th All-Star appearance in '63, finishing 23-7 with a 2.60 ERA over 259.2 innings.
The 42-year-old improbably led the NL in complete games for the seventh consecutive year (22), including a marathon 16-inning loss to fellow Cooperstown inductee Juan Marichal.
1963 Fleer #64 Orlando Cepeda
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $110
Orlando Cepeda was a target of San Francisco Giants manager Alvin Dark's racist tirades many times during Dark's four-year stint with the team.
Cepeda was one of several Latin players on the team who hung out together, and Dark saw their collective friendship as a detriment to the team.
He made it clear many times that he hated their music, culture, and the fact that they all spoke Spanish in the clubhouse.
In 1963, Dark singled out Cepeda and tried to make an example of him, calling him out for a perceived lack of hustle.
The future Hall-of-Famer was actually pushing through a knee problem, but Dark insisted he was faking an injury.
It was a horrid situation for Cepeda.
Remarkably, he still produced.
The 25-year-old first baseman made his ninth All-Star squad in '63 despite Dark's pointed criticisms, hitting .316 with a .929 OPS, 34 homers and 97 RBIs in 156 games.
1963 Fleer #32 Ron Santo
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $105
The woeful Chicago Cubs managed precisely one winning season from 1947-1966.
The 1963 Cubs were a brief beacon of hope for Major League Baseball's loveable laughing stock.
Under new manager Bob Kennedy, Chicago rode a strong first half to narrowly finish in the black at 82-80.
It was only good for seventh place, yet it was as good as a championship for the win-starved Wrigley faithful.
The Cubs' brief flirtation with competency coincided with the rise of young third baseman Ron Santo.
After a promising first two seasons, Santo slumped heavily throughout the 1962 campaign.
He shook it all off with a fantastic 1963.
A first-time All-Star, Santo slashed .297/.339/.481 with 25 home runs and 99 RBIs.
The 23-year-old played all 162 games for the second straight year, and his stellar defense at the hot corner was crucial to keeping the Cubs on the plus side of the ledger.
1963 Fleer #59 Bill Mazeroski
Estimated PSA 8 NM-MT Value: $95
Three years after his legendary Series-winning walk-off home run, Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski found himself as the leader of a very different ballclub.
Following the trade of double-play partner Dick Groat to the St. Louis Cardinals in the winter of 1962, Mazeroski was named Groat's successor as team captain.
The 1963 Pirates still had some core pieces in place from the 1960 championship team, including the great Roberto Clemente.
However, the magic just wasn't there anymore.
Pittsburgh never sniffed contention in a dog-eat-dog National League, finishing eighth at 74-88.
Many Pirates players, including Mazeroski, had down years.
After one of his stronger offensive seasons in '62, the 26-year-old regressed, hitting .245 with an OPS over 100 points worse than the previous year (.622).
Mazeroski remained an impact Gold Glove defender and picked up an eighth All-Star nomination.
His bat went backward, though, as did the Pirates.
1963 Fleer Baseball Cards In Review
The most interesting part about this set is the legal story behind it.
The card design is rather bland.
But at least it contained full-color photography and the only Maury Wills rookie card in the hobby since Topps left him out of their '63 lineup.
Still, the legal fight from Topps to fend off yet another competitor created many interesting questions.
For starters, would we have seen a Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Lou Brock, Roger Maris and more big-name superstars of the era?
Would there have been a second Pete Rose rookie card to collect?
And what might some of the Fleer designs that would have followed looked like?
Those are all fun things to think about.
Still, what remains is a solid, yet tiny, checklist full of big-name players that is relatively easy to complete.