I started working on this series (Legends Series) during the summer of last year. The first card I made was Maury Wills of the 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers.
Wills made baseball history that summer with 104 stolen bases in just 118 attempts. He broke an “unbreakable” record set by Ty Cobb. Maury also batted .299 and scored 130 runs. He was voted National League MVP, edging out Willie Mays (who had a remarkable 49-141-.304 season).
Maury was a great athlete during his high school days at Cardozo H.S. in Washington, DC. He played quarterback on offense and safety on defense for the football team. In his senior year, the team was not only undefeated, none of their opponents scored a single point against them all year!
One of the great mysteries in baseball card history is why Maury Wills didn’t get his own Topps baseball card until 1968. He did appear on cards in the ill-fated 1963 Fleer set and on Post Cereal cards. How Topps could ignore a National League MVP and record-breaker year after year is beyond comprehension.
Probably, Maury would have never made it to the major leagues if not for Bobby Bragan, who became manager of the Spokane Indians in 1958. Bragan took an interest in Wills, and helped him become a switch hitter.
His batting improved dramatically in 1959, when he batted a solid .313 and stole a ton of bases. An injury to Dodgers shortstop Don Zimmer precipitated Wills being called up to the big leagues. By the end of the season he had won the starting job. For the next six years in a row, Wills led the NL in stolen bases and made numerous All Star teams. And he still didn’t have a Topps card!
He was exciting to watch. Fans in LA, and often in other stadiums, yelled, “Go! Go! Go!” as soon as he reached first base. Usually, he took off, daring the opposing catcher. Usually he made it!
Off the field, Maury was a pretty good banjo player. In Los Angeles, he was often seen playing in jam sessions with some of the top bands of the era. He made friends with famous celebrities, including Sammy Davis Jr., Miles Davis, Doris Day, Bill Cosby, and other Hollywood stars of that era.
Wills is still alive and kicking in Sedona, Arizona. He was on the ballot for the Hall Of Fame for 15 years, but never quite made it. In spite of that, he is one of baseball’s greatest legends.
I printed 200 of these on our AB Dick press using some thick 22 point card stock, the same thickness used back in the early 1960s.
Here is a “rookie card” of Wills, issued by Post Cereal in 1962:
