1963 Topps Baseball

Sherm Lollar (#118) was signed by the Indians in 1943, and played 3 seasons with their International League club in Baltimore. He made his Indians' debut in April 1946, but also spent part of that season back in Baltimore.

Lollar played for the Yankees from 1947-48, the bulk of the '47 season with their AAA Newark Bears team. He started 2 games in the 1947 World Series vs. the Brooklyn Dodgers. He rode the Yankee bench for most of 1948 as the 3rd string catcher, playing only 22 games (12 starts).

After the 1948 season, he was traded to the St. Louis Browns, and was their starting catcher for the next 3 seasons, making his first All-Star team in 1950.


Following the 1951 season, Lollar was part of an 8-player trade, sending him from the Browns to the White Sox.

Sherm was the White Sox' starting catcher for the next 10 seasons, making 6 All-Star teams and winning 3 Gold Glove awards. He also played in the 1959 World Series vs. the Dodgers.

After being the ChiSox' primary catcher since 1952, Lollar's workload began to diminish in 1961. That season he split the catching chores with rookie Cam Carreon (starting 93 games to Carreon's 63). The next season it was 85/59 in favor of Carreon.

In Lollar's final season (1963) he only started 18 games. Carreon started half the games, but J.C. Martin (who had been a 1B/3B in the previous season) started 63 games behind the plate. His final appearance was on September 7th, and he was released after the season, ending his 18-year career.

After his playing career, he was a coach for the Orioles and Athletics in the 1960s, and a minor-league manager for the A's in the 1970s.

Lollar passed away in 1977 at age 53.

In 2000, he was selected to the White Sox' All-Century team.

This is the final card for backup catcher Bob Oldis (#404). Bob had cards in the 1953-55 sets, then again from 1960-63.

Bob was signed by the Washington Senators in 1949, and played in the minors for 4 seasons before making his major-league debut in April 1953. Bob only played in 7 games with the Sens that year, and spent most of the season in the minors.

He was with the big club for all of 1954, but as the 3rd-string catcher only played in 11 games, and did not play at all from mid-June to mid-August. He began the ’55 season with the Senators, but was sent down in early June, having only played in 6 games.


Oldis spent the next 4 seasons in the minors, with the Senators (1956) and Yankees (1957-59).

After the ’59 season, he was selected by the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft, and was the Bucs’ 3rd-string catcher in 1960, behind Smoky Burgess and Hal Smith. He played in 22 games during the season, and was a defensive replacement in 2 games in the World Series, although he did not have any plate appearances. Bob was back in triple-A for most of 1961, then was sold to the Phillies after the season.

His final 2 seasons (at age 34 and 35) was where he saw the most playing time of his career. In 1962 he caught 30 games (23 starts) as the 3rd-stringer behind Clay Dalrymple. In 1963 he finally advanced to the #2 catcher’s slot, catching in 43 games (19 starts) behind Dalrymple and ahead of ex-Angels’ backstop Earl Averill.

Bob retired after the 1963 season, and stayed on with the Phillies as a coach from 1964 to 1966. He also coached for the Twins (1968) and Expos (1969). Oldis was later a scout for the Phillies and Expos, and since 2002 has been a scout for the Marlins.

Bob Schmidt was signed by the New York Giants in 1951, and played 2 seasons in the minors before missing the 1953-54 seasons while in military service. He returned for 3 more seasons in the minors, including the triple-A Minneapolis Millers in 1957, where his teammates included Felipe Alou, Orlando Cepeda, Jim Davenport, and Eddie Bressoud.


Bob cracked the Giants' starting lineup as a rookie at the start of the 1958 season, starting 107 games behind the plate and making the all-star team. The following season, he alternated with journeyman Hobie Landrith, making 56 starts to Hobie's 88. This arrangement continued in 1960, although Schmidt had the upper hand, starting 98 games.

In late April 1961, Schmidt and 2nd baseman Don Blasingame were traded to the Reds for catcher Ed Bailey. Bob occupied the 3rd-string slot behind rookies Jerry Zimmerman and Johnny Edwards, then was traded to the Senators in the off-season.

Schmidt's playing time increased in Washington, as he shared the job with Ken Retzer in 1962. The following season, the team acquired veteran Don Leppert from Pittsburgh, and Bob's old friend Hobie Landrith from the Orioles. This limited Bob to 9 appearances, and on May 8th he was sold to the Yankees.

Schmidt spend the rest of 1963 and all of 1964-66 playing for the Yankees' AAA teams, except for 20 games with the Yankees during the first 2 months of 1965.

After missing the 1964 Topps set, his final card was issued in the 1965 set.