PSA Set Registry
FLIP YA FOR IT!
Topps' 1959 baseball card set still ranks as one of its best designs, six decades later.
By Pete Putman
It's a warm weekday afternoon in early April 1959. Baseball season is about to start and a group of fifth graders, their studies completed for the day at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School, have been pestering the store clerks for weeks at Silverman's Stationery, Candy, and Tobacco store in Livingston, New Jersey. "Do you have baseball cards yet? When are they gonna be here?"
Today's their lucky day. A 24-count box of 1959 Topps Baseball Picture Cards & Gum has just been opened next to the cash register. In a flash, boys are swarming like locusts, turning over their pennies, nickels and dimes for 5-cent wax packs that are quickly ripped open. Their mouths stuffed with gum, the mob moves outside to assess their haul, sorting through cards like blackjack dealers.
The reactions are mixed. "I got Al Kaline!" "Who's Bob Boyd?" "Anyone want to trade for Warren Spahn?" "Who's Jack Urban?" "Didja get any Yankees?" "Didja get any Dodgers?" "Who's Murray Wall?" A short period of silence follows as some laggards join the group and begin tearing into their purchases.
The silence is broken by a soft whistle. "Hey, look at this!" exclaims one boy, holding up a bright yellow image for all to see. "Willie Mays!" The group stares at the prize, momentarily amazed. "Trade ya for it!" one overly optimistic voice quickly calls out. "Spahn for your Mays!" Silence. Another voice shouts, "Flip ya for it!" The kid shakes his head vigorously. "No way!"
Another boy is leaning against the wall, lost in thought as he stares at his six-card hand. He turns slowly to the group, extracts a card from the middle, and states flatly, "Beat that."
All eyes are drawn to the unmistakable image at the center of the circle - Mickey Mantle, circled in bright red. Livingston is definitely Yankees country, particularly since the Dodgers and Giants decamped for California a year earlier. And pulling a Mantle card from a wax pack is like getting everything you ever wanted for Christmas.
Whatever his classmates may have thought of him before, that kid's coolness factor just went up by a factor of 100. Other boys will subsequently offer up trades or challenge him to flip cards against the brick walls on the Mt. Pleasant Elementary playground during recess, all to get their hands on the prized Mantle card. (A pointless exercise, as their treasures would inevitably be "confiscated" during class by Mrs. Stark while she was trying to teach arithmetic or social studies to these same boys, who were too busy showing off their collections to care.)
For a ten-year-old, 1959 Topps baseball cards were the ultimate bright, shiny objects. The sharp portrait and action photos, saturated background colors and prominent team logos left Topps' 1957 and 1958 offerings in the dust. They just looked... well, classy. From Topps' standpoint, this was one of their cleanest and most contemporary card designs. Amazingly, Topps never repeated the design, nor did they try to riff on it (think 1963 Topps baseball compared to the 1953 issue, or 1962 Topps and its wood-grain borders, reminiscent of the 1955 Bowman set).
It remains an extremely popular set, one where it's not difficult to find high-grade commons and minor stars at reasonable prices. To make things even more interesting, Topps also randomly slipped some surprises into the packs throughout the year, including a contest to select your favorite rookie, a cheap T-shirt and even a "lucky penny." More on that later...
THE YEAR
1959 really had more in common with 1960 than 1958. Everything was all about "new" and "firsts." The United States had two new states in Alaska and Hawaii. Cargo ships had a new way to get from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway. Cuba had a new government, led by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who was once a pretty promising pitcher himself. And television had a new series to give you nightmares in The Twilight Zone.
More new things: Mattel unveiled the now-iconic Barbie doll in 1959 and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) introduced our first astronauts as part of the Mercury space program. The Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in New York City was completed and Bonanza premiered on NBC, making it the first weekly television series broadcast completely in color - a new way to watch TV.
Other 1959 innovations included the Etch-A-Sketch, Boeing's 707 jetliner, Xerox's copying machine and the microchip. Vice President Richard Nixon and the Soviet Union's Premier Nikita Khrushchev engaged in an impromptu debate at a U.S. trade show being held in Moscow. During what became known as the "Kitchen Debate," the two leaders argued the merits of capitalism and communism while standing in a model of a modern kitchen displayed for the American National Exhibition.
The year also had its downsides. A chartered plane transporting musicians Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and disc jockey The Big Bopper crashed during an Iowa snowstorm, killing all four occupants on board. This tragedy later became known as "The Day the Music Died," popularized in Don McLean's 1971 hit, "American Pie." Typhoon Vera struck the Japanese island of Honshu with winds over 160 mph, killing nearly 5,000 people, while flooding in Taiwan claimed the lives of 2,000 more.
In sports, the Baltimore Colts won the NFL championship over the New York Giants 31-16 (not quite as close as the previous year) while the powerhouse Boston Celtics grabbed the NBA title again, sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers in four games. It was the Lakers' last season in Minnesota as they would set off for Los Angeles the next year.
The Montreal Canadiens (basically the Celtics of hockey back then) picked up another Stanley Cup by besting the Toronto Maple Leafs, four games to one. Louisiana State was crowned the 1958 NCAA football champion by winning the Sugar Bowl in January over Clemson, while Billy Casper took the U.S. Open golf championship and Tomy Lee finished first at the wire at the Kentucky Derby.
In baseball, John "Tito" Francona of the Cleveland Indians finished the season with an impressive .363 batting average, getting 145 hits, 20 home runs and 79 RBI. But there was one little problem: 400 at-bats were needed to qualify for the American League batting title, and Francona had only 399 official at-bats, thus giving the crown to Harvey Kuenn of the Detroit Tigers.
One of the craziest baseball games ever took place in 1959. Pittsburgh Pirates ace pitcher Harvey Haddix tossed a perfect game against the Milwaukee Braves on May 26, throwing 12 hitless innings - and still lost. A fielding error by Don Hoak in the top of the 13th inning put Felix Mantilla on first. The next batter, Eddie Mathews, sacrificed Mantilla over to second base. Behind him was Hank Aaron, who was leading the National League in batting at the time. Haddix intentionally walked him on four pitches to get to Joe Adcock, who returned the favor by hitting a drive over the fence in right-center field, scoring three runs.
Confusion reigned supreme as Adcock passed Aaron between second and third base. Apparently, Aaron figured the game was over and left the field without circling the bases, allowing Adcock to pass him. Accordingly, the National League president's office ruled both players out a day later and disallowed two runs, officially changing the final score to 1-0 in favor of the Braves.
For the first time since 1949, the World Series didn't feature a team from New York City. Well, sort of. The recently transplanted Los Angeles Dodgers, featuring many players from their 1957 Brooklyn squad, took on the "Go-Go" Chicago White Sox. And the Dodgers had to win two extra playoff games just to get there, having finished in a tie for first place in the National League with the Milwaukee Braves at 86-68. (The defending champion Yankees had a rare "off" year, falling to 79-75 and finishing 15 games behind the Sox.)
The "Pale Hose" routed the Dodgers 11-0 in Game 1 on a hitting spree by late-season acquisition Ted Kluszewski, who drove in five runs. From that point on, L.A.'s pitching made the difference, winning Games 2, 3 and 4 by scores of 4-3, 3-1 and 5-4. Chicago managed to salvage a 1-0 win in Game 5 over (of all people) Sandy Koufax, but Johnny Podres - the 1955 World Series Game 7 winner and MVP - returned to pitch L.A. to a 9-3 blowout in Game 6. Oddly, he was pulled in the fourth inning with an 8-3 lead, giving the Series win to rookie pitcher Larry Sherry.
THE SET
The 1959 Topps baseball set grew by leaps and bounds over the 1958 offering. You'll find 572 cards in the set, with sub-sets devoted to Sporting News rookie stars, Baseball Thrills and the usual Sporting News All-Star cards. For added excitement, Topps randomly included a contest card encouraging kids to "Elect Your Favorite Rookie" to "Young America's All-Star Rookie Team" (the results wouldn't appear until a year later).
You might also find a promotion card for "Giant 15-inch Baseball Felt PENNANTS" for "Your room, for your bike, get a whole set." Or, you might pull a card of Bazooka Joe, exhorting "Hey kids! Get a tee shirt just like mine only 50 cents!" (The copy went on to say, "Worth a dollar in the store. Swell for fun ... Will last for years. There's nothing to buy." Apparently, you filled in an address on the reverse of the card and mailed it with two quarters to Topps.)
Perhaps the strangest insert of all was a card saying "Lucky You! Get this lucky penny charm and key chain FREE!" This be-all, do-all trinket could "hold your keys, keep money in your pocket, and bring you luck." Pennies with the holder and chain very rarely surface in the collectibles market, nor do the insert cards, which were generally thrown away.
Carrying on a tradition that started in 1956, each team has its own card that doubles as a checklist. There are sixteen team cards but only seven series of cards, with the last series (cards # 507- 572) making up the usual high numbers. The first 506 cards used green and red ink and the high numbers switched to a red and black color scheme. All player and rookie star cards appear in a vertical orientation while the sixteen team cards, sixteen combo cards and ten Baseball Thrills cards all use a horizontal layout.
THE PLAYERS
In a departure from the format of the previous five years, the first card in the set featured baseball commissioner Ford Frick and not Ted Williams, whose exclusive contract with Topps had run out. National League commissioner Warren Giles appears on card #200, but you won't find a similar card for American League commissioner Joe Cronin as he had just taken over the reins in January, past Topps' production deadline.
You'll find plenty of Hall of Famers in the set. In addition to Mickey Mantle's #10 card (his lowest number of any Topps set he appeared in) and Willie May's #50 entry, you'll find some really sharp-looking poses for Stan Musial (#150, his first regular issue Topps card), Sandy Koufax (#163), Yogi Berra (#180), Ernie Banks (#350), Al Kaline (#360), Hank Aaron (#380), Frank Robinson (#435), Brooks Robinson (#439), Roberto Clemente (#478) and Harmon Killebrew (#515).
Key rookies include Felipe Alou (#102), George "Sparky" Anderson (#338), Bill White (#359), Norm Cash (#509) and Bob Gibson (#514). Bob Allison (#116), John Blanchard (#117), John Callison (#119), Ron Fairly (#125) and Deron Johnson (#131) stood out among the Sporting News Rookie Stars.
One player received a special card all to himself. Former Brooklyn Dodgers catcher and three-time MVP Roy Campanella, paralyzed as the result of an automobile accident in 1958, is featured on card #550, titled "Symbol of Courage."
Many stars appear on combo cards. While it may have been hard to get excited about groupings like Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual (Pitching Partners, #291) or Pete Runnels, Dick Gernert and Frank Malzone (Infield Power, #519), there are some great combination cards in the set. Although Kaline's featured appearance is on card #360, the lucky kid at the beginning of our story pulled a combination card of Kaline and Charlie Maxwell in his first series pack (Pitchers Beware, #34).
Other interesting combos include Ernie Banks, Dale Long and Walt Moryn (#147, Cubs Clubbers); Hank Aaron and Ed Mathews (#212, Fence Busters); Johnny Podres, Clem Labine and Don Drysdale (#262, Hitters' Foes); and Roberto Clemente, Bob Skinner and Bill Virdon (Corsair Outfield Trio, #543). Each of these cards features at least one Hall of Famer.
Larry Doby, Minnie Minoso and Rocky Colavito appear together on Destruction Crew, #166, with Colavito's name misspelled "Colovito" on the reverse. Don Larsen looks somewhat puzzled by Yankees manager Casey Stengel on card #383, Words of Wisdom, which is understandable, given Stengel's often confusing way of speaking! Of the 10 Baseball Thrills cards, seven feature Hall of Famers bookended by Mickey Mantle's #461 card (Mantle Hits 42nd Homer for Crown) and Stan Musial's #470 entry (Musial Raps Out 3,000th Hit).
THE ERRORS AND VARIATIONS
Are there any errors and variations in this set? Of course, it's Topps baseball! And there are plenty to chase down, starting with the gray back and white back variations found on cards #199 through #286. That means a master set would have an additional 87 cards, for those of you playing at home.
Topps also tried to keep track of some player trades and options with mixed results. Five cards in the set can be found with and without "traded" and "optioned" statements on the back, starting with card #316 Ralph Lumenti and continuing with cards #321 Bob Giallombardo, #322 Harry Hanebrink, #336 Billy Loes and #362 Dolan Nichols.
Example of the with and without "traded" statements.
Lumenti's card represents a compound error in that the photo is actually of Senators pitcher Camilo Pascual. Topps must have had it in for Camilo as they also misspelled his first name on his #413 card and made things worse by misspelling his last name on the card reverse.
There are three variations on Warren Spahn's #40 card. The first incorrectly lists his birth year as 1931, the second shows the same year but with the "3" obscured, and the third variation correctly lists the year as 1921. At least one copy of Tom Brewer's #55 card has been found with ink missing from the back, while Heywood Sullivan's #416 card can be found with or without a circle around the copyright symbol on the reverse. Additionally, there are two versions of Sullivan's "without a circle" card, one with a period at the end of U.S.A. and one without the period.
Card #260 of Early Wynn has an uncorrected error, listing his team as the "Cleevland" Indians. Vada Pinson's #448 card has the wrong birthdate, Wayne Terwilliger's #496 card spells his team as the "Athflitcs" and Mike Cuellar's #518 rookie card spells his last name as "Cueller." Where were the proofreaders?
THE VALUES AND SCARCITIES
Given the popularity of this set, it should be no surprise that almost 310,000 individual cards have been graded and encapsulated by PSA to date. Of that total, nearly 190,000 examples have earned grades of PSA NM 7 or higher, representing 61% of all cards graded. That's a very high number for any 1950s set and backs up my earlier contention that high-grade cards from this set are relatively easy to find - and at reasonable prices.
Indeed, it's not unusual to pick up PSA NM-MT 8 examples at auction for as little as $20, depending on the common. Even some PSA MINT 9 common players can be had for less than $100. That's great news for set builders - you can assemble a collection of Hall of Fame players without breaking the bank, especially if you are happy with sharp-looking PSA EX-MT 6 and PSA 7 examples.
As expected, Mickey Mantle's #10 card commands the highest prices with PSA 8s fetching prices from $3,500 to $6,000 at auction. However, you may be surprised to learn that the second-most valuable card in the set belongs to Bob Gibson: His #514 rookie card has climbed in value in recent years and is approaching $2,000 in PSA 8.
Willie Mays' #50 card has sold for $500 - $600 in the same condition, while Stan Musial's #150 entry is in the $300 range. Sandy Koufax' #163 card fetches about the same price as Mays in similar condition and Roger Maris' second-year card brings about $300. Hank Aaron's #380 card in a PSA 8 holder is in the $475 - $500 range and teammate Ed Mathews' #450 card is valued similarly to Maris and Musial. Roberto "Bob" Clemente's #478 card in PSA 8 is right around $400 and Harmon Killebrew's #515 entry is valued at $350.
Roy Campanella's tribute card has increased in value over the years with a PSA 8 copy fetching $300 recently. Among the All-Star cards, Mantle's #564 card is valued around $650 in PSA 8, while Billy Pierce's #572 "last card in the set" has sold for as much as $800 at auction in the past year.
What about scarcities? In general, gray backs from #199 to #286 are harder to find than white backs, although PSA has not kept track of the differences until recently. Some gray backs will show up in the PSA Population Report with fewer than 10 copies graded as PSA 8, but it's just not possible to assess how many gray backs actually exist in high grade.
It's a different story with the trade/option variations. Here's where you'll have the most fun chasing cards! They're somewhat difficult to find in mid-to-low grade but extremely tough in high grade.
Consider that more than 400 copies of Ralph Lumenti's #316 card with the option statement have been graded to date with over 100 cards earning PSA 8 or higher grades. In contrast, only 180 copies of the "no option" version have passed through PSA, with just 19 coming out the door in PSA 8 holders - and nothing higher. (Caveat: Nearly 90 more Lumenti cards have been graded with no distinction between the option/no option statements.)
Of the five traded/option cards, the toughest in any condition would be Harry Hanebrink's #322 entry: Out of 497 total cards graded with/without a trade statement or no distinction, only seven "without" cards have earned PSA 8 grades, with a sole PSA NM-MT+ 8.5 in the Population Report and nothing higher. Talk about scarce!
THE WRAP-UP
Six decades old, 1959 Topps baseball still has it all - a timeless design, lots of stars and Hall of Famers, plenty of combo and specialty cards, and just enough variations to make collecting the set a worthwhile pursuit at an affordable price.
Best of all, you'll wind up with a unique souvenir from the golden era of baseball - a time before expansion when games were mostly played in the daytime and listened to on the radio, when kids would beg for small change to buy penny and nickel packs, trading and flipping cards during recess and after school.
And even if they weren't paying attention during reading and writing class, at least they learned what the word "confiscate" meant.
For more information on the 1959 Topps baseball set, please visit PSA _Card_Facts.