Omitting the pre-war era, only a handful of vintage hockey rookie cards can top Wayne Gretzky’s iconic 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee and Topps issues. One of those is Bobby Hull’s 1958-59 Topps card.
Hull’s is surely one of the hobby’s finest when it comes to hockey cards and is often a reason collectors are drawn to the 1958-59 Topps set. Mid-grade examples of a card considered one of the best hockey rookie cards ever are routinely offered for $750 – $2,000. However, there are other reasons to fall in love with this famous issue.
1958-59 Topps Hockey: Short but Sweet
For starters, the set was only the company’s third attempt at a hockey product. It is one of the earliest Topps sets ever produced and while some of the cards are a bit pricey, at only 66 cards, it is a manageable project. Finding a complete set in one place is rare as many collectors have sought out only the Hull card. But when they surface, a mid-grade set can generally found in the $2,500 – $3,500 range.
Design
Then there’s the unique design. While not incredibly flashy, the duotone diagonal background on the 2 ½” x 3 ½” cards is a bit more unique than the somewhat banal single-color printing utilized in other vintage sets. The cards are colorful, yet understated enough that they don’t cause a serious distraction. Instead of the team name at the top with the player name on the bottom as is the case with many other Topps issues, these are the reverse with the player’s name prominent at the top.
Hull, Howe and a Hall of Fame Haul
Another reason to like this set is due to its star power despite the small amount of cards. Topps had only 66 players to feature, but included many big names, including Hull, Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall, Andy Bathgate, Pierre Pilote, Johnny Bucyk, Alex Delvecchio, Gump Worsley, Red Kelly, Terry Lindsay, Norm Ullman, and others. Fourteen of the 66 cards in the set are Hall of Famers. It’s hard to find a better percentage in any vintage sports card set.
Outside of Hull’s rookie card, the Howe is the most desirable as you might expect. But a neat quirk related to his card is that it is possibly his only uncorrected error card produced by a major company. Howe’s first name is misspelled ‘Gordy’. The name being at the top and in larger font as opposed to the team name makes the gaffe that much more regrettable. Nevertheless, this is a highly collectible card of Howe due to the mistake–and kind of a bargain at $300-500 for a respectable example.
And while Hull’s first card is the key one, the set includes a couple of other nice rookie cards. Eddie Shack, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and the first player to ever score 20 or more goals in a season with five different teams, has his debut edition here and is one of the more valuable cards in the set, checking in at about $250 in near mint condition. Also there is Ken Wharram, who was a key member of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1960s, helping them to a Stanley Cup in 1961 before going on to score at least 20 goals in seven consecutive seasons.
Mint? What’s That?
Finally, the 1958-59 set is worth a look because of the challenge of putting a high-grade set together due to its condition-sensitive nature. Many of the cards are designated by Beckett as such as off-center cards are common. The Hull card is #66–last in the set. That position means many cards that sat on the bottom of stacks sorted numerically aren’t close to mint today. Factor in the usual centering and printing imperfections and there’s little wonder even an EX/NM card can push past $2,000.
Piecing this set together in high condition requires some patience. To put things into perspective, of the more than 5,500 graded, only 65 have been designated a Mint 9 or Gem Mint 10 by PSA – and a sole card was given the perfect 10. Those grading percentages at SGC and Beckett are similar.
There is no doubt that many collectors discover the 1958-59 Topps hockey set for the impressive Hull rookie card. However, there are plenty of other reasons to chase the other 65.
You can see singles, lots and the occasional set available on eBay by clicking here.
1958-59 Topps hockey checklist
1 Bob Armstrong
2 Terry Sawchuk
3 Glen Skov
4 Leo Labine
5 Dollard St. Laurent
6 Danny Lewicki
7 John Hanna RC
8 Gordie Howe UER
9 Vic Stasiuk
10 Larry Regan
11 Forbes Kennedy
12 Elmer Vasko
13 Glenn Hall
14 Ken Wharram RC
15 Len Lunde RC
16 Ed Litzenberger
17 Norm Johnson RC
18 Earl Ingarfield RC
19 Les Colwill RC
20 Leo Boivin
21 Andy Bathgate
22 Johnny Wilson
23 Larry Cahan
24 Marcel Pronovost
25 Larry Hillman
26 Jim Bartlett RC
27 Nick Mickoski
28 Larry Popein
29 Fleming Mackell
30 Eddie Shack RC
31 Jack Evans
32 Dean Prentice
33 Claude LaForge RC
34 Bill Gadsby
35 Bronco Horvath
36 Pierre Pilote
37 Earl Balfour
38 Gus Mortson
39 Gump Worsley
40 Johnny Bucyk
41 Lou Fontinato
42 Tod Sloan
43 Charlie Burns RC
44 Don Simmons
45 Jerry Toppazzini UER
46 Andy Hebenton
47 Pete Goegan RC, UER
48 Red Sullivan
49 Hank Ciesla RC
50 Doug Mohns
51 Jean-Guy Gendron
52 Alex Delvecchio
53 Eric Nesterenko
54 Camille Henry
55 Lorne Ferguson
56 Fern Flaman
57 Dutch Reibel
58 Warren Godfrey
59 Ron Murphy
60 Harry Howell
61 Red Kelly
62 Don McKenney
63 Ted Lindsay
64 Al Arbour
65 Norm Ullman
66 Bobby Hull RC
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