A new-to-the-hobby Willie Mays jersey believed to have been created for use during the Giants’ final season in New York was recently consigned to auction, where bids are already approaching six figures. The cream-colored #24 home button-down is among the featured attractions in Grey Flannel Auctions’ current catalog. The jersey was apparently a hand-me-down that made its … [Read more...] about Newly-Discovered 1957 Willie Mays Jersey Generating Bidder Buzz
Willie Mays
Topps’ Double-Zero Cards Of The 1960s Had Some Big Names
Coming up zeros is not always a good thing — unless you were collecting Topps baseball cards during the 1960s. Cards that ended in double zero tended to be big-name stars, and while that also was the case for many Topps cards that ended in 50 — or in a few cases, the pivotal No. 1 card — there was something alluring about pulling a “00” out of a nickel pack of Topps. From … [Read more...] about Topps’ Double-Zero Cards Of The 1960s Had Some Big Names
1952 Berk Ross Baseball Set Offered Joe D, Mantle, Mays, Jackie
While Topps and Bowman began slugging it out to take control of the baseball card market in the early 1950s, another card set was quietly snaring pennies and nickels of young collectors. The 'Hit Parade of Champions' lasted just two years, 1951 and '52, with 72 cards in each set. The inaugural set included 40 baseball players and 32 stars from other sports. The 1952 Berk Ross … [Read more...] about 1952 Berk Ross Baseball Set Offered Joe D, Mantle, Mays, Jackie
Hires Root Beer Baseball Cards a Tasty Challenge
Charles Hires did not invent root beer, but his marketing and advertising skills helped make his brand one of the United States’ top selling soft drinks by the time of his death in 1937. Hires, a pharmacist by trade, flooded the market with advertising, distributing Victorian trading cards with stunningly beautiful artwork and placing ads in publications like the Ladies Home … [Read more...] about Hires Root Beer Baseball Cards a Tasty Challenge
1971 Topps Baseball Was a Dark Ride for Collectors
Spring training in 1971 washed over baseball fans with a wave of relief, assuring them that the strange dream world they had endured for nearly a year was finally over. The mighty Baltimore Orioles reported to their Miami base that February flashing the confident smiles of World Series champions, intent on helping the game recover from the shock of the Amazin' Mets' run to … [Read more...] about 1971 Topps Baseball Was a Dark Ride for Collectors
1952 Topps Baseball Card Set Launched an American Icon
In the fall of 1951, young Sy Berger was handed the task of designing a 1952 Topps baseball card that would make boys forget about all the issues that had come before and, especially, any issue that rival gum maker Bowman might put together for the following spring. Berger took a direct approach to the task, incorporating into his design everything that Bowman … [Read more...] about 1952 Topps Baseball Card Set Launched an American Icon
5 Favorite Multi-player Baseball Cards of the 1950s
As a baseball card collector, what could be better than finding your favorite player staring up at you from a fresh pack of cards as the aroma of chalky gum wafts into your nose? How about finding two of your favorite players on one card inside that wax wrapper? Luckily for us, when Topps and Bowman stood toe-to-toe in the fight for baseball card supremacy in the 1950s, they … [Read more...] about 5 Favorite Multi-player Baseball Cards of the 1950s
Say Hey: The Best Willie Mays Cards to Own
Any debate about the greatest baseball players of all time will eventually lead to a kid who grew up in the segregated south, dreaming of a big league career but knowing as a youngster it might never happen. Eventually he got his chance. Willie Mays could do it all and look great doing it. He played in three decades, was an All Star 20 times, Gold Glove winner 12 times and … [Read more...] about Say Hey: The Best Willie Mays Cards to Own
15 Most Valuable Baseball Cards of the 50s
It is not unusual to hear the 1950s spoken of as the “golden age” for baseball card collecting. Three successful teams in New York, a bubble-gum war between two companies vying for the allowance money of kids, players who would define baseball immortality, and other factors all combine to provide this era with the well-earned title. Of course, to speak of something as … [Read more...] about 15 Most Valuable Baseball Cards of the 50s
Hot Dog! Stahl-Meyer Baseball Card Sets Are 1950s Classics
New York City was the center of the baseball universe in the early 1950s. Willie, Mickey and The Duke were in their prime. The Shot ‘Heard Round the World was still a recent memory and all but two of the 14 teams to play in the World Series from 1950-1956 called the Big Apple home. The cards from these years are equally legendary. Topps and Bowman were issuing sets that … [Read more...] about Hot Dog! Stahl-Meyer Baseball Card Sets Are 1950s Classics