My 1956 Topps Project
 

I wanted to start a project to give my collecting a bit of focus. Ultimately, I decided upon the 1956 Topps Baseball set. Some of things that drew me to this particular set are:

- Player Selection: roughly one of every ten cards is a Hall of Famer
- Oversized Cards: simply put, they’re different than modern cards in many ways, including size
- Horizontal Format: this aspect pairs well with the use of two images front
- Overall Design: I find everything about these mid-50s cards to be aesthetically pleasing, from the large portrait, to the action shots, to the cartoons on the back. Collect what you like and like what you collect, right?

Another very appealing thing about this set (to me) is that it’s challenging, but attainable. Not so easy that I’d finish it immediately - and - not so tough that I’d lose interest over a long haul. Additionally, there are variations, such as white/grey backs and the different team cards. This will give me the option to go further once I’ve completed a “basic” set.

I figure it will take about a year or two to complete. Along the way, I’ll post my progress here. Feel free to comment if you’d like. Just remember, we all collect differently. The cards I’m getting for this set won’t be super high grade “blazers” meant to induce envy, nor will they be beaters with huge chunks of missing cardboard. Not that there’s anything wrong with those cards. They’re just not for me.

Figured I'd start this off with Richie Ashburn. I got this as a Net54 Secret Santa gift a couple years ago. :)

As a lifelong Phillies fan, I have a ton of memories that involve Whitey. After his playing career, he found his way to the announcer's booth. Growing up, I listened to him tell many a story during Phillies games. The most remarkable was the one he often told about hitting the same person with two foul balls during the same at-bat.

Sounds like the '56 set I just recently finished. Really enjoyed putting it together and it took a couple of years.

The cards are beautiful and look great together in the binder where I have them.

Good luck and enjoy the ride.

I'd recommend getting the Mantle first or at least early, if you don't already have it. That way if things go south or you get bored or stop for whatever reason, you have the Mantle. Also it makes the ride a little smoother (and easier?) without that constant nagging of "I still need to get the Mantle" as your gathering the rest of the cards.

As luck would have it, I actually got the Mantle first. I picked up this SGC 55/4.5 from Huggins & Scott in 2016. Having the Mantle already made the decision to build this set a fairly easy one.

What about the checklist cards? There are two and I found them VERY easy to get and VERY affordable.

I actually completed this set on March 8, 2009 when I added Phil Rizzuto. Good luck on your quest, this is my favorite set.

I've been working on the set for over a year now.

Have the basic set. Need 5 team card variations, one other variation, both checklist cards and the contest card. Condition is Excellent+.

Love the set. As has been said, great selection of players and it displays nicely in the binder.

Enjoy the chase! Keep us posted.

Mike

In mid-November, I made the decision to start building this set. Having just two cards at that point, I chose to keep things simple at first. The Phillies team set consists of 21 cards, one of which I already had. Plus, I'm a lifelong Phillies fan. So, I set out to complete that mini-project.

Naturally, I looked on the BST. Before long, I found '56 Topps commons being offered by Bocabirdman (hi, Mike) at a great price. So, I scooped up 7 Phillies cards for my first purchase. The first one is pictured in this post. I'll get the others up today or tomorrow.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

What contest card goes with this set? Scan please?

I think there are two. Here is one...

Attachment 376766

That is from the 1957 Topps set. May 25, 1957 was a Saturday.

I think this is the other.

Mike

...and thus, mathematically, that one would also be from 1957...

Are those contest cards sized the same as '56 Topps?

I would think a '57 Topps contest card would be slightly smaller, to match the (at the time) new card size.

So, is there a 1956 Contest Card(s)?

Mike

Im also doing the 56 topps set. Been working on it for about 4 years and almost halfway there lol. On the plus side I have the big cards from the set (Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, Koufax, Robinson) now its just been grinding it out to get those commons in. Good luck! I have some of my 56 doubles listed on the BST if interested.

I don't believe there are. At least, none that I could find online. Of course, I'm still pretty new to this particular complete set.

On a related note, according to the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards (2014, Krause Publications) I referenced, the contest cards shown above are from 1957.

Thanks! One less card needed. The one I saw was said to be from 1956. Never bothered to check it out.

Mike

There are several 1956 Topps contest cards - for football. None for baseball. So if you are trying to get a 1956 Topps Baseball contest card to finish the set.. forget it!

The 1957 Topps contest cards for baseball match the size of the 1957 baseball card.

As promised, here are a couple more cards from that initial BST purchase.

I really like the background of the Jim Owens' card. Simple, clean, elegant image of an old ballpark.

As for Stan Lopata, there's a bit more going on in his action pose. It looks less like a staged image and more like in-game action.

Additionally, and very interestingly, Topps shortened the team name to "Phils" on the front of Lopata's card. For the position/team name, the font size is also quite different between the two cards.

Here's a cool error that is presumably uncorrected. The back of card #220, Del Ennis, has the typical trio of cartoons. On one of these, Topps spelled "Del" without the D.

And, here's the front of the Ennis card. That simple wooden outfield fence is a nice touch.

By comparison, the fence in the background of this card image is anything but simple. I tried to compare it to photos of the outfield fence at Shibe Park; however, could not match it up. I do see the same scoreboard outline (or is it a building?) on the 1952 Bowman Richie Ashburn, though. So, it seems possible Topps drew from the Phillies real-life home park for this background. If anyone has additional info, I'd love to hear it.

Another thing I enjoy about this card is the registration issue, most easily noticed in the black text and signature. I realize this would bother some collectors. However, on this example, I actually rather like it,

My last two cards from that initial BST pickup are pictured here.

The Andy Seminick has a classic catcher's image, wherein Seminick is ripping off his mask to track an infield pop-up. Though this is likely a staged pose, it undoubtedly sparked the imagination of many kids back in the 50's. With the stands visible in the background, this certainly gives the illusion of an in-game play.

On the other hand, this Bobby Morgan has an image that was likely taken from an actual game action photograph. The card appears to depict a close play at second base, with the umpire visible. The runner sliding into the bag could very well be Hank Thompson of the Giants; however, this is just speculation on my part.

Poor Jack Meyer, killed by a heart attack in 1967...only 34...

Polo Grounds - New York Giants
 

The background in the 1956 Topps Jack Meyer is the Polo Grounds in New York.

Kevin,

Thanks for the info. Exactly the type of knowledge I am hoping to gain along the way with this project.

Beautiful picture, by the way.

Best regards,

Eric

Eric,

You're welcome. Best of luck in collecting the 1956 Topps set.

Kevin

Yes you are right. I grabbed the wrong scan...…… I will see if I can find the right one...….

I made a second BST purchase from Bocabirdman shortly after the first. My haul included some Phillies, of course, including this team card. 1956 was the first year Topps issued team cards. I can only imagine what collectors thought of the concept 63 years ago.

I realize there are different versions of this card. A total of six, I believe; three white backs and three gray backs. There may come a time when I look to acquire them all. For now, though, I am content with having this one. With 342 cards for a basic set, I'll just keep things simple...and relatively cheap.

Another neat issue from this group is the Mayo Smith. When I first saw the card, his lack of a glove or bat in the action pose caught my attention. It reminded me of a coach holding the runner at third base. What an odd pose for a player.

Then, as a look of dawning comprehension washed over me, I realized Smith was manager of the ball club.

I find it interesting how much differently I'm looking at these cards while building the set. In the past, I would have simply glanced at the name, muttered "common" to myself, and moved on without a second thought. Now, for whatever reason, I've had a paradigm shift. I'm truly seeing the cards, with a thrill of discovery that wasn't there before.

This thread (specifically when the Polo Grounds was mentioned in the background of the one card) has me doing the same thing. Before that, I only thought of how something initially looked to me (and, much moreso, its value). Which led me to have no general interest in the '56s, especially when compared to my '55s.

But now that I took a second look at the amazing backgrounds in the '56s, I'm getting some commons just to appreciate that too. They are like nice postcard works of art. As a middle-aged guy who's always been a baseball player and connoisseur at heart, it's extra nostalgic.

Eric, I’m assuming you are a Phillies fan?

It seems that most of the 1956 Phillies cards have the polo grounds in the background. Do all of them have that for a background?

Born and raised in Philadelphia, lifelong Phillies fan.

Second this! Its giving new life to my collecting of the set. Ive found myself admiring my cards in a different light. Thanks for starting this thread Eric!

Didn't Topps issue team cards in 1951?

Well, how about that. They sure did.

And the learning continues. I should remember to think outside the box (and the packs) a bit more often.

As I continued to sort through my second BST purchase, I took a close look at this New York Giants team card. I pored over the info on the back, read through the names, and gazed at the image. It didn’t have the same level of detail as the single player cards. Rather, it seemed like Impressionist art. The more closely I looked at the piece, the less crisp and defined the small details became.

Some of the players were sporting features that looked almost cartoonish. For instance, the person sitting front and center (Leo Durocher) fell victim to an errant brush stroke, leaving him with half a mustache. A couple spots over, third from the right, Willie Mays seemed to have been given a huge head and toothpick arms.

At least, I believe that’s Willie Mays. The player depicted seems to be African American, the only one in the front row. And therein lies something very interesting. At the bottom of the card, Mays is listed as being in the front row, third from the left.

The image doesn’t appear to be a reverse negative or anything like that. The “New York” on the front of everyone’s uniform seems to be correctly displayed. Topps simply put Mays’ name in the wrong spot.

Looking a bit further into this, I attempted to identify someone else in the team photo. The player whose image I felt most confident about is in the back row. At the far left it would appear Hank Thompson is depicted. Again, Topps has him in the wrong spot.

Based on this info, it appears that the players are listed and pictured in reverse orders. I realize this has probably been spotted and discussed countless times by hobbyists throughout the years. However, discovering little things like this is making it so much more interesting than simply crossing number 226 off my checklist.

I really like the action photos and the backgrounds, as well as the many "cameo" appearances some players make, in the 1956 Topps set. Just like they do in 1957, the backgrounds in 1956 are mostly Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium, along with some of of Ebbets Field. I only wish they had done a of few of Crosley Field, Forbes Field, etc.

Most of the spring training backgrounds are generic, but Charley Neal's is clearly the old Dodgers training field in Vero Beach.

The cameos include the player sliding into home on Hank Aaron's card, who is actually Willie Mays, and Jackie Robinson sliding into Bill Sarni on the latter's card. I'm pretty sure Yogi Berra is on a whole bunch of cards — just see how many cards you can find showing a catcher with a No. 8 on his back. Roy Campanella's is one. I'm sure there's a bunch more. I'm curious if anybody here has made any discoveries?

I can only imagine how much time it took for someone to create all those images. There's nothing really quite like them. Topps built on the design of 1954 and 1955 sets, and replaced their single color backgrounds with stadium panoramas like they used in the 1955 Double Header set, only with better artwork ...

A smiling Herman Wehmeier graces the front of this 1956 Topps card. A bit of a journeyman, Wehmeier would only play 3 games for the Phillies that year. He went on to have a decent season for the St. Louis Cardinals, going 12-9 with two shutouts across 34 games.

Wehmeier led the National League a few times in several categories during his 13 year career. Unfortunately, these were categories in which one does not typically wish to be a league leader: Walks surrendered three times; wild pitches twice; and Earned Runs allowed once.

Additionally, in 1952, he hit more batters than any other NL pitcher. Given his apparent lack of control, this is not surprising.

What’s in a name?

Upon first seeing this card, acquired in my second BST purchase, I wondered about the team name. The Washington Nationals sounded odd to me, especially considering the fact they played in the American League. Guess I wasn’t the only one.

“The team officially changed its name to Senators in 1956, prompted by Charlie Brotman, who at the time was the newly hired stadium announcer for Washington’s major league ball club.” (John Kelly, Washington Post, June 11, 2016)

The card itself yielded a few other interesting details. For starters, unlike the Giants team card, the players here are listed in same order which they appear.

Carlos Paula, first man to break the color line for the Washington Senators, is shown (and listed) at far right of the front row. In the second row, at far left, the man in the plain shirt is almost certainly Trainer George Lentz. And the man at far right of the back row is more than likely Juan Delis, who played all 54 of his Major League games for Washington in 1955.

Another thing that caught my eye was the scoreboard behind the team. It appears to be set up correctly for a home game against Detroit. For you Net54 sleuths out there, is this an image from Griffith Stadium, or was it creative license taken by an artist in the mid-50s?

Lastly, there are three people seated in the front. According to the card, these are the batboys. It might just be my imagination or the artist at work; however, the one in the middle (Hoover) looks bigger than most of the players. If nothing else, he is definitely the largest batboy I’ve ever seen.

Several things about this Jim Greengrass card interest me.

The first, and perhaps most obvious, is the outfield wall. It serves as a beautiful visual reminder of the way ballparks once looked. Although the advertisements had a practical purpose, helping to sells goods and services during the era, they now hold a certain nostalgic charm.

There is also the fact that Greengrass appears to be crashing into that outfield wall. The image certainly captures a moment in time that is filled with tension, action, and excitement.

Lastly, it is notable that the back of Greengrass' uniform jersey bears no number. The Phillies had acquired him during the 1955 season, giving the Topps creative team ample time to assign a jersey number (10 or 23...he wore both in Philadelphia) to this image.

No matter, though. Taken as whole, this card is a beautiful example of the artistry Topps brought to its 1956 baseball set.

This was an enjoyable set to put together -- I love the design and the combination of portrait and action photos. I started with about 30 cards and completed it in a few months about three years ago. Depending on how condition-sensitive you are, it can be a relatively affordable set to put together as the only significant rookie card is Luis Aparicio. I have always loved studying the action photos, including the same shot used for the Gail Harris and Jim Wilson cards. I'm guessing the first baseman really is Harris but doubt the runner is Wilson.

There's a certain beauty in simplicity. Just a lefty hurling his pitch from the mound. Clean, uncluttered background, no other players. It was a nice counterpoint to the other cards in this group. Speaking of which, this Curt Simmons card rounds out my second BST purchase.

Wow, what a pretty set! Thanks for posting...looking forward to your progress.

Maybe I'll graduate to a set like this some day. Maybe... :p

How are you going to store and/or show-off the set? Binder? Storage boxes? Something else?

I’m using a storage box for now. However, there’s a chance this set will eventually wind up in a binder. I guess it will depend on whether I work up the nerve to crack out the Mantle.

Just picked up the Mantle! Part of one of the carterscards HOFer auction lots tonight. Looks like a really clean 2.5ish card with just rounded corners.

That card is usually so overpriced that I'm really happy to have gotten it as part of a basically discounted lot

The next batch of cards I picked up was purchased at the Philly Show in early December. This was my first time flipping through boxes to find cards for a vintage set. At other shows, I had mostly just looked at showcases, searching for higher profile cards. This experience was quite different, and altogether much more rewarding. I had set out to finish the Phillies team set that day, and accomplished this in fairly short order.

One card from this group, #81 Wally Westlake, seemed fairly normal at first glance. However, when I looked a bit more closely, something strange caught my eye.

Westlake is pictured in a Cardinals uniform.

This was made even stranger by the fact that he hadn't played for Saint Louis since 1952. It was one of three Major League teams he was part of that season.

I suppose Topps figured they would simply use this image, though. Westlake only played 5 games (the last of his career) for Philadelphia, all of them during the 1956 season. So, game-action photos of him in a Phillies uniform weren't exactly easy to find. Somehow, I imagine they still aren't.

Congrats on the Mantle! I'm super happy for you. It's a great feeling to snag a classic baseball card, isn't it?

Thanks Eric. Looking forward to adding the Mantle and my new '56 commons to my '55 set to make a bigger hybrid combo set that, once I find the '56 team cards too, will cover everyone and everything that both years have to offer. It should all mesh well since the design and player photos are so similar

But I still love the longer journey you're taking with this. Sometimes I wish I had that patience!

My next card from the Philly show pickup is this copy of #127. I'm not sure what's more appealing, the action shot or the remarkable nickname.

Willie "Puddin Head" Jones played with the Phillies for 13 years and earned two All-Star nods in the early fifties. He joined the team in 1947, as a 21 year-old who had recently been discharged from the Navy and played some semipro ball.

The focal point of this card is the action shot, in which Jones is pictured sliding into home. An umpire looks on as the opposing catcher attempts to apply the tag, apparently too late.

There is something else which caught my attention. Within the yellow box in the upper left, "3rd base PHILADELPHIA PHILS" is noticeably tilted. Interestingly, this appears the same on the other examples I've seen pictured online, including a Mint 9 copy pictured on the PSA website.

Almost directed you to all the '56 T offered today, but I see you found it already :cool:

My next Philly Show pickup is this Glen Gorbous, a light-hitting outfielder with a relatively short career in the Major Leagues.

The backdrop of this card is awash with green. Seemingly everything has an emerald tint, including the rather lengthy fence and stands visible behind him. In the foreground of the action shot, Gorbous stands with hands on knees and his eyes gazing upwards. Perhaps he is contemplating one of his four career home runs. More likely, he is tracking an imaginary fly ball as he poses for the picture.

There is a certain stillness and sadness about the images on this card. For a kid in his mid-20s playing pro baseball, Gorbous isn't smiling. Quite the contrast when compared to some of the other cards in the 1956 Topps set.

Of the cards I picked up at the Philly Show, there was exactly one of a Hall of Famer. Robin Roberts was the ace of the Phillies staff in the 1950s, racking up 199 wins and securing seven All-Star selections during the decade. Roberts also finished in the top 10 of MVP voting five times in a seven year stretch, a further indication of just how good the right-hander was.

This particular example is on the lower end of the condition range I'm looking for, as it sports a crease in the bottom left corner. Still, the card displays nicely and the crease does not distract from any of the features or images.

Roberts' portrait stands out to me for several reasons. For starters, his eyes are intensely focused, almost penetrating. Also, the way his eyebrows are shaped, he has a somewhat sinister look about him. It almost seems that he is staring intently at me, through the cardboard, from a moment captured 64 years ago. Additionally, and almost comically, there is Roberts' cap. He hasn't quite pulled it down as far as other players would. It makes me think he didn't want to mess up his hair that day. Given the seriousness of his facial features, this looks (to me, anyway) hilarious. Rather than wear his cap, Roberts put the thing gently atop his head.

One other thing grabbed my attention. In the top left quadrant, underneath the nameplate, there is an orange box. Contained within this box are the position and team name. As with some other cards in this set, there is a definite slant. As stated previously, little imperfections such as this are neat to me. They serve as reminders of the time in which they were made...and the time frame in which they were put together.

Lastly, there is the action pose, which is simple yet effective. It captures Roberts as he enters into a wind-up, amidst a plain yet beautiful background. All in all, this is a very attractive card of one of the best pitchers to ever wear a Phillies uniform.

Man, good for you. Reading your thread here, caused me to slow down and take my time with my cards - to read them again and absorb them. I'm new to the forum here, but used to collect a long time ago. Unfortunately I gave away most of my cards (long story), but I still have a lot of great ones, and have started collecting again.

But what you're talking about is the way we looked at the cards as kids. Without words, just looking at a card, getting an impression of the player, the picture, etc. Your imagination was a part of it. The backs were informative, and entertaining with the cartoons. You dug the upbeat mini-biographies of each player.



And good for you too. These cards are works of art, IMO. I love the big Topps cards from 1952 - 1956.

Another pickup at the Philly Show is this Granny Hamner. Aside from the somewhat (by today's standards) odd nickname, several things stand out about this card.

For starters, the background image shows a close play at the plate. Hamner is sliding in as the catcher attempts to apply the tag. It is practically impossible to know whether he will be called safe or out. By not showing an umpire in the picture, Topps (perhaps purposefully) leaves the viewer to imagine the outcome for themselves. As a Phillies fan, I prefer to think he was safe, scoring the winning run in the ninth inning of a closely contested game.

Additionally, there is a bat laying on the ground, inches away from the action. As Hamner continues sliding past home, he will likely collide with the lumber. Did nobody think to clear the bat away? Was there no time? Did Hamner gallop towards home from third on a suicide squeeze? So many questions regarding one small detail.

Lastly, there is the foreground portrait. Hamner's cap looks almost brand new. It doesn't appear to have been broken in yet. On a modern card, I probably wouldn't think twice about this. Players nowadays are issued new uniforms, caps, etc. on a seemingly daily basis. Demand for game-used memorabilia is extremely high and teams are more than willing to cash in on this. Back in the mid-50s, as I understand it, things were a bit different. Players from that era tended to get more "mileage" out of things such as gloves, uniforms, and caps. Come to think of it, American society as a whole seems to have trended more and more towards treating everything as easily disposable these days.

Am I just an aging man longing for days gone by as I ponder such things? Perhaps. However, I collect baseball cards. As with most of us, I tend to spend at least as much time looking back as I do looking forward. In many ways, I often prefer the view.

I love this thread!

In looking at the catcher on the Granny card, the way his arms are situated together at the plate as he's staring at (most likely) another base runner, it seems to me this was an 'easy' tag out at the plate with no chance of throwing out the other advancing player.

My next card from the Philly Show is #211, Murry Dickson. He only played for Phillies for a few years; however, had a somewhat long and fairly productive career. Beyond this, he also had quite an interesting life, especially in his younger years. For those who may have an interest, I recommend reading this article from SABR on Dickson:

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/1bb26f23

As for the card, it shows a then-40-year-old Murray Dickson looking every bit the grizzled veteran he was at the time; not just in the baseball sense, but also someone who had been in battle. The look on his face is that of a person who has literally seen it all. I don't often think of this, but those who were middle-aged in 1956 had been through a decidedly different life than the generations which followed them. They had witnessed a world at war.

The action shot of Dickson is remarkable in that no team logo appears on his jersey. Murry had been pitching for the Phillies for a few years by then, so action photos of him were likely easy to come by. However, he had been traded (or sold) so many times by this point, it's possible Topps wanted to hedge their bet and just show Dickson in a plain jersey...just in case. Ironically, he was traded shortly after the set was released.

The backdrop of the action shot is another one of those cards in which everything has a green tint to it. Additionally, Dickson is curiously pictured on neither a pitcher's mound nor an infield warm-up area. Instead, he is standing on an endless expanse of emerald green grass.

Early on in collecting this set, I began to truly see the cards. Now, as I progress a bit further, I have begun to also see the players. They weren't just flat 2 dimensional objects on a piece of cardboard. These players were real people with real lives and (in Murry Dickson's case) real character.

I can honestly say that collecting a set of cards has never been such a tremendously rewarding experience. What a fantastic journey this is turning out to be.

I've wondered if on some of the '56s, whether the action shot was superimposed on a stadium background.

Really enjoy your take on these cards. I usually don't contemplate a card this much, but sometimes you just have to slow down.

We often experience, and sometimes discuss, a loss in our lives. Over the past month, I have dealt with this twice.

Four weeks ago, my father passed away. He and I shared decades of memories, many of which were related to sports and collecting. While his passing was neither sudden nor unexpected, it was still devastating. Even though my relationship with my father was occasionally challenging, I loved and will miss him dearly.

Sixteen days later, my wife and I lost a family pet. His passing was something we had seen coming for a while. For the past six months, we did everything possible, as did the veterinarians. However, the time had come for him to cross the Rainbow Bridge...another soul I loved and will miss dearly.

So, why am I writing all of this here, on a message board devoted to baseball cards? Four weeks ago, my 1956 Topps project stopped as abruptly as it had begun. As other parts of my life return to something resembling normal, I find myself looking forward to resuming the project. Before jumping back in, though, I figured it would make sense to let you all know what happened that caused me to take a little time away.

I'll be back to posting 1956 Topps images/observations soon. Until then, take care.

My condolences, Eric.

Best of luck with your 1956 Topps project. It's a great set to work on...Rob

Thanks, Rob. I appreciate the kind words.

I completed the Phillies team set back around New Year's Day. I was almost finished posting the individual cards by mid-January; however, got sidetracked for a while.

I am going to show the last two Phillies cards without a whole lot of conversation. Don't get me wrong, they're still beautiful to me. It's just that I look at images of Phillies from the mid-50's (through the early 60's) in a different light now. They were the players my father grew up watching, and I can't help but think about him as I look at these.

It feels rather good to get back into the swing of things, though. I look forward to posting the other cards I've picked up so far. Hopefully, I'll have that done before the Philly Show next weekend. Then, I can pick up some more cards and continue this '56 Topps journey.

Man, Baumholtz is having a real hard time getting to second...probably because he appears to be sliding sharply uphill!!!

After completing the Phillies team set, I decided to set my sights on the Big Apple. In 1956, baseball fans in New York had not yet felt the sting of losing two of their three teams. The Yankees were perennial favorites, the Dodgers had just won their first World Series, and the Giants captured a championship the year before. New York was the center of the baseball universe, and most of the brightest stars played their home games in the city that never sleeps.

The background picture on this Bob Cerv card exhibits many of the small details I enjoy from the 1956 Topps set. The stands are filled with fans, giving the scene a lively feel. Adding to the energy of this image is the twisted body of Cerv as he rounds first base. There is also a small cloud of dust around his feet, further displaying Cerv's somewhat frenetic movement.

Perhaps the most interesting detail is one that I missed when first looking at the card. At a spot roughly halfway between Cerv's chest and the ear of his portrait, there is a white sphere. Sure enough, it's a baseball. There are even visible stitches on the thing. Its size makes the ball appear closer (to the viewer) than the rest of the subjects in this scene. Additionally, it leaves me to wonder what happened to the ball before and after this precise moment in time.

Such a detail reinforces the depth and realism Topps likely sought to present with this image. It also truly brings me into the action. I can almost imagine being along the first base line on a late afternoon, watching the action up-close as the shadows grew longer and the game sped towards its conclusion.

EDIT TO ADD: I'm still not entirely sure Cerv is rounding first base here. the curvature of the dirt and presence of the foul line certainly led me to believe it was first. However, the stands in the background also seem to be located along the first base line. That scene even appears to include a dugout. Maybe Topps fused two images together? I'd love to hear some theories.

I went to the Philly Show today. While walking the floor, I ran into a few Net54 members, had some great conversations, and picked up a few cards. The only one from 1956 Topps was this Mickey McDermott.

Some people would find the registration issues maddening. Others might find them attractive. I'm definitely part of the latter camp.

While I certainly won't make a sub-project out of color shifted cards, it is really neat to have this particular example.

And, here's a copy of McDermott without the color shift. I got this one from Bocabirdman a couple months ago. So, now I have doubles of exactly one card in this set. It is interesting that the vertical streak on his right shoulder appears on both cards.

After an admittedly brief Internet search, I have found this print defect to be common. Since Topps wouldn't have an obvious reason (to me, anyway) for including this on the image, it appears to have been something during the process of preparing or printing the sheets.

Pretty cool. I never noticed that. I did however notice recently that the background photo used in both the Yogi Berra and Gene Woodling cards are the same.

I think he is sliding into 3rd base and that is the 1st base dugout in the background. As a result of your posts, I am certainly going to take a much closer look at my '56 cards (57-60 too!).

The problem, though, is the curvature of the dirt. Unless I'm wrong, you don't see that on the inside of the infield area, just on the outside.

Maybe that's not a dugout? Could it be a centerfield bullpen enclosed by a fence (that we're too far away to see)? I don't know enough about 1950s stadia to have any idea if that's something that they had, but otherwise it looks geometrically impossible.

Thanks for this thread, Eric. It's nice to see you pointing out the simple beauty and joy even in the commons. It's too often lost these days in a hobby where slabs and dollar signs seem to rule the day.

I've only been saying I should "do" the '56 set off and on for about 20 years now. It would be pretty easy to offiically start. I have the Mantle, the Williams, 2 Clemente's (both a white and gray back) and a pile of commons. I think it is hands down the best Topps set of all-time. So much of it just screams the 1950's.

I will look forward to your future posts!

-John

John,

Thanks for your kind words. I really appreciate the feedback. If you do decide to pursue a '56 Topps deck, good luck and have fun.

Best regards,

Eric

Roger Craig is a name with which I have seemingly always been familiar. As a youngster in the late 70’s, I became aware of Craig though seeing him pictured on the 1979 Padres team card. As a teenager in the late ‘80s, I knew him as the manager of a very good San Francisco Giants team. Acquiring this 1956 Topps rookie card of Craig took me back to both of those times in my life.

It is not surprising Topps included the young pitcher in their final oversized offering. The Brooklyn Dodgers had captured their first (and, as it turned out, their only) World Series the year before. Craig was not only a member of this championship club, he started game 5 of the series and picked up a win.

This fact is captured on the back of Craig’s card, presented within one of the cartoons displayed on most of the cards from this set. Additionally, Roger’s date of birth appears directly above this cartoon. Interestingly, Topps appears to have printed the wrong year. Craig was actually born in 1930. I didn’t give this much thought at first. There are quite a few uncorrected errors in Topps sets from this era. However, while looking through Beckett to confirm this was Craig’s rookie, I noticed the error was not catalogued as such. Although I doubt I’m the first one to notice this, it was neat to “discover” a mistake the guide didn’t have.

As for the front of the card, it depicts the tall, lean hurler following through on a pitch. The position of Craig’s left arm suggests that he put his whole body into throwing the ball. In his portrait, Roger bears a look of confidence befitting a world champion. The background, while not especially prominent, does offer up one notable and puzzling detail.

Between the nameplate and Roger’s cap, there are a few pennants waving in the breeze, along with something which looks like a fence of some sort. This “fence” also appears on the other side of Roger’s cap. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out (a) what this “fence” is and (b) what it is doing there. Any ideas you all may have would be greatly appreciated.

When I picked up card #83, Karl Spooner, I had no idea who he was. This is not surprising, considering the fact that he only played for two seasons. I came to learn that the left-hander was a phenom of a pitcher who enjoyed a stunningly good start to his career. It was not meant to last, though. An early injury ultimately took him from top of the world down to being a flash-in-the-pan.

While doing a bit of research on the player, I also discovered something interesting about the '56 Topps card on which Spooner appears. There are (at least) two versions of the front. The portrait was cropped a bit tighter on one of them. This is perhaps easiest to spot at the top of the Brooklyn "B" on his cap. Details, one of which I grabbed from eBay, appear below.

Is this a common occurrence for 1956 Topps Baseball? Were there two different fronts for the cards with a white/gray back variation?

This Carl Erskine card made me do a double take. Topps seemed to have taken a great deal of artistic license with the background picture. Their version of "artistic" in this case, though, borders on minimalism. There is no stadium, no fence, no infield dirt. Instead, there is just a green "haze" that seems to have been airbrushed over a large portion of the original image.

I'm going to be spending the entire weekend at home. Presumably, many of you are in the same situation. To make the best of this, I plan to post images of the remaining 12 cards I've picked up thus far. When done, all of the 1956 Topps cards in my collection will be posted in this thread.

Here is #225, Gil McDougald. Although there is nothing remarkable about the card, I do enjoy the images. McDougald's portrait shows a young, vibrant infielder for the New York Yankees. He looks genuinely happy in this picture. Why wouldn't he? The Bombers were on one hell of a run during those days.

The action shot is a classic infield play, one in which McDougald appears to have successfully turned a double play at second.

Card #316, Jerry Coleman, shows another Yankee infielder making a play at second base. In this action image, Coleman is off the ground, having taken to the air to avoid a hard-sliding runner. I imagine base-runners could not intimidate Coleman, a US Marine who served in Korea and World War II.

I very much like the look of card #302, "Big Ed" Robinson. The Yankee first baseman is shown applying a tag, likely attempting to complete a pick-off play or snag a runner who took too large a turn around the bag. The photographer (or artist) froze a moment in time skillfully, leaving the viewer to wonder whether the runner was safe or out.

Robinson's portrait is also done tremendously well. His cap is pulled down low and his facial expression is quite serious. The focal point of the image, though, is the look in his eyes. Robinson's gaze is locked upon the left edge of the card, almost inviting the viewer to look past the border to see what it is that he had noticed.