Unissued 1953 Topps

[toppcat]

There are five paintings of unissued cards in the current REA auction, all from the Sy Berger collection:

Richie Ashburn (Philadelphia Phillies)
Max Lanier (New York Giants)
Joe Tipton (Cleveland Indians)
Harry Brecheen (St. Louis Browns)
Ken Wood (Washington)

6 cards obviously are missing from the 1953 High Numbers, likely due to contractual issues with Bowman.

Max Lanier was released by the Giants on May 15th so his card may have been withdrawn due to the fact he was no longer with NY. Ken Wood's final game with the Senators was on May 23rd, whereupon he was either released, sent down or quit (can't tell).

In addition, the 2nd issue of Baseball Cards magazine in Autumn 1981 had an article with pictures of three other unissued artworks intended for this set:

Andy Pafko (Brooklyn)
Pete Castiglione (Pittsburgh)
Billy Cox (Brooklyn)

Pafko is shown as a Dodger and the article speculates he was pulled due to his preseason trade (January 17th) to the Braves. Castiglione was also traded but not until June 14th.

Ashburn was Topps in 51, 52 and 54, Bowman from 49-55.
Brecheen was Topps 51, 52, 54 and 55 and in Bowman from 49-52.
Castiglione was on 52 Topps and Bowman from 50-52 and 54.
Cox was in 51 and 52 Topps and was Bowman from 49-55.
Lanier was 52 Topps (1 of the sharpest cards in the set) and 50-52 Bowman.
Pafko was in 51,52 and 54 Topps, 49-55 Bowman.
Tipton appeared in 52 Topps and Bowman from 49-51 and 53-54.
Wood was 52 Topps and 50, 51 and 53 Bowman.

So if Lanier, Wood and Pafko were pulled due to team changes, that leaves five and possibly only four paintings to fill 6 slots, depending upon the Castiglione timeline in respect of the card production. Ashburn, Cox and Tipton look to have had iron clad Bowman contracts and Brecheen and Castiglione may have had such bad luck they could appear in neither set (depending on the trade timing, of course with Castiglione). Wood may have been Bowman bound as well and was shown as a Senator in the 53 Bowman color set. Lanier is a tossup but I would lean Bowman contract with him but he could have had the same fate as Brecheen and Castiglione. Pafko looks possibly Bowmanesque as well and appears as a Brave in the 53 Bowman B&W set, which was presumably issued after the color cards.

Has anyone ever seen evidence of any other unissued 53 artwork? I feel like there should be at least one more out there.

[Bob Lemke]

Ashburn 53T f.jpg

Ashburn back.jpg

[Volod]

Hey Bob:
That is some outstanding work you did on the prospective Ashburn card. The only nitpicking I would half-heartedly venture involves the text of the bio. To wit, I don't believe the expression, "take them to the next level," would have been used in the early 1950's. It is more likely to have entered common usage during the 70's, thus, I would suggest, "help keep them in the pennant race." Perhaps, also, the use of "solidify" in the meaning of "strengthen" is anticipated by a decade or so, but that is just one guy's feeble opinion. As you might guess, I'm an old editor and wordsmith who grew up in the 50's, and now have way too much time on my hands.
Steve Gaylo

[Bob Lemke]

Thanks for the critique, Steve. In retrospect, I believe you are spot on about the usage. On some of my card creations, especially those of vintage players on career-contemporary cards, I try to channel the card companies' writers and remember that they were writing for 10-year-olds, rather than adult collectors. More than once in my "real" working days I was criticized by my editors for writing above the reader.