Rare 1973Topps....1953 reprint set

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Shown here is the Satchel Paige card (one of the key cards) from this seldom seen Topps test issue. It is reported that only 300 sets
were produced and it is uncertain how these cards were marketed.

Here are the 8 cards in this set (3 of them portray the wrong player)......if anyone is interested, I'll post the other 7 cards.

1....Satchell Paige

2....Jackie Robinson

3....Carl Furillo (Bill Antonello pix)

4....Al Rosen (Jim Fridley pix)

5....Hal Newhouser

6....Clyde McCollough (Vic Janowicz pix)

7...."Peanuts" Lowrey

8....Johnny Mize





TED Z

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Posted By: dennis

what was the purpose of these 8 cards? does anyone know?

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Posted By: Anthony

As the story goes, they were table favors for a Topps Banquet. Woody Gelman rushed them a bit and a few of the players aren't who they should be.
Shameless plug, I've got a very high graded set and a bunch of singles in my ebay store if anyone is interested.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

DENNIS

I guess TOPPS probably reprinted these select few cards to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their
famed 1953 set. Why they chose these particular 8 players is not really known.

And, of course they again reprinted their complete 1953 set (- Billy Loes) in 1991.

TED Z

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

The 8 cards in this set......




TED Z

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Posted By: Rich Klein

Both during and after his playing career. I believe he drove a cab in the 1970's.

And he threw such a fit about the 91 Archives set that as Ted said his card was never issued. That actually made the 53 Topps card even more popular as many collectors wanted that card to finish their Archives set.

Strange but true, just like Loes

Rich

P.S. He really did lose that ground ball in the sun. (Ted Z will understand this reference)

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Posted By: Bob Pomilla

Billy also had a taste for betting on horses (mostly slow ones). A regular at the NY tracks in the years before he died.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Billy Loes started his career showing great promise. His 1st year. he was 13-8 with a low ERA (2.69) with the Dodgers (1952).
He followed up with 14-8, 13-5, and 10-4 seasons in 1953, '54, and '55; respectively.

But, it's a shame, as he never lived up to this promise....since, he was a quite a character on and off the field. He was traded
to Baltimore and had a 12-7 record in 1957....but, after that season he was never the same.

TED Z

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Posted By: John H.

I'm one of those guys that went out and bought an original '53 Loes card. Couldn't have that hole in the set. Did the same thing with the Dom DiMaggio, Saul Rogovin, Solly Hemus and Tommy Holmes cards that weren't in the '52 reprint. Loes wasn't in the '52 reprint either but I never got around to purchasing the original. Both Loes cards later appeared in the 1995 Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set and the DiMaggio showed up in the 2001 Archives "First and Last Card" set.

John

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Posted By: Anthony

Ted-
Are you sure Furillo pictures Antonelli? I can't see that he ever played for the Dodgers organization. I think it might be someone else.

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Posted By: Bob

The Furillo card pictures Bill Antonello.

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Posted By: Al

I have this set as well. I do not think you can get 3 of 8 wrong by accident. I believe it was a gag...or a test

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

BOB

Thanks for the correction on Antonello.....heck, I was only off by one vowel.


AL

Those errors are strange.....but, at least they substituted guys from the same teams. Perhaps, they
no longer had the original artwork of Furillo, Rosen, and McCullough, so used these other three guys.

TED Z

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Posted By: Dave Hornish

Ted, you may be right. If it was a set produced quickly with a deadline, they may have used whatever was at hand artwise.

I had half the set at one point, sold off three of them recently but may still go after Jackie. I think they are neat, especially the Diamond Stars influenced writeups on the backs.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

I don't see these as that rare and have seen these frequently at shows. However pops are all between 20-30 so maybe they are rarer than I think. Here is a HOFer from the set.

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Posted By: Dave Hornish

Jim I agree, they pop up fairly often and you see them much more than some other Topps toughies like the 74 stamp albums or the 73 comics/pinups. I have seen raw mid grade commons go in the $10 - $30 range on Ebay and mid grade slabs (commons and Mize) for $60-70. All the ones I sold were in those ranges.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

The Standard Catalog has the set valued at $600. It also says that only 300 sets were printed....that's not many.

TED Z

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Posted By: Al

Someone mentioned these might have been given out at one of the banquets. I have 3 or 4 programs for those from the 60s, and the 64 boxed program "set", but does anyone know what year such banquests began and ended ?