[Volod]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

That is a great project and a good plan. There are several older threads in here on the 52 set and there are several 52 collectors on here, including me. But, it is not Topps first baseball set. Even ignoring the baseball subset to the Topps 1948 Magic Photos, Topps had 5 baseball sets in 1951--the Red and Blue back game cards, the 9 set Team cards and the Connie Mack and Current All Star sets. Still many people consider the 52 set the first true Topps baseball set

Good luck on your quest

Have to love your enthusiasm, Ed. If it continues through the high numbers, i think you will have the task licked - or, at least, thoroughly tasted. Al makes an excellent point, but, i wonder how many of those "many people" are in fact just Mantle fans who dismiss any set that does not include the great idol. On the other hand, i have not seen many collectors describe the '56 set as Topps' "third" set just because the two previous did include him...so, why the extreme prejudice against the '51's? If Topps had thought any rookies worthy of a card that year, would Mantle's Redback or Blueback command a higher price than his second year card today, or, would most still overvalue the '52?