1957 Mickey Mantle

[ALR-bishop]

If you compare enough of the 57 Mantles you can find different degrees in the airbrushing of the figure in the background. I have been told there are cards with the figure more or less all gone, but never seen one. The other mystery is who it was.

[Volod]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

If you compare enough of the 57 Mantles you can find different degrees in the airbrushing of the figure in the background. I have been told there are cards with the figure more or less all gone, but never seen one. The other mystery is who it was.

Al, maybe a plausible candidate would be Billy Martin. The Yankees demoted him to Kansas City in June, 1957, following the notorious incident in the Copacabana. Ok, actually it was a lateral transfer, since KC was technically a major league club. Even so, that would not have been the reason for the airbrush job by Topps - but, knowing Martin, he could have been in the background of the photo of his pal, Mantle, perhaps making a gesture similar to the one he famously slipped into his 1972 Topps card. Just a wild theory, I know.