What was the best 1952 Topps card ..... in 1952?

[CW]

Interesting advertisement as it relates to Chuck's question, Jason.

I was wondering where Willie Mays would fit into the mix here, but after looking at his stats it appears he didn't really break out until 1954.

1951 was 121 games, 20 HR and .274 avg. 1952 was only 34 games played, and 1953 was off due to military service. 1954 -- 151 GP, 41 HRs, and led league with .345 avg.

[KCRfan1]

I imagine most kids would be looking for the players on the Yankees, Dodgers, Giants. All of the NY teams. Insightful comments about Mantle as he took over for DiMaggio. Radio was king and Yankee baseball was broadcast throughout the NE. Mantle certainly would have been highly sought after.

[swarmee]

Interesting counterpoint: if everyone was clamoring for the high series cards, then they would have sold out. And the leftovers wouldn't have been dumped in the ocean, because they couldn't sell in bulk for years before they were sunk.

So maybe we're all wrong.

[Lueth2048]

I'll pretend that I'm my Father for this one, even though he never collected cards. He was nine years old and living in Cleveland in 1952.

I think he would have been looking for:

Dale Mitchell (his favorite player)
Bob Lemon (his favorite pitcher)
Al Rosen
Ted Williams

I don't think he would have been interested in any of the New York or Brooklyn players.

[Rookiemonster]

Cool question ! Not being old enough to be around for that era in history. I would guest Roy Campanella. He was the mvp the year before and still a rising star. Big market player with power. At least Maybe it would have been the card I wanted .

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Lueth2048

I'll pretend that I'm my Father for this one, even though he never collected cards. He was nine years old and living in Cleveland in 1952.

I think he would have been looking for:

Dale Mitchell (his favorite player)
Bob Lemon (his favorite pitcher)
Al Rosen
Ted Williams

I don't think he would have been interested in any of the New York or Brooklyn players.

Yeah, I think certain simple things get foggy over time, and your post hits the nail on the head. Whereas Mantles are always desired big-time because their value goes up, up, up, we can't forget that back in the day a kid's home team trumped all. As a tyke in 1972, for example, I would've given anything for a Jerry Grote or Cleon Jones card and couldn't have cared less about Aaron, Ryan, etc. Wasn't even close. Value never entered the picture when it came to my hometown Mets.

[Lueth2048]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

Yeah, I think certain simple things get foggy over time, and your post hits the nail on the head. Whereas Mantles are always desired big-time because their value goes up, up, up, we can't forget that back in the day a kid's home team trumped all. As a tyke in 1972, for example, I would've given anything for a Jerry Grote or Cleon Jones card and couldn't have cared less about Aaron, Ryan, etc. Wasn't even close. Value never entered the picture when it came to my hometown Mets.

1972 was the first year that I collected. The two players I wanted the most were Ray Fosse and Gaylord Perry. Any pack that I got an Indian out of was a good pack. I still remember pulling a Fred Stanley out of the first pack that I ever bought.

[JTysver]

There are still complete game footage of two games from the 1952 World Series. We have to remember TV was new, but it was quickly reaching most people. Many would go to a neighbor's house to watch. Radio, for the most part, was how most people consumed games.
It wasn't until 1953 that there was even a national game of the week on TV and that was banned within 50 miles of any stadium.
Prior to that, there were local broadcasts. If you lived in a city, you followed the local team as you had little choice.
The World Series was played in the daytime and there was no taping the games. People who worked, didn't just have a TV set in their office they could watch the game on, but they may have had a radio to listen to the game.
Sports Illustrated was even a couple years away.
This left, much of the game to the imagination of the consumers. That imagination was mostly fueled by what the press was writing. You had three major baseball publications- The Sporting News, Baseball Digest and Baseball Magazine.
Mantle was getting hype, but not nearly the hype as others.

Jackie Robinson was, for a while, the most popular as well as the most hated man in America during those years. Stan Musial was big as half the country would get his games on radio. Ted Williams barely played in 1952.
I imagine Mantle was someone that people would have wanted, however, people weren't collecting for value at that time. They collected because they wanted their favorite players. If you were young and impressionable, you may have seen your first World Series on TV that year. If you watched the World Series, Mantle probably was the guy you clung to. But another Yankee was also taking the game by storm that year. That was Allie Reynolds. He, however, wasn't a young player.
I imagine that Yogi was probably bigger and more popular than Mickey until the World Series. And given that was the time that Mantle cards were probably released, it was probably a hot card at the time.

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