All of us love Willie Mays! He’s maybe the best all-around baseball participant ever and one other inner-circle sports activities card pastime immortal. We’re honored to have one of many biggest Willie Mays collectors on the planet, Nicolo, take us via his high 10 Mays playing cards. He at the moment owns the #1 finest Willie Mays Master Set on the PSA Set Registry! Right here’s Nicolo:
For postwar gamers like Willie Mays, most of his playing cards can simply be discovered at any present, on eBay, or on the now ubiquitous auctions seemingly perpetually run by the plethora of business public sale homes. Exterior of his earliest years in greater grades, most may even bought for a relative cut price. However outdoors of these simply attainable playing cards, there are some playing cards that you simply simply can’t discover. They’re so uncommon and fascinating that cash can’t purchase them, aside from very uncommon conditions the place the present proprietor decides to promote, and also you get a short window to purchase earlier than that window closes tight once more for years and even many years. For any critical collector, they’re on the high of the checklist by way of must-have items, and but they’re additionally the items that we could by no means even have the possibility to personal.
And since we’re speaking particularly about playing cards, this checklist is restricted to simply playing cards, and subsequently I gained’t embrace a number of the extra unique full items, like full containers from Bazooka or Jell-O, though we might nearly fill one other high 10 checklist with full containers if we needed to. Many of those playing cards solely have a handful which can be identified to exist, with as many as a number of dozen, to as few as low single digits. Out of necessity, any checklist of really uncommon and fascinating playing cards is generally going to concentrate on check points and regional points that didn’t have giant print runs. In some instances, it would even embrace a number of playing cards that have been by no means even truly issued to the general public, and though the exact journey is commonly a thriller, they nonetheless someway managed to get out into the wild.
A part of the enjoyable with any such checklist is debating which playing cards to incorporate, and which miss the reduce. However wait…there’s extra!
As a result of as soon as we’ve the checklist, then we nonetheless get to debate the relative ordering. My guess is that we might every populate our personal lists, and it will be a pleasant debate. As an added wrinkle, though there are a number of uncommon and fascinating Mays playing cards that I don’t personal but, I restricted my picks to simply people who I personal personally. When you work to populate your checklist, within the meantime right here’s my checklist:
#10 – 1955 Robert Gould
Initially issued with a small plastic white participant statue, the cardboard was rubber-banded to that statue. The playing cards even embrace pre-punched holes with notches and slits on both aspect of the cardboard to facilitate the rubber band. Like many obscure points, this card lacks flash and seems way more spartan and utilitarian, with a black and white participant picture on a area of inexperienced, with earlier yr and lifelong stats proven. As a result of supply mechanism, and the shortage of the unique situation, people who have survived are usually in poor situation. PSA pop: 14
#9 – 1959 Topps Venezuela
At first look, the cardboard is nearly indistinguishable from the mainline 1959 Topps card printed within the USA, however upon nearer inspection, the cardboard inventory feels totally different, the gloss is rather a lot much less shiny, the again is a darkish grey and helpfully lists in very small print: “Impreso en Venezuela por Benco C.A.” The primary yr during which Topps tapped an area printer to supply and distribute playing cards within the then financial powerhouse of South America, most of those playing cards have suffered from poor printing, low manufacturing ranges, and collector mishandling. As the primary set printed for Topps in Venezuela, solely 196 playing cards have been printed, moderately than the complete 572 card Topps set. Remarkably, this one has survived in strong NM form. PSA pop: 36
#8 – 1952 Coke Enjoying Ideas Check
The check set was issued earlier than the primary set, and that includes solely two gamers: Phil Rizzuto, and the Say Hey Child. Simply after his profitable rookie marketing campaign, during which the Giants gained the pennant by beating out the hated ones in a mini 3-game playoff, and simply earlier than being drafted into the Military, thus dropping a lot of the 1952 and the entire 1953 seasons, Willie was already a sensation. This piece was solely issued within the New York space in instances of Coke. To up the ante, this piece options the traditional Americana of Coke promoting, and you’ve got an instantaneous collectible. But someway few have survived through the years, almost certainly because of their small authentic print run, giant measurement, distinctive form, and skinny card inventory. Most which have survived, like mine, are in low grade. PSA pop: 16
#7 – 1954 Stahl Meyer
Issued in a lot smaller numbers than the succeeding 1955 set, these oversize playing cards have been issued in packages of scorching canines within the New York space. Between being a brief run regional situation, and the character of their issuance, the few playing cards that also exist are usually in poor situation. Those who I’ve dealt with in uncooked type nonetheless have a faint lingering odor of scorching canine. As an added bonus, this card features a traditional picture used on a number of different Mays items, with a younger Willie within the dugout, prepared for motion. PSA pop: 24
#6 – 1959 Dad’s Cookies
Whereas most different displays of the time have been delivered by merchandising machines, these displays have been stapled to luggage of Dad’s Cookies issued by the native distributor based mostly in Vancouver, B.C. Collectors might ship away for an album to stick their displays. These few which have survived all have staple holes, whereas some even have glue and the remnants of the album the place they have been pasted. As such, whether or not for Mays or for any of the opposite 43 identified gamers featured within the set, none are graded above PSA 1. With a traditional Mays picture on the entrance, on this case, it’s the again of the cardboard that’s distinctive, stuffed with promoting copy for Dad’s cookies, and a message from Sandy, the corporate’s hirsute Scottish mascot. PSA pop: 4
#5 – 1966 Topps Punch Outs
Much less well-known than the extra available however nonetheless fairly scarce 1967 Topps Punch Outs, the 1966 set is broadly believed to be a check set that was by no means publicly issued. These playing cards are blank-backed, however based mostly on the directions outlined on the again of the 1967 model, very similar to an earlier check set that we’ll get to later, the playing cards have been for use to simulate a baseball recreation from the consolation of dwelling. Designed to truly be separated into two halves to facilitate recreation play, this card options Mays on one aspect, and Tony Conigliaro on the opposite. Whereas the portion of every card designed to be performed boasts vibrant and full of life colours, the precise participant footage are small black and white photos. PSA pop: 2
#4 – 1953-54 Briggs Meats
Issued as a bigger two-card panel, these playing cards have been reduce from scorching canine packages. Along with sharing the identical picture because the 1954 Stahl Meyer situation, the distribution technique has left the remaining playing cards in poor situation, with an identical faint odor of frankfurters. Most of those have been reduce all the way down to a really small measurement, usually with no border. My copy was lucky to outlive with a bit extra of the encircling packaging, highlighting a number of the promoting copy and the succulent scorching canines ready inside. As an added bonus, this actual card was auctioned off by Sotheby’s as lot 483 of the well-known Copeland assortment in March 1991. Public sale remaining sale value: $4,400 (together with the ten% purchaser’s premium). Speak about a whole lot of scorching canines! PSA pop: 12
#3 – 1958 Hires Root Beer Check with Tab
Who doesn’t love a scrumptious root beer on a scorching summer season day? Initially issued as a check set in instances of Hires Root Beer in New York Metropolis earlier than the extra broadly out there set from later the identical yr, this situation includes a daring orange background that bathes the complete piece in a radioactive glow. Designed with a removable piece to be despatched in to affix the Hires Baseball Membership, only some have survived intact. PSA pop: 3
#2 – 1971 Bazooka Numbered
After taking a few years off from issuing playing cards with present baseball gamers on containers of Bazooka gum, Bazooka got here again for one final run. Not like each different Bazooka situation, this one was by no means truly issued on a field. In the end, the 1971 containers have been issued in remaining type as a part of an unnumbered set, with the playing cards and even the entire containers being comparatively simple to seek out. This earlier numbered iteration was solely ever produced on a small print batch of cream-backed cardboard check sheets. These sheets someway made their manner into the pastime, and have been carved up into both panels of three gamers, or singles reminiscent of this one. Whereas lots of the gamers featured on this set have upwards of 24 copies out there, the panel with Mays seems to have been mysteriously short-printed, with valuable few at the moment identified to exist. PSA pop: 3 (plus PSA pop 4 of the entire panel)
#1 – Topps 1961 Cube Recreation
The grailiest of all grails for participant collectors: The 1961 Topps Cube Recreation. For years, the maker of this set was not completely clear, and even right this moment, the exact date of manufacturing continues to be debated, with many cardboard historians arguing for 1963 over 1961 based mostly on uniforms for gamers who have been on the transfer throughout these years. By no means truly launched to the general public, a number of have managed to sneak out of the Topps manufacturing facility. Based mostly on the again, the playing cards seem to have been destined to be used in a house recreation the place children might simulate a baseball recreation utilizing their favourite gamers and the roll of the cube figuring out the result of an at-bat. We speculate that these copies have been used internally by Topps to judge the potential for this set, and subsequently many of those playing cards have staple holes or pin holes the place they have been probably secured to a cork board or in a folder or have pencil marks to point some post-production revisions. Over time, from these obscure origins, the legend of those playing cards has grown and right this moment they’re well-known and desired by all critical participant collectors with the profound fortune of getting their favourite participant featured on this set. PSA pop: 3
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