The next time I post about my 1956 Topps set build will be the last. It has to be. This set is going to be completed this summer. I've got the date and the final card all planned out. But first...let's take a look at the six cards that have eluded me for nearly a decade, and why I still don't have them:
Card #1 - William Harridge
Here is a list of all card #1 subjects of 1950s Topps sets (excluding 1956)
1951 - Eddie Yost(blue) / Yogi Berra (red)
1952 - Andy Pafko
1953 - Jackie Robinson
1954 - Ted Williams
1955 - Dusty Rhodes
1957 - Ted Williams
1958 - Ted Williams
1959 - Ford Frick
If kids were going to squeeze and bend the top card with their rubber bands it's probably better to make it a commissioner or league president. I would not want to pay a Card #1 premium for a Ted Williams.
That said, look at how the 1956 Topps Set starts off:
Looks like one of those Look N' See non-sports issues if you ask me. Considering all the other card #1 subjects of the era I actually lucked out here. That said I'm not surprised that the first card is one of my last needs. Who wants to spend $50 on a faded, off-center single of this guy? Not me. Not yet...
Card #61 - Bill Skowron
I'm surprising no one when I say that two of the last six cards I need are Yankees. This set features Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, Whitey Ford, Billy Martin, and two tough "commons" in Irv Noren and Bob Cerv - plus the final card in the set, Mickey McDermott.
Skowron is a non Hal of Famer, in the more common First Series, and it's not his RC. So why is "Moose" one of the last six left on my list?
I donno... I'm picky I guess. Especially with centering. And based on my own independent analysis the centering of nearly every Skowron single is unsatisfactory. Here are some cheap copies:
It's within my budget to get a graded copy, but that's been a struggle as well. This copy has hat bubbles. This one has a faded name bar. This one is giving me a headache. No way that's a PSA 5. Just... ugh.
How about this one? Looks promising until you zoom in. Dang it.
This one? Nope, off-center. This one? Off-center and print crud on the name.
What is it about the 1950s version of Brandon Belt that flares up my OCD? I just can't pick a copy I like and .. hold on... I see it.
It's centered. It's overpriced.. but it's centered.
Okay. Let's just get this over with.
Nope. Hat bubbles.
Card #221 - Bob Friend
I have no Friend and I have no real reason why. Maybe it's your personality.
Bob Friend became a bit of a cult hero to me when I was assembling my all-time team rosters. Maybe that's why I kept kicking this can down the road, assuming that one day I'll be able to afford a high grade copy.
Welp... there's only one graded copy on eBay right now - at any grade - and .. it's still not in my budget.
The other cards have somewhat valid reasons for being left on the board. But this just dried up in mid-high grade, for some reason. I might have to settle for a free-range Friendo.
Side quests
Even though I've set a personal deadline to complete this set within the next three months (and a limited personal budget to complete said project), I may get sidetracked a bit with upgrading here and there before adding the final piece of the puzzle.
Actually, I've already driven myself in a circle, upgrading a card for no reason. Twice.
I have a stack of 40 oversized top loaders for non-graded copies. Most of these are sufficient. Two or three - such as card #336 Ellis Kinder - should be upgraded, slab or not. While shopping for a decent copy of William Harridge I noticed that my copy of card #2 Warren Giles(NL president) has a very small crease and should probbaly be upgraded as well. I don't care which 40 cards are in the top loaders and which ones are graded but I'm definitely not getting graded copies of these guys.
Some slabbed singles of above replacement-level players are still reasonably priced and if I have a raw copy in a top loader I might free that space up for something that is not feasible to buy graded. And so, I picked up a PSA 5 copy of Giants pitcher Johnny Antonelli to upgrade from a non-graded copy.
However I failed to note this in my very detailed catalog of the set and I unknowngly upgraded the upgrade.
Sigh... let's get back on track, shall we?
Card #332 Don Larsen
Anyone want to guess why I still haven't acquired this card? Yep. Because of one single game. The Yankee premium is bumped up to 3x for a memorable moment such as Larsen's immaculate outing in that year's World Series. I've got to pay Hall of Famer prices for this card, graded or not.
Very good? No no no -- this man was perfect.
Card #NNO - Checklist 1/3
Unmarked chekclists are tough to find, especially from the early years of Topps. There's obviously a premium for well-centered copies with vibrant color. I bit the bullet on Checklist 2/4 and paid HOFer prices for a card that isn't neccesarily part of the set - though I always counted these in my project.
The acceptable copies I've seen for checklist 1/3 are priced higher that the price I paid for 2/4. It's almost certainly going to be the most expensive card remianing. It will not be the capstone card however.
When I reached 80% completion I started to think about the cards I had remaining.Should I get what I can when I can, or should I select a final card for this set build? Once I studied the names left on my list one jumped out at me. Yes! That's the one. Finish with him.
Card #260 Pee Wee Reese
My mom bought me two 1956 Topps cards as Christmas gifts when I was still a teenager. I helped her pick them out, from the LCS that nurtured my fledgling collection and the dealer that became such a family friend he ended up being Mom's date to my sister's wedding.
Those two cards purchased over 25 years ago started me on this decade-long journey. Those two cards were: a Brooklyn Dodger/Hall of Famer and a Hall of Fame shortstop of a New York-based ballclub:
They were not graded whens she bought them. I submitted them to PSA a few years later.
So why not complete the puzzle with a Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame shortstop?
Pee Wee Reese will be my birthday gift to myself - along with a box of 1986 Topps (the first set I ever collected) and maybe a Starting Lineup figure or two. I can't expect Mom to pay for this, and I wouldn't ask her to. I just hope she's still physically able to come to Jersey and see the completed set she inspired.
Six cards in twelve weeks. It will be a challenge. It will be expensive. I don't care.
I'm finishing this thing the way I started it.
~
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