November 19, 2020: Fall Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/19/2020
This is a fascinating lot reminiscent of old-time auctions, numbering nearly 1,000 cards, often in lower grades in the earliest years but then gradually improving over time, often reaching Excellent or better in the early 1960s and even better by 1970. Like a lot of lots from auctions in the earliest days of the hobby, this one begs for a good deal of close examination, yielding a lot of value like in the total of nearly six dozen Hall of Famers and a host of stars and minor stars over several eras. Early Bowmans from the likes of Roy Campanella, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Johnny Mize, Robin Roberts and Joe Garagiola, among others, headline the period, along with a 1954 Topps Tommy Lasorda Rookie and a 1956 Topps Al Kaline, plus 1951 Berk-Ross cards of Joe DiMaggio and Stan Musial; in the 1960s the roster includes the likes of Willie Mays, Bob Gibson, Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Stargell and many more. While many of the earliest years, say 1949-54 are largely Fair to Good (with some below) and a whisper better, Good to Very Good to the end of the decade; many of the 1960s Topps are Excellent to Ex-Mt, and by 1970 Ex-Mt to Near-Mint. The lot also represents a tremendous opportunity for what was once a hobby mainstay, a “Type Collection,” with a lineup touching many of the most important Bowman and Topps baseball issues from the postwar era, along with peripheral treasures like 1951 Berk-Ross, 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats and even a couple of 1952 Topps Babe Ruths from the charming Look N See non-sport issue. A final note: as was not uncommon in many childhood collections, quite a few of the Fair condition cards present much better than that but wind up with the designation only because of a small pen mark on the reverse. Here’s a broad breakdown in chronological order: 1949 Leaf (4) – Fair; 1950 Bowman (7); 1951 Bowman (107), including Ford Rookie (Fair) and Berra (Poor), plus Fox, Slaughter, Mize, Lemon and Hodges; 1951 Berk-Ross (6), including DiMaggio (Poor), Musial (Fair), and Feller, Dobby, Martin and Newcombe (mostly Good); 1952 Bowman (103), mostly Fair to Good, with quite a few Very Good, including Campanella (Good), Ashburn (Very Good), Roberts (Good), Garagiola (Fair) and Thomson (Poor); 1952 Topps (14), including Schoendienst (Poor) and Bauer (Fair); 1952 Topps Look N See (2) – Babe Ruth (2, Good and Fair); 1953 Topps (19), including No. 1 Jackie Robinson (Poor); 1953 Bowman (9), including Snider and Reese (Poor) and Irvin and No. 1 Williams (Fair); 1953 Bowman Presidents Chester Arthur (VG); 1954 Topps (18), including a Lasorda Rookie (VG); 1954 Bowman (21), with McDougald, Ennis and Thomson; 1955 Topps (15); 1955 Bowman (11), 1956 Topps (19), including Kaline (Fair) and Alston (VG); 1957 Topps (41), mostly Good, including Colavito Rookie (Fair), Drysdale Rookie (Good), plus Bunning, Richardson and Mazeroski Rookies; 1958 Topps (38), including Cepeda Rookie (Good); 1959 Topps (16), including Blanchard and Fairly Rookies; 1960 Topps (23), including Lopez and a Kaat Rookie, 1961 Topps (36), mostly Excellent to Ex-Mt, with some below; 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats (25), pretty evenly divided between Ex to Ex-Mt, Good to VG or Fair, with 22 Hall of Famers, including Ted Williams, Foxx, Wagner, Johnson, Hornsby, Grove, Hubbell, Sisler, Ott, Traynor, Chesbro, Gehringer, Frisch and Hartnett; 1962 Topps (17), mostly Very Good to Excellent, some Good; 1963 Topps (52), mostly Ex to Ex-Mt, with dozen or so Good or Very Good and another dozen Fair, with Banks (Good), Hubbs and Torre (Good); 1964 Topps (39), most Ex to Ex-Mt, some below, including Brock and Billy Williams (Good); 1965 Topps (39), mostly Ex, with some below, including Killebrew and Conigliaro (Good); 1966 Topps (100), mostly Very Good to Ex, with some above and below, including No. 1 Mays (Good), Yastrzemski (Good), Ford and Niekro (Ex) and Perry (VG); 1967 Topps (46), with Stargell, Brock, Jenkins and Santo; 1968 Topps (19); 1969 Topps (24), with Gibson and Sutton; and 1970 Topps (93), mostly Ex-Mt to Near-Mint, with some below, including Yastrzemski (VG-Ex).
Huge 1949-70 Bowman and Topps Baseball Array With Six Dozen HOFers, Stars, Rookies (974)
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