That’s MISTER Shortstop to You, Pal!
Not all the notable rookie cards in the 1952 Topps checklist are monsters that destroy your card collecting budget. How about the guy who was Ozzie Smith before Ozzie Smith?
1952 Topps
The Tim Tebow of ’52 Topps
Take a knee. Let’s look at a couple of college football players who attempted to play professional baseball.
Photo Double
Ted Williams wasn’t in the 1952 Topps checklist, but if you squint really hard and stay far enough back you can see his stunt double filling his spot in the checklist.
Ecce Charta: Behold the Card
I don’t know who decided to “fix” Floyd Baker’s Bowman baseball card. I’m pretty certain it wasn’t Caravaggio.
Better Lucky Than Good? Throwing and Drinking Hard
Needing just three more names to complete the second series of the 1952 Topps checklist, I clicked the “add to cart” button on the first one I came across on COMC. That’s how a creased Mickey McDermott card entered my collection.
155 lbs. of Ballast
Sometimes general managers want to skip the whole “player to be named later” formality.
Abbreviated Pitching
Professional longevity in the 1950s could be hard to come by when your resume has you moving from a team called the “Commies” to one called the “Reds.”
A Baseball Card-Inspired Experiment
The Bill Werle card in my 1952 Topps set building project has me crawling around in the dirt and conducting a science experiment.