Who doesn’t love the mouse? These four sheets from Gum Inc. were auctioned off together in April 2004 and included three from the R89 Mickey Mouse set, and one from the R90 Mickey Mouse with the Movie Stars set.
Each panel includes 24 different card designs that were fully printed on both sides.
The lot included two sheets from the 1935 R89 Gum Inc. Mickey Mouse set, which included card numbers 49-72. One sheet was described as VG/EX condition, while the other was described as EX/MT. The other R89 sheet included cards 73-96, including the popular Walt Disney at his drawing board card 92.
The fourth sheet in the lot was a 1935 R90 Gum Inc. Mickey Mouse with the Movie Stars one, which included card numbers 97-120. At the time, it was thought to be the only uncut full sheet of R90 cards in existence. Unfortunately, the sheet had some significant damage and obvious surface paper loss.
Topps did well with their first hockey card design in 1954; it’s perhaps their best-designed set across any sport. While the fronts of the cards are sharp, the backs may be the most underappreciated in the hobby. So, I wanted to spend this article dissecting Topps’ first hockey set, emphasizing the design of the backs, since I feel most of us tend to neglect to pay attention to the “other side” of cards these days.
The 60-card 1954 Topps hockey set featured players from the four American teams (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and New York). The cards were the same “giant-size” Topps had released for baseball at the time, 2-5/8″ by 3-3/4″. While Topps licensed the cards, most hobbyists believe they were only released in Canada. The set’s key card is of the great Gordie Howe.
1954 Topps Hockey #8 Gordie Howe – Front
1954 Topps Hockey #8 Gordie Howe – Reverse
The cards came in one-cent and five-cent packs. Five-cent packs had six cards, gum, and an insert wrapper. Collectors could send off that second wrapper for prizes. One-cent packs had one card and a piece of gum.
1954 Topps Hockey 5-Cent Wax Wrapper
1954 Topps Hockey Inner Premium Gum Wrapper
1954 Topps Hockey 1-Cent Wax Wrapper
The set wasn’t a huge success, perhaps because Topps released a set of U.S. teams mainly in Canada; collectors wouldn’t see another Topps hockey set until 1957.
1954 Topps #23 Danny Lewicki – Front
1954 Topps #23 Danny Lewicki – Reverse
The fronts’ design is genuinely awesome. They feature an oversized player photo on a white background, with red and blue colors along the bottom, highlighting the player’s name, position, and team. Plus, the facsimile autograph shows clearly against the background. But the backs of the cards shine, too.
1954 Topps #58 Terry Sawchuk – Front
1954 Topps #58 Terry Sawchuk – Reverse
Now, what makes a great card back? To me, it’s about design, color, and information, and Topps nailed all three here.
1954 Topps Hockey Backs
The design is clean. The card number is large, within a puck-like-shaped circle in the corner. The blue and red stripes highlight the player’s name, position, and team, similarly to the front’s design. Then you have the blue hockey stick separating the player’s vitals from their biography. The cartoon and generic hockey term/fact add some fun to the back, and the statistics from 1953 are an excellent, simple addition along the bottom.
The cards are All-American with white card stock and red and blue ink.
1954 Topps Hockey Backs
From an information standpoint, the only addition one could ask for (which would make the card too busy) would be career statistics. As it is, though, you can learn a lot about the player and hockey from these cards.
Topps left a fantastic first impression on hockey collectors with this beautifully designed set; the front and back have incredible eye appeal. There aren’t many sets that you can buy that would look as outstanding presented on a wall from either side as the 1954 Topps hockey set; happy collecting!
In a ‘sort of related’ follow-up to my post the other day about the Top 25 Most Expensive Baseball Cards In 1993, are the Top 75 All-Time Classic Baseball and Football Cards In 1992.
These came from the August 1992 issue of Allan Kaye’s Sports Cards News & Price Guides (Number 9). I call it a ‘sort of related’ follow-up because I flipped through this magazine just after I flipped through the Sports Cards Magazine that had the Top 25 list; they just happened to have been published about a year apart.
I do like that the Top 75 list is organized by year; it’s already rather subjective. Unfortunately for some fans, I don’t think the 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco or 1987 Fleer Will Clark would make the cut on such a list today, nor would the 1989 Pro Set William Perry or 1990 Action Packed Jim Plunkett.
Many months ago, a collector asked me, disregarding value completely and going strictly by design, what years were my top 5 standard Topps sets. The first two sets that came to mind were the colorful 1969 Topps football cards and the 1954 Topps Hockey backs, which I think are the best in hobby history. But this collector clarified that he just meant baseball card fronts. After browsing through all of Topps’ post-war sets (through 1991), here are my top 5 best looking Topps baseball card designs.
5. 1984 Topps
1984 Topps Baseball Cards
When you disconnect your mind from the sets being overproduced, there were many great Topps designs in the 1980s. My favorite is the 1984 Topps set with its great dual-photo design. Topps chose some really great action shots to pair with the smaller headshots, and I think the team name in large vertical letters along the side makes for a well-balanced card.
4. 1971 Topps
1971 Topps Baseball Cards
I love the way this set presents as a whole. The team names along the top really pop out from the black borders, and the white frame around the color photos helps focus your eyes on the player. I also think the facsimile signatures are a bit nicer since they match the black borders, and I like that compared to other sets that feature them.
3. 1956 Topps
1956 Topps Baseball Cards
While the 1956 Topps design is similar to their 1955 set, with player portraits and in-action photos on the front of the card, what I like better about the 56 designs are the more interesting (rather than single color) backgrounds.
2. 1963 Topps
1963 Topps Baseball Cards
This might end up being my most “controversial” pick. I like the balance between the large likeness and the smaller black-and-white pictures in circles. I also found many of the set’s themed cards to be well executed.
1. 1953 Topps
1953 Topps Baseball Cards
The only set I’m confident will always be in my Top 5 is the 1953 Topps Baseball set. It’s stood the test of time from Topps’ early days as one of the greatest set designs ever; the player portraits are gorgeous. Plus, the black or red boxes along the bottom with the player name, position, team, and the diamond-shaped team logo are simple but well-executed bonuses.
A few other sets I considered were 1975, 1960, 1959, 1969, and 1987. What’s funny, though, is if you ask me to put this list together in another few months, you’ll probably get a completely different answer (other than 1953). I’d love your thoughts on the best-looking Topps Baseball card designs. Feel free to share your opinion in the comments or on X/Twitter, and happy collecting!
“For those with cash, here are the top 25 most expensive baseball cards,”…as reported in the October 1993 issue of Sports Cards Magazine.
What really stands out is that there wasn’t a single contemporary or modern card on the list (“Sorry, there are no Frank Thomas or Ken Griffey rookie cards on this list”). However, the author also pointed out there wasn’t even a Ted Williams or a Joe DiMaggio (despite their popularity in the hobby at the time). The “youngest” card was a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle (though only 41 years old at the time), which is like including a card from 1983 on a list today.
Have you had your Wheaties today? I previously wrote about a 1940s Tommy Henrich Wheaties ad; Pee Wee Reese was a spokesman for the brand, too!
Ron Oser Enterprises offered the above-pictured piece in their April 2001 catalog. They described it as follows:
A particularly striking and extremely rare (only example seen!) trolley sign, an 11″ x 21″ heavy paper sign with a large photo of Reese in his Brooklyn Dodgers cap, and opposite, the familiar orange & blue Wheaties “Breakfast of Champions” cereal box. The photo has a crease at the upper left corner, and the other corners (which were “hinged” at one time) have been lightly retouched (virtually undetectable). Excellent condition and one of the best Brooklyn Dodger advertising pieces we have ever offered. Framed & matted to 17 x 27 inches.
While it may have been the only example they had seen then, I managed to find a few more online. In February 2016, All Sports Auctions sold a “Vintage Pee Wee Reese Wheaties Ad Broadside” for $133.
Also, a collector on the Net54 forums sold a copy with the following description around March of 2021:
This is a very nice cardboard advertising display from the 1940s, featuring Wheaties brand cereal and Pee Wee Reese of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Likely to have been displayed in a grocery/corner store at the time. Piece measures approximately 17 in. by 9 in. Made of a thicker stock paper with some creases throughout each of the corners/sides, small chip in upper left, and some slight toning along edges and back of piece. Printed graphics are still bright and fully intact. Overall, very solid piece that would make a great addition to one’s Brooklyn and/or advertising collection!
