Ted Williams

A Fascinating Letter from Sy Berger to Fred Corcoran Extending Ted Williams’ Contract with Topps

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In the middle of 2023, @TJisonline shared an incredible item with me: a letter from Sy Berger, the mastermind behind Topps Trading cards, to Fred Corcoran, the agent of baseball legend Ted Williams. It dates back to the intense bubble gum card war of the 1950s. I thought I would use it to explore the story of Ted Williams’ association with Topps, Bowman, and eventually, Fleer during this era, shedding light on the fierce completion that unfolded and the impact it had on a few of the most popular baseball card sets in the hobby.

If you don’t know a lot about Ted Williams, his Wikipedia article is a good starting point. He’s known as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, finishing his career with a .344 batting average, 521 home runs, and 1839 RBIs. He was a 19x All-Star, 2x AL MVP, 2x Triple Crown Winner, 6x AL batting champion, and the last player to hit over .400 in a season. His career also peaked during the Topps/Bowman card wars.

However, Teddy Ballgame’s 19-year MLB career was interrupted twice for military service, from 1943-45 for WW2 and 1952-53 for the Korean War. But first, after WW2, in the post-war era, Williams had cards in the 1948-49 Leaf, 1950 Bowman, and 1951 Bowman sets. 

1951 Bowman #165 Ted Williams

Topps wasn’t a real competitor to Bowman until 1952, but the Navy had called Williams back to serve on active duty for the Korean War on January 9, 1952 (he played just six games in the 1952 season before returning for refresher flight training). So, Williams wasn’t in either Bowman’s or Topps’ 1952 or 1953 sets because of his military service. Williams did have a few oddball cards those years, namely 1952 Berk Ross, 1952 Red Man, and 1952 Wheaties.

Williams returned to baseball in 1953 and hit .406, but with only 110 at-bats, he wasn’t qualified for the batting title. At this point, Sy Berger, a Red Sox fan, was desperate to sign Ted Williams, and at the time, exclusive deals were around $100-125 annually.

In December 1953, Berger managed to sign Ted Williams to a five-year contract with Topps because he offered Williams more money than the standard fee: $400 per year. Bowman had to stop production of William’s 1954 Bowman card #66, and Topps double-downed on their star, making him the first and last card of the set (#1 and #250).

1954 Topps #1 Ted Williams

Berger would give Ted Williams premium places in their following three sets; Williams was card #2 in 1955, #5 in 1956, and #1 in 1957. That’s when the letter this article was motivated by comes into the picture, and here it is:

1957 Sy Berger Letter to Fred Corcoran – Ted Williams Topps Extension

You can see that it’s dated October 1, 1957, and is from Sy Berger to Fred Corcoran (Ted’s agent). It references the agreement to extend William’s exclusive deal with Topps for the 1958 season. I suppose this means the original contract was for five years, but both parties had to renew or review it yearly. 

1958 Topps #1 Ted Williams

TJisonline picked it up to pair with (then) three of his 1958 Topps Ted Williams cards, #s 1, 321, and 485. The Red Sox team card and checklist, #312, is a fourth “Williams” card, of sorts, in the set. He picked up the letter from a local estate reseller/dealer who supposedly bought a lot of items from Fred Corcoran’s daughter (who was Ted Williams’ goddaughter).

1957 Sy Berger Letter to Fred Corcoran With Cards

At this point, another company was looking to enter the sports card market. The Frank H. Fleer Corporation wanted to grow its gum market share, and they targeted Williams for a single-player set since Topps had the exclusive MLB license by that point. Williams was the only player with the popularity to carry an entire set. Williams signed with Fleer for $5k per year for four years, which deprived Topps collectors of Ted Williams cards for the remainder of his playing days. But fans could grab Topps Ted Williams Manager cards from 1969-1972.

1959 Fleer Ted Williams #80 – Ted’s Goals for 1959

All that said, Topps did sign Ted Williams in 1991 for inclusion in their 1953 Reprint Series. In January 2008, Heritage Auctions sold the contract pictured below for $286.80. So, we have some idea of what a 1953 Topps Ted Williams card could have looked like.

Topps Contract With Ted Williams – 1991
1991 Topps Archives #319 Ted Williams 1953 Reprint

This letter from Sy Berger to Fred Corcoran amplifies the intense competition and significant impact of the bubble gum card wars on the hobby. It helps provide a bit more historical context and another glimpse into a pivotal era when the hobby really developed.

Also, if you want to learn more about cards from this era and the competition between Topps and Bowman, I recommend picking up a copy of Dean Hanley’s The Bubble Gum Card War. 

The Bubble Gum Card War

Happy collecting!

The 1939 Play Ball Baseball Set and its Three Ted Williams Rookie Card Variations

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While I focus this blog on post-war cards, I also write about pre-war cards from time to time and collect them. So, I thought looking at one of the last pre-war issues, the 1939 Play Ball set (WW2 officially started on September 1, 1939), would be interesting. In trying to find an interesting niche in the set to write about and tie together its composition, the iconic Ted Williams rookie card (#92) and its three variations stood out. The Williams rookie is a “big deal”; for example, Joe Orlando included the 1939 Play Ball Williams in his list of the Top 250 sports cards in the hobby.

The three 1939 Play Ball #92 Ted Williams variations are the reverse with his name in mixed case letters, the reverse with his name in all uppercase letters, and the stamped sample copy used to drum up interest in the set.

1939 Play Ball #92 Ted Williams – Mixed Letters
1939 Play Ball #92 Ted Williams – Uppercase Letters
1939 Play Ball #92 Ted Williams – Sample

The sample cards were distributed (no one recalls the exact distribution method, but one guess is that Gum Inc. inserted them in packs of other products) a few months before the release of the 1939 Play Ball set to get orders and estimate how many the company should print. The entire low-number series of the set (cards 1-115), with names in all upper case letters on the back, have samples. We know this because Goldin auctioned off a complete set of samples in October 2013. The number made and that have survived is incredibly small, so sample cards command huge premiums. 

Each sample’s stamp reads, “FREE SAMPLE CARD GET YOUR PICTURES OF LEADING BASEBALL PLAYERS THREE PICTURE CARDS PACKED IN EACH PACKAGE OF “PLAY BALL AMERICA” BUBBLE GUM AT YOUR CANDY STORE 1C”.

1939 Play Ball #92 Ted Williams – Sample

Looking at the population report for the 1939 Play Ball set, you can see that PSA has graded almost 1,300 (as of October 15th, 2024) regular Ted Williams cards (they don’t differentiate between all upper-case and mixed-letter backs), while they have only encapsulated nine sample cards.

1939 Play Ball Ted Williams PSA Population

For the Ted Williams card, PSA’s APR shows that a PSA 4 graded sample sold for almost $16k in July 2015, while the last regular PSA 4 sold for $6,216 in February 2024.

Now, when it comes to the other two non-sample versions of the Ted Williams back, the all-uppercase and mixed letter, while it appears that the mixed letter card is a bit rarer, they don’t really command a premium price right now. It’s believed that the mixed letter cards are rarer because Gum Inc. inserted them (mixed case low series cards) into their second series release (cards 116-162), which were short-printed (and generally sell for a premium over the low series). The second series was all printed with mixed case lettering on the back. Also, we know Gum Inc. printed the upper case cards first because 12 of the low series’ mixed case cards correct typos from their all upper case versions.

Now, as a hobby, we may be off a bit here, but folks have done a lot of research, and the overall makeup of a 1939 Play Ball set appears to break down as follows:

  • There are 161 cards in the set.
  • Cards 1-115 all have uppercase names and samples.
  • Cards 116-162 have mixed case names; card 126 was never issued.
  • Seventy-three cards from 1-115 were also printed with mixed case names, leaving 42 with only upper case backs.
  • While the bottom of the backs of the cards indicated a series of 250 pictures, only the two previously mentioned series were released. Presumably, Gum Inc. intended to print a third series covering cards 163-250.

While some hobbyists may consider the black-and-white fronts a little boring, it’s hard to argue about the significance of the set’s key card, the Ted Williams rookie card. That specific card is now one of the most important in the vintage card market. So adding any of the three variations (regardless of perceived scarcity between the upper case and mixed case copies) to a collection is a big deal if you can afford it. Happy collecting! 

1954 Topps Display Box and Three Wrappers

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1954 Topps baseball boxes are extraordinarily desirable (Hello Ted Williams!); Ron Oser Enterprises sold this one in December 2000 with three wrappers.

The lot’s description mentioned that the box had been repaired and glued but was otherwise in VGEX condition. 

Rockhurst Auctions re-sold the exact same box in April 2024 for $8,050.

If you’re a vintage display box collector, I’ve seen the following 1954 Topps baseball box variations:

  • 5-cent, 6-card, dated, 24-count (Ted Williams design); the box pictured above
  • 5-cent, 6-card, undated, 24-count (Ted Williams design)
  • 5-cent, 4-card (Canadian), dated, 36-count (Ted Williams design)
  • 5-cent, 4-card (Canadian), undated, 36-count (Ted Williams design)
  • 5-cent, 6-card, undated, 24-count (Green/Red design)
  • 1-cent, dated, 120-count (Green/Red design)
  • 1-cent, undated, 120-count (Green/Red design)

Giant 1950s Ted Williams Moxie Window Decal

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It’s a miracle that any of these 1950s Ted Williams Moxie Window Decals survived; Sotheby’s offered this one in their 1994 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia auction.

Sotheby’s described the item as a large stick-on window decal printed on sturdy, weather-proof plastic with the original backing paper still attached. They added that the piece was 21” wide by 32” high in near mint to mint condition.

Heritage sold the following framed example in August 2023 for $8400 (the estimate in 1994 was $2000-2500).

Oh yeah, it looks like they used the same George Woodruff portrait that Topps and Fleer used on Williams’ cards!

George Woodruff’s Ted Williams Portrait Used For Topps And Fleer Cards

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Here’s George Woodruff’s portrait of Ted Williams that Fleer used as the photo on the box and wrapper of their 1959 set!

Mastro sold the 8” x 10” portrait in July 1998.

And yes, Topps used the same picture on the Splendid Splinter’s 1954 (#250), 1955, and 1956 Topps cards.

In terms of dating the photo, Memory Lane Inc. sold a Type 1 example for $1,501.20 in October 2017 and estimated the issue date right after Williams’ return from his final 1953 Korean War stint.

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