1959 Fleer Ted Williams #75 'Williams' Value to Red Sox'

Neat little oddball set with interesting fronts & backs with a very unusual mix of players.     Cards issued as promotional lead-in for "Cardboard Dreams" a new soon to be issued sportscard magazine. The cards were given out at Southern California and a couple of larger regional baseball card shows in random 1-card packs.
Shortly before magazine's 1st issue, MLB began several lawsuits against similar magazines. Soon after, plans for the magazine were dropped leaving just the small run of promotional cards (said to be 5,000) and some scarce proofs.

      SERIES 1                   SERIES 2
  #1 Willie Mays            # 9 Mickey Mantle                
  #2 Nolan Ryan             #10 Nolan Ryan & Sandy Koufax   
  #3 Tony Gwynn             #11 Frank Thomas & David Justice
  #4 Wayne Gretzky          #12 Brett Hull                  
  #5 Jose Canseco/Madonna   #13 Ted Williams & Joe DiMaggio 
  #6 Ken Griffey Jr         #14 Barry Sanders               
  #7 Bo Jackson             #15 Dan Marino                  
  #8 Michael Jordan         #16 Magic Johnson & Larry Bird  

  Promo/Prototype #1: Nolan Ryan / Wayne Gretzky / Bo Jackson / Jose Canseco & Madonna
  Promo/Prototype #2: Mickey Mantle / Nolan Ryan & Sandy Koufax 
                      Ted Williams & Joe DiMaggio / David Justice & Frank Thomas

1956 Topps were slightly larger (3-3/4" by 2 5/8") horizontal cards similar to 1955 Topps cards, some even sharing portraits with 1954 and 1955 Topps cards. Team cards & checklists appeared for the first time in 1956.

With Bowman gone, after missing the last 3 years, Mickey Mantle was back !!! A fun & simple set, 1956 Topps had no high numbers or expensive rookies but for serious 1956 collectors, there are over 200 variations. Most variations deal with card stock (gray or white back). For #101-180 gray appears to outnumber white about 9-to-1. Many team cards had 2 or 3 variations with team names Left, Center or Right.

There are 2 great cards: #31 Hank Aaron which actually pictures Willie Mays sliding home and #135 Mickey Mantle. Mantle shown leaping high into the stands robbing a home run ! Artist did a great job showing Mantle making the catch ! BUT ... Mantle looked great leaping but the ball flew over his glove.

The 1956 Topps Pins used same portrait photos as the cards.

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1956 Topps Pins Checklist and Prices