Question about the design of 1958 Topps

[Gary Dunaier]

I've always presumed the 1958 Topps baseball cards were intentionally designed with solid color backgrounds so they wouldn't have to deal with the issue of player photos taken at Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds now that the Dodgers and Giants had moved to the West Coast.

Is there any truth to that theory?

[steve B]

I'd be surprised if that was the reason. Many Topps pictures were taken during spring training, or the previous year, or even earlier. Or in a stadium that wasn't the players home park.

Plus they could have chosen shots that didn't show the ballpark at all.

But, Topps did all sorts of stuff that isn't consistent with how they did stuff before or after or that makes little or no sense. Removing cards of players that had career ending breakdowns, but doing memorial cards of a player that died. sometimes including a player the year after they retired, but usually not.

So maybe that was the reason.

Steve B

[Wrigley Wax]

There are cards in the 1969 set that have pictures taken at the Polo Grounds, which was last used in 1963. I don't think Topps has ever been too concerned about where their pictures were taken.