Most significant or sought after postwar cards (besides Mantle)
 

As I looked at the postwar page tonight there is another thread about 52 Topps Mantle cards. I don't think many would disagree that this card is one of, if not the most significant or sought after postwar card out there but it is a card I truly have no interest in ever owning.

I started to think of all the other cards out there that we as collectors go after and talk about.

My question is what would be the most significant or sought after postwar non Mantle cards in the hobby?

Since we here seem to love top 5 lists let's try to go with that for a theme. Feel free to give reasons or examples of why they hit your list. Pictures are nice to. If you got 'em, show 'em.

I'll let others chime in before I give my opinions. So let's see what is on collectors minds when it comes to things sans Mantle.

Drew

The first two cards that come to mind are the '54 Topps Hank Aaron and the '55 Clemente. Both cards also seem to have steadily increased in value over the years, leaving many collectors wishing they'd bought one years ago.

1963 Topps Pete Rose

1968 Topps Nolan Ryan

1967 Topps Tom Seaver.

This seems to be on everyone's wish list.

1951 Bowman Mays

I remember reading an article years ago (I think it was in Beckett) of the results of a poll given to vintage collectors about top ten most desired cards. I want to say you know what was first but fairly high up was 53 Bowman Pee Wee Reese.
Drew

top 5 after mantle
 

1) 1955 Clemente - Iconic rookie of an iconic player (Also my favorite personally). A difficult card to find well centered. The key to the 55 set.
2) 1952 Topps Willie Mays - First Topps card of Mays - another Iconic player from the Iconic postwar set. After mantle one of the keys to the 52 set.
3) 1954 Topps Aaron - Grossly underappreciated in his lifetime - a third Iconic player and the key to the 54 set.
4) 1963 Topps Rose - One of the most loved players ever to play the game. Key to the 63 set and a really cool card.
5) 1968 Topps 3-D Clemente - Probably the most valuable of the more readily available "test" cards and one of the most valuable of the 50's-70's. Hard enough to find that it is on many want lists. Expensive enough that it will stay on many want lists. Also a shining example of Topps willingness to play with new ideas. A spectacular symbol of 1960's culture, baseball and Clemente!

Runner up's:
1949 Leaf Paige
1952 Topps Jackie Robinson
1954 Topps Williams #1
1953 Topps Mays
1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski
1968 Topps Ryan rookie
1969 Topps Reggie Jackson Rookie

1. 68 Ryan
2. 63 Rose
3. 51B or 52T Mays
4. 54 Aaron
5. 54 Ted Williams (Topps, Bowman, or Wilson Franks)

Hon Mention:

55 Koufax
55 Clemente
Leaf Paige
69 Jackson
73 Schmidt
75 Brett

I would say that for cards that anyone could realistically attain this would be my top 5.

51 Bowman or 52 Topps Mays
55 Topps Clemente
68 Topps Ryan
63 Topps Rose
54 Topps Aaron

Cards that would be in high demand but very tough to acquire.

68 3D Clemente
48/49 Leaf Paige

1955 Topps Clemente
1952 Topps Mays
1954 Topps Aaron
1954 Bowman Williams
1955 Topps Koufax

I was thinking of the same ones. My alternate would be the 1954 Topps Banks rookie.

Sorry I'm going to do one from each of the 4 major sports:
Baseball-1955 topps Clemente
Football-1981 topps Montana
Basketball-1986 fleer Jordan
Hockey-1979 opeechee Gretzky

Most Significant Post War Non-Mantle
 

We need to fit the '48 Leaf Robinson in there somewhere.

Z Wheat

Mine would be:

1954 Bowman Williams
1952 Topps Mathews
1954 Topps Aaron
1955 Topps Clemente
1953 Bowman Reese/1960 Topps Yastrezemski

As a biased RC collector I would say:

'55 Topps Clemente
'54 Topps Aaron
'55 Topps Koufax
'51 Bowman Mays
'63 Topps Rose

Sought after Post War cards
 

Looking at some of the major auction/ebay prices, post war cards (50's cards especially) are on the rise.

All the 1952 Topps rarities are usually in high demand. Pafko, Mays and of course Mantle to name a few.

The 53 Topps Mays card is always a scarce one to have, as it is a high numbered short print.

The 54 Aaron and especially Banks rookies are increasing in value, especially after Mr. Cub's recent passing.

That's about it from those particular years, there is of course the earlier Bowman's and the later 50's/60's Topps cards.

Kind Regards,

Owen

For true rarity and stunning obscurity based on same, let's at least mention the 1951 Topps MLAS Roberts, Konstanty and Stanky cards.

Ditto on the 1951 All Stars. My top 5 are in no particular order:

1954 Topps Hank Aaron
1954 Wilson Franks Ted Williams
1968 Topps 3-d Clemente
1951 Bowman Willie Mays
1948 Leaf Satchell Paige

Fun thread.....

I would say...

1955 Clemente
1954 Hank Aaron
1963 Topps Rose
1952 Topps Mays
1968 Topps Nolan Ryan

So here is the tally so far. I just listed everyone who was mentioned even in honorable mention.

1. 55 Clemente (9 votes)
2. 54 Aaron (8 votes)
3. 52 Topps Mays (6 votes)
4. 63 Rose (5 votes)
5. 54 Bowman Williams, 55 Koufax (4 votes each)
6. 68 Ryan, 51 Bowman Mays (3 votes each)
7. 68 3D Clemente, 48 Leaf Paige, 54 Wilson Franks Williams (2 votes each)
8. 67 Seaver, 54 Topps Willams, 69 R. Jackson, 73 Schmidt, 75 Brett, 54 Banks, 48 Leaf J. Robinson, 52 Mathews, 53 Bowman Reese, 60 Yaz (1 vote each)

I find it interesting that no one has mentioned some players from any set like Musial, Berra, Munson, Killebrew, Dimmagio, Ford, Gibson or even some retired ones like Ruth or Wagner.

Keep it going though. I'll change the tally marks if others continue to chime in.

Drew

1. 1952 Topps Mays
2. 1954 Topps Aaron
3. 1955 Topps Koufax
4. 1963 Topps Rose
5. 1968 Topps Ryan

That's my list and I'm sticking to it.

since it's turned into a voting system...
 

here's my top 5 picks in no particular order:

68 ryan
54 aaron
55 clemente
63 rose
89 ripken error*

* while not necessarily an iconic player like the others, this card created one of the biggest crazes in baseball card history and has remained one of the top selling baseball cards on ebay to this very day.

I would choose:

1954 Bowman Williams
1955 Topps Clemente
1954 Topps Aaron
1963 Topps Rose
1968 Topps Ryan

1980 Henderson

honorable mention:
 

'89 griffey upper deck.

#1 card of the inaugural set.

Unfortunately, everyone's picks invariably come down to rookie cards. The same rookie cards. It would be nice to redo this entire thread and eliminate all Mantles and all RC's from consideration. Then we could get somewhere. But then, of course, it would become all about the high numbers from various years (1961 All Stars, 1967 Brooks Robinson, etc., immediately come to mind), so I guess there's no real solution to this dilemma.

Unless…how about the top 5 toughest non-Mantle, non-RC cards to find centered? That's a topic that would result in many, many vastly different lists.

Unless…how about the top 5 toughest non-Mantle, non-RC cards to find centered? That's a topic that would result in many, many vastly different lists.

I like this thread! In no particular order, here is what I came up with :

1953 Bowman Color Stan Musial (and really every star from that set)
1954 Topps Ted Williams #1
1948-1949 Leaf Ted Williams
1957 Topps Yogi Berra
1955 Topps Duke Snider

1955 Topps Clemente
1952 Topps Mays
1954 Topps Aaron
1953 Bowman Color Reese/Musial
1951 Bowman Mantle

UPDATING TO ADD #6

1963 Topps Pete Rose

I would agree with the 89 Fleer Bill Ripken being an iconic must have card. I have bought/sold/traded 1000's of them over the years. It is also one of the most altered cards because of the whiteout version.

The '53 Topps Satchell Paige ain't no slouch.

NOt AS significant or sought after
 

The original post asked for "most significant or sought after" post war excluding mantle. While there is no question some of the players you mentioned were great players and are sought after, in my opinion, they are no where near as sought after or significant as those mentioned. Regarding post war cards of pre war players (Ruth, Wagner, etc.) I think that their post war cards are significantly less sought after than their pre war cards from their playing days - dropping their post war cards a few notches in the "significant or sought after" category.

Just my thoughts of course.

In no particular order and to keep on track with the OP of most sought after non-Mantle I'd have to say top 6 are:

'55 Clemente
'54 Aaron
'68 Ryan
'63 Rose
'52 Mays
'67 Seaver

Topps is by far the most sought after postwar card so I'd have to go with all Topps cards.

Edited to add:
Most significant and most sought after are very different things to me. I'd say the above 6 are most sought after. Most significant may include cards like the '84D Mattingly and '89UD Griffey.

Why is the 84 Donruss Mattingly considered one of the most significant post war cards ever ? I'm just want to understand that perspective. Sure it was super significant from 1984 - 1990.............. just like Dale Murphy was from 1978 - 1990 but not so much any more. Unfortunately both players washed out in their early 30's. I guess the 84 Donruss set was kind of like the 89 Upperdeck set in that it raised the bar on card quality throughout the hobby but that seems more like a the significance of a set vs. the significant of 1 card.

1) 54 Williams (either 1 or 250 but given where Topps was at the time with no Mantle, it feels like they could have lost the war if not for Ted)
2) 56 Mantle (significant card in that he was back in the fold and the monopoly had begun.
3) 53 Bowman Pee Wee Reese (most beautiful card in the most beautiful set. So nice that it might had led to Bowman demise.
4) 53 Bowman Martin/Rizzuto combo. (Feels like beginning of combo card era - might be a stretch to say this one but I wanted a card to represent that genre)
5) 56 Yankees team card (beginning of team cards that would lead to marked checklists and rubber band marks from being in the front of the team sets)

I can offer what I hope will be a helpful answer to this. To many who avidly collected or came of collecting age in that era, the 1984 Donruss Don Mattingly card was a very hot and desired card. The price it commands in high grade today is a testament to the nostalgic value it holds for a good number of collectors-- of which I am one. In fact it was the very first card I sought out when returning to the hobby. (The first would be a 52 Topps Mantle, and second the Donnie, but the latter was way more affordable.)

I was more of a Doc and Darryl fan growing up, though as I got older I began to appreciate Mattingly's work ethic, and the reasons he was so respected by his peers. But the appeal of the card has much more to do with its status in the hobby at its height, than even the player's performance. Though he was arguably the best hitter in baseball for the four seasons of 84, 85, 86, 87-- and in the biggest media market.

Taking Murphy as a useful touchstone, he was scorching hot for a shorter period, and also his offensive game was not as complete as Mattingly's, he played in a smaller market, and his card was not "the" key card of a very popular set. So to many, that card will always be fondly remembered. Add to that how the set represented, to many, the advent of a premium card offering that excited a new generation of collectors, and the Donnie Baseball card being "the" star card of the set, and it becomes easy to see how it was so significant for several years.

That significance doesn't wane to collectors for whom cards are a trip back to those very times.

Here are my top 5:
1955 Clemente
1986 Jordan
1989 Griffey
1958 Maris
1955 Koufax

What about the period before the mainstream Topps cards were issued? You are ruling out all the sets prior to '52 ('52 Topps being their first main stream set).

Z Wheat

Here's my top 5

54 Aaron
49Leaf Paige
49Leaf Robinson
49Leaf Newhouser
68 Ryan

I detest the Leaf's because they are ugly and expensive. Expensive can mean "sought after" in this case.

Here's a couple of cards that got National Pub

1989 Fleer Billy Ripken "Rick Face"

2007 Topps Derke Jeter with Mantle/Bush

The '84D Mattingly has certainly loss lots of its desirability but I think it is still very significant to the hobby. It established Donruss (and, indirectly, Fleer) as a viable competitor to Topps' monopoly which led to the explosion in the late 80s early 90s. It also didn't create, but certainly was one of the biggest influences on the explosion of the rookie card craze.

True. Quite frankly I know very little of cards issued between '45-'51 other than the '48-'49 Leaf set; however, I don't think any cards issued then are more desirable than the ones I listed.

for the record and count:

the 84d mattingly and the 89 ripken have had a few mentions.

to my generation, these cards were huge. while I don't really collect much stuff from '85 and on anymore, here's my ripken and would never let her go:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...psrpulkvdb.jpg

I think part of what makes collecting and viewing others' collections so fun is seeing what holds significance to each collector.

I mean, I have a Ruth Rookie but also hold these cards incredibly dear, and love looking at them every day multiple times. These images are what keep me from ever needing Xanax.

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...regg-jefferies

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...tflics-big-six

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...ded-strawberry

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...-dwight-gooden

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...-don-mattingly

The 51 Bowman Mantle definitely would be more desirable. One could argue the 48 Bowman Musial or 49 Bowman Jackie Robinson also belong on the list.

It hasnt been mentioned but for my personal collection the #1 post war card on my wish I could buy one list is the Josh Gibson Toleteros.

I think part of what makes collecting and viewing others' collections so fun is seeing what holds significance to each collector.

I mean, I have a Ruth Rookie but also hold these cards incredibly dear, and love looking at them every day multiple times. These images are what keep me from ever needing Xanax.

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...regg-jefferies

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...tflics-big-six




ol gregg jeffries! man was he hot in the day. that just brought me back. and that sports flics is the tartabull/canseco card, right? was a huge canseco fan as well and even that 86 donruss card could make a strong argument as a post war run. far down on the list, for sure, but that one was a big one for a while!

Top 5:

1954 Aaron
1955 Clemente
1963 Rose
1968 Ryan
1953 Mantle

top 5:

1. 54 aaron
2. 55 koufax
3. 52 mays
4. 55 clemente
5. 67 seaver - tough tough hi # short print.

'89 ud
 

Good point Russ on the significance of the set.

How did 84 Donruss raise the bar on card quality? Early Donruss and Fleer cards were of very poor quality compared to Topps. They were a thinner, flimsy card stock. That is why I bought very little of those sets. They were just cheap looking cards.

Donruss cut production in 84 at a time when the hobby was exploding. It was a perceived scarcity of 84 Donruss and 84 Fleer Update that created demand for their products, not putting out a better quality product.

I see all the love for the 52 Topps Mays. I don't get it. Isn't his 51 Bowman or 1953 Topps more significant?

rats, I disagree re 1984 Donruss. The product was much better on one critical front: design. I am no fan of the post-1980 issues by any means but there are some beautiful cards in that set. The graphics were elegant and well integrated into the design and there were some really dandy photos, especially action shots. It was really a quantum leap above the prior Donruss offerings and the Fleer and Topps cards, which tended to have blocky design elements that broke up the card rather than bringing it together.

http://www.vintagecardprices.com/pics/1933/127601.jpg
http://www.vintagecardprices.com/pics/1933/127561.jpg
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$T2eC16J,!)!..._id=89040003C1

Now, as for the OP question about significant cards 1945-1980, at this point, I'd say these are the big dogs:

1948/49 Leaf Robinson, Paige
1949 Bowman Robinson
1951 Mays
1952 Mays
1952 Topps Mathews
1954 Topps Aaron
1954 Bowman Williams
1955 Topps Clemente, Koufax

Lots of other great cards that are maybe a rung below these.

I base my assessment on how lower end raw versions are doing. I've been watching most of these cards over the last several years as I downgraded my collection and adding these cards at a reasonable price has been challenging. I had hoped to snag a vg-ish 1954 Aaron with nice eye appeal and have watched prices on them rise by about 50%; I finally pulled the trigger on a very appealing PSA 3 yesterday at a price point about 25% more than I had hoped, but I had some good card sales last week and had the extra scratch to do it.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course, but I always hated the 1984 Donruss set and especially its design, although its horrible pigmentation of many player's skin was another reason. Donruss really turned it around in 1982 after its initial debacle, then told its design team to take a year off in '83-- it would just basically recycle the successful '82 look. I swear the designers took off in 1984 as well, and the panicked CEO asked his wife to come up with something, leading to: "Look honey, I made a swoosh". IMMHO, 1984 gave us the most overrated set of the decade--Donruss, and the most underrated--Fleer.

As for the OP's query, I generally add my own twist, elst I think we just see people grabbing for price guides and naming rookies. I would list 5 cards I would take any day if: 1) I didn't have to pay, and 2) I could never sell. Leaving out Mantle per OP's request, I would take:

1. 1953 Bowman Musial-- my favorite post-war card
2. 1954 Wilson Franks Ted Williams-- love that schwing
3. 1952 Topps Mays-- just oozes cool
4. 1949 Leaf Paige-- infancy of a new card era and a new color of ballplayer
5. 1967 Brooks Robinson-- clean card, nice photo, high-number from my youth

I understand nobody turns down an Aaron, Banks, Kaline, Koufax, and Clemente rookie, but I would really like to have the ones I listed, especially if nice near-mint shape.

I was actually referencing Russ' comments regarding '89 Upper Deck. I really liked that set and the finished look. I think that set ushered in the era of the shiny stuff.

As for my top cards in terms of significance - here it is:

1948 Leaf Robinson
1951 Bowman Mantle
1954 Topps Aaron
1954 Bowman Williams
1955 Topps Clemente, Koufax

-Z

It's right there in the title of the thread--Most significant or sought after postwar cards (besides Mantle)--yet people keep including Mantle. What's with this complete obsession with Mickey Mantle????!!!!!!! This site should be retitled the All Mantle, All the Time forum. Come on!!!!!!

mantle, mantle, mantle!

(in my best jan brady voice)

Haha!! Nice!!!!

What is 1948 Leaf?

1948 Leaf Paige
1949 Bowman Duke Snider
1955 Topps Koufax
1963 Topps Pete Rose
1967 Topps Tom Seaver

'48/49 Leaf Robinson
 

Here it is (not mine):

That is a 1949 Leaf. I own one. It is dated 1949 and describes his 1948 season where he hit .296 and drove in 85 runs. So, I'll ask again, what is a 1948 Leaf?

I believe the 1948 Leaf and 1949 Leaf are identical on the front..........just different on the back.

1948 Leaf is what they were called for a very long time, and some of the cards have a 1948 copyright on the back. However, the hobby, sometimes resistant to change, has since come to some general conclusion that in fact they were issued in 1949. Much of this due the fact that some old-time collectors remember buying them in packs in 1949 - Ted Z, for instance. When I scooped up a few in the Sixties they were definitely thought of, at least among the crowd I collected with in L.A., as 1948. My 2007 Standard Catalog lists them as 1949. I now call them 1949, but I sometimes catch myself thinking 1948; old habits die hard.

Thanks for the clarity. I see graded versions in holders listed as both 1948 and 1949 and assumed they were issued in 2 different years.

Here is 2 cards i have that are 48/49 LEAFS:
Those the copyright says 49 on them.
A fellow board member wrote a article on OldCardboard discussing this in lengthy detail: http://www.oldcardboard.com/ref/BBC-...ail.asp?id=796
And here is the NET 54 ARCHIVED THREAD: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...1948+1949+Leaf

[IMG]http://www.cleansweepauctions.com/im...ate14con38.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...ps22a6113a.jpg[/IMG]

Everything points to them being 1949. I suppose it took years for people to understand the world is not flat, TPG be damned.

for me
bowman rcs of spahn and musial
48 paige
48 robinson

1957 Topps Dodgers Sluggers
1956 Topps Dodgers and Yankees team cards
1953 Topps Jackie Robinson
1953 Topps Mays
1952 Topps Campanella

Am going to put it out there that I think of "The Greatest Generation" of baseball players as the black superstars who entered the game between 1947 and the early 60s. They utterly transformed the game if not our entire country and did so while enduring unbelievable hardship and ugliness (the book "After Jackie" is a great source). Along those lines, I am putting my votes down for--

1. 1949 Leaf Jackie Robinson
2. 1954 Topps Hank Aaron
3. 1951 Bowman Willie Mays
4. 1954 Topps Ernie Banks
5. 1957 Topps Frank Robinson

Obviously the list could be much much longer.