1958 Topps Autographed Near Set (458/495)
 

Love of the Game Auctions ending April 29th. Lot #1036.

The solid color background makes this an excellent choice for autographs. 93% of the entire set is here and autographed. Contains super stars, stars and tough commons. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Casey Stengel, Whitey Ford, Al Kaline, Brooks and Frank, Killebrew, Yogi, Cepeda, Eddie Mathews, PeeWee Reese, Banks, Spahn, Musial...

Some interesting inclusions are card #188 Milt Bolling. It is signed by Bolling and the actual player pictured in the card, Lou Berberet. Card #226 Bob Smith is signed by him. A second card is signed by the pictured player, Bobby Gene Smith.

https://bid.loveofthegameauctions.co...e?itemid=30861

A very difficult, good looking Duke Maas signature.

Hard to find #183 Dave Jolly.

How did you acquire these autographed cards? I'm glad you asked that question!

I actually started collecting them in 1978. That's when the Grand Slam set came out. You might be familiar with that set, but if not, it was a set of 200 retired baseball players who were known to be reliable signers through the mail. It came with home addresses of all 200 players. I decided right away to put a couple extra cards in each envelope that I mailed out. I used the 58s whenever possible. That is because it was the first set that I ever completed and it was just sitting there doing nothing. I also chose them because the solid color, uncrowded background seemed to be good for autographs. So, I had real good luck with getting started that way. Later, I started using the Jack Smalling and Harvey Meiselman address lists. After exhausting the lists, I moved to eBay, auction houses and trading with other collectors to get as close to completion as possible.

My 1978 Grand Slam set is also in the same Love of the Game auction and Lot #1044.

AUCTION ENDS TONIGHT. April 29th.

Amazing accomplishment to get that far! Just curious why guys like Jolly, and more so Maas aren't separated? Leave some meat in the bone for someone to pick up the whole.set?

Good luck tonight!

Thanks for your comments, Ted.

I wish you the best with your collection.