With my Hank Aaron "Top 50" card collection largely complete and on display, I wanted to create a similar "Top 50" display for my non-Hank Aaron cards. My idea was to attempt to feature the 50 greatest players whose active careers were reflected in sets from 1933-1969. The 1933 cutoff was largely to save money--I didn't even want to think about Cobb, Wagner, Young, Johnson, etc. And the 1969 cutoff was largely to fit my definition of vintage (i.e., older than me!).
The rules of the game would be as follows--
1. No player could be repeated more than once.
2. If the card is ugly, find a different year.
3. Make the most out of the cards I already had. So for example, while I would certainly entertain arguments that Lefty O'Doul, even with his .349 lifetime BA, is not a top 50 player, I already had his 1933 Goudey card--so he was in!
4. There would be some rule or pattern governing which players were grouped together.
Here is the result. Red outlines show cards I still need. And explanations are below the picture.
BIG_BOARD.jpg
Row 1: 1933-1948
Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Greenberg, Grove, Ott, Hornsby, and DiMaggio were musts while Wilson and O'Doul earned their place largely by already being part of my collection. At the same time, there aren't other players who are demonstratively much better than either...runners up included Chuck Klein, Al Simmons, and Carl Hubbell.
Row 2: 1951-1954
There's not a strong defining characteristic for players in this row vs. the next one--it largely came down to which cards I already had. However, where there were choices, I tended to opt for older players in this row so that the cards would coincide a bit more with each player's prime. Also a chance to feature some sets I like a lot.
Row 3: 1957
This row features the best Topps set ever and the first one to rely entirely on photographs. My general rule here was that if a superstar had a card in this set, I would do my best to use it. Exceptions include Hank Aaron, whose cards get their own board; Brooks Robinson (due to price); and various Brooklyn Dodgers, who are either already in the row above or in their own team set display.
Row 4: 1963-1964
This row features stars of the 1960s not already represented in the 1957 row. It may someday bother me that all are 1964 except the Koufax. However, I already had this 1963 Koufax and I tend to consider it his most attractive card other than the 1955/1956 issues.
Row 5: 1969
This row features stars of the 1970s and 1980s, the players I grew up watching as a kid. Notable omissions are Brett, Garvey, and Schmidt, three of my all-time favorites. Still, that was the sacrifice I made to keep things vintage. Someday, I may do a 1976 "Top 50" and include the more modern players.
Postscript
There were a handful of players I had a hard time omitting. I'm curious if you see any glaring omissions beyond the ones I list here:
- Hubbell/Klein/Simmons
- Gaylord Perry - ugly 1969 Topps card, plus loses points as a spitballer
- Don Sutton - Tough for me as a Dodgers fan
- Billy Williams
- Richie Allen
- Monte Irvin
- Fergie Jenkins