Willie Mays

[egri]

I've posted this here before, but my only Mays:

[IMG] [/IMG]

[bnorth]

Here is my newest addition. At one time I had the Topps playing days run minus the 1952 in lower grade. On my list he is 5th behind Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth.

[Casey2296]

Very nice Ben!

[Vintagedeputy]

I found this Willie in the wild a few months ago.

[Big Red Machine]

This has always been my favorite Mays.

[rugbymarine]

Originally Posted by Big Red Machine

This has always been my favorite Mays.

What a card!

[FrankWakefield]

Chuck, that's a great memory to have with your Grandfather, thanks for sharing.

Scott, nice 53 Topps. I have one, worn, not signed; that's my favorite Mays card.

Bowman would get exclusive contracts with some players. Musial comes to mind. Why isn't Stan in the 1951, 1952, or 1953,4,5,6,7 Topps? Because of his exclusive contract with Bowman.

[FrankWakefield]

Chuck, that's a great memory to have with your Grandfather, thanks for sharing.

Scott, nice 53 Topps. I have one, worn, not signed; that's my favorite Mays card.

Bowman would get exclusive contracts with some players. Musial comes to mind. Why isn't Stan in the 1951, 1952, or 1953,4,5,6,7 Topps? Because of his exclusive contract with Bowman. So that's why, in the early to mid 50's, some star players were missing from some company's cards.

[irv]

My Mays cards.

[toledo_mudhen]

and another pair from my most favorite set - Appears that really nicely centered Mays 55's are tuff to find - I'm guessin had something to do with the location on the uncut sheet?

[Seven]

Have to get around to uploading them, but my first Mays, was a 1957 Topps. Great image on that card, I still have it in my collection. My favorite would probably be my 53 Topps card of his. Still remember buying it on my first trip up at Cooperstown. Probably overpaid a little bit but I didn't care.

[Touch'EmAll]

Wow, that '54 Mays !

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Here is my newest addition. At one time I had the Topps playing days run minus the 1952 in lower grade. On my list he is 5th behind Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth.

Ben, I think Willie would really enjoy your artistic ability. You should post it to him, if that is possible.

[Leon]

My only Mays card. Always liked it.

[jb67]

Fun thread to follow. Here are couple of my favorites.

[Touch'EmAll]

Oh, my - the picture quality on the '57 Mays ! Super nice.

[icollectDCsports]

Originally Posted by toledo_mudhen

and another pair from my most favorite set - Appears that really nicely centered Mays 55's are tuff to find - I'm guessin had something to do with the location on the uncut sheet?

Love the '55 set design. And the Mays is just a joy to look at. Beautiful card.

[rugbymarine]

Originally Posted by jb67

Fun thread to follow. Here are couple of my favorite.

David, you've got a great eye for cards!

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Ben, I think Willie would really enjoy your artistic ability. You should post it to him, if that is possible.

I didn't make that. The artist and fellow member John English made it. It arrived at my house about an hour ago. I will get it and the 51 Bowman Mickey Mantle framed in the next few days.

[NYYFan63]

Here are a couple of my favorite






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Neal]

My favorite Mays

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[ValKehl]

Lots of nice looking Mays' cards in this thread, but this is his best looking card ever:

[BobC]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

Lots of nice looking Mays' cards in this thread, but this is his best looking card ever:

Wow Val, that's a great card, and a tough one. All those Hires Test cards are tough.

[MuncieNolePAZ]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

Lots of nice looking Mays' cards in this thread, but this is his best looking card ever:

Really cool Mays Val!

Chad

[jb67]

Originally Posted by Touch'EmAll

Oh, my - the picture quality on the '57 Mays ! Super nice.

Thanks. It is hard to find them with that quality of image.

[jb67]

Originally Posted by rugbymarine

David, you've got a great eye for cards!

Thanks Ian. I never thought I would let go of that PSA 5.5 Mays but found one to replace it. Some amazing 59's being posted on this thread.

[Peter_Spaeth]

...

[doug.goodman]

A couple signed TTM cards, an m114 and a scored program for career HR #1

[GasHouseGang]

No one has posted this one yet.

[DeanH3]

Nice cards by all. I don't have many, but I'm always on the hunt. Sold a nice PSA 5 '53 Mays a while ago. Sure regret that decision.

[Snowman]

A few of my favorites:

[jb67]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

...

Love that Home Run Derby!!!

[ALR-bishop]

54 Variants






67 Discs...2 Mays

[jb67]

A couple more of my favorites.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Mays, Day and Durocher were featured on the April 11, 1955, cover of “Sports Illustrated.” Day stands between the two men with her hands on both of their shoulders.

But in 1955, it was an outrage that a white woman would have her hand on a black man’s shoulder.

Letters were sent to the magazine, now only a year old, from outraged readers and others asking to cancel their subscriptions, according to Hirsch’s book.

Worse than the swimsuit issue!!!

[Kutcher55]

I popped open a couple of old price guides from 87 and 88 and at the time the 52T Mick sold for around 6x the 52 Mays. As an aside, the Campy card was around the same value as the Mays back in 1987-88.

Nowadays I think the 52 Mantle sells for about 10x a 52 Mays. It could be as low as 8x but it is definitely higher than 6x. Meanwhile the Mays now sells for 4x the price of a same grade Campy.

So I don’t think Mays has at all closed the gap to Mantle in 52T. If anything the gap has widened which is part of the reason I’m fond of that Mays issue because I think it continues to be undervalued. Now granted the 52T Mantle is a special animal — it is THE card — so it’s not surprising it has outpaced the Mays even though the Mays is probably one of the 20 most important and iconic cards in the hobby.

I think Mays has closed a bit of the gap to Mantle in later issues. Only a feel on this one. I can’t speak for 51B since I don’t know that market but I think Mays issues from 55 onward have probably outpaced the % growth of Mantle in the past two years.

[Kutcher55]

Good gosh, David. That 67 Mays PSA is absolutely cherry!

[Kutcher55]

Was curious and looked at a year in which neither card is particularly “special.”

1959 Topps — since mid 2019 a PSA5 Mays has essentially tripled from 100 to 300. A PSA5 Mantle has doubled from ~375 to 750.

Supports the idea that Mays has made up ground in later issues but not so much in 52T.

[Jersey City Giants]

My father saw him play in Trenton before he got called up. Said he was the best player he ever saw play. Plus when Ty Cobb was old he said he was the only player he would pay to see. Those two opinions are good enough for me!

[JollyElm]

Love this one...

1971toppsgreatestmomentsmays.jpg


Created this one...

1972williemaystraded07.jpg


Grabbed these ones recently*...

1967mays1969mays.jpg


*Pardon the grammar.

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

Posting this one because I don't think it's made an appearance in this thread, and it's one of my favorites. Notoriously difficult to find centered, which is why I "settled" for this one.

1952 Bowman is the set I'm most familiar with, and I'll say I think Mays has closed the gap a little bit in this set over the last five years...and honestly he should. The Mays card is a more scarce High# in 1952 Bowman and has a lower population overall. Wouldn't surprise me if the Mays card eventually catches Mantle in this set for that very reason.

Mays.JPG

[Johnny630]

1955 Topps Willie Mays :-)

[jakebeckleyoldeagleeye]

Originally Posted by skelly423

This is purely anecdotal, but it seems like there is a growing separation between Mays and Aaron as well. In my memory they used to be on par, but it feels like Mays draws a premium over Aaron in most sets.

I think there are a couple of factors with Mays closing the gap on Mantle. Advanced stats have given us a better appreciate for how good Mays was (and specifically how much better than Mantle he was over the course of their careers). I also think the population who grew up idolizing Mantle are aging out of the hobby or dying off. Younger collectors don't have direct memory of either player, and largely rely on the numbers to decide who to collect and how to value them.

I can tell you two things Mays didn't do. Hit a homer in the World Series or win a Triple Crown.

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I believe we can all agree (I know, this is Net 54) that Willie Mays is the greatest living ballplayer and certainly among the top 5 of all time. I know nothing more than he is 90+ and in good health and long may he continue to be so.
I have watching the price movements of his vintage cards for about a year and it is clear to me that the gap between Mantle and Willie's cards is shrinking. For example, in the current Premier Auction, or whatever they call it, there are 2 beautiful PSA7 1951 Bowman RC's of both. At the moment, Willie's bids are around 9k ahead of the Mick. Early days, but I have never seen that scenario before. Perhaps due his longevity collectors are beginning to realize what a fabulous player he was.
I actually had the pleasure of seeing Willie play in 1954 when my Dad took me to the old Polo Grounds for a game. He electrified the field.

So I think this thread started because of a comparison of 1951 Bowman Mantle and Mays Rookies in PWCC's February Premier Auction?

The PSA 7 Mantle ended up selling for $96K and the Mays for $60K. Not sure if that constitutes a narrowing of any historical gap between the two cards, but at a more than 50% premium for the Mantle, there is obviously still quite a gap.
I believe the populations of both cards are similar. Maybe the gap will get closer some day given that most people think Mays was one of the two best players ever, and many don't have Mantle in the top 10.

[Yoda]

Charles, I was the original author of this post and I have to agree that the price level at the finishing line shows Mantle the clear winner...again. Perhaps what I was seeing was an aberration in the early auction bidding. Willie is the sprinter and Mickey is the finisher.

[MattyC]

Many guys in our 40s and 30s who never saw him play still buy Mantle. When we entered the hobby, the 52T Mantle had a mystique and status that will never change— and that card became a gateway of sorts that led many of us to look into his life and accomplishments, as well as his other cards. Then there are Yankee fan collectors who will always be interested in cards of Yankee legends. The notion that as people who saw him play die, his cards will become less desirable, it seems specious at best, especially in light of how cards of many long dead players still have expensive, desirable cards— Mathewson, Shoeless Joe, the list goes on. But ultimately, one can sit around waiting years and years for some puerile price competition between Mantle and Mays to play out, or one can collect what they want to own in the present, whichever athlete that is.

[cgjackson222]

In REA's auction last night a '51 Bowman Mays SGC 3 sold for $24,600, almost $7K higher than a '51 Bowman Mantle PSA 4.

Strong price for the Mays, which sold for higher than a'51 Bowman Mays SGC 6 in the same auction, and a relatively weak price for the Mantle. Not sure if this is just an outlier, or if Mays is actually closing the gap with Mantle, but you don't see a Mays Rookie outsell a Mantle of a higher grade often.

[h2oya311]

At first glance and without fully inspecting the card, that Mays “3” looks like an “8” and the Mantle “4” looks like, well, a “4”. So not entirely an apples-to-apples in this “case”.

[Bpm0014]

Mays game used bat I recently purchased. Adirondack. Mid to late 60’s.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

In REA's auction last night a '51 Bowman Mays SGC 3 sold for $24,600, almost $7K higher than a '51 Bowman Mantle PSA 4.

Strong price for the Mays, which sold for higher than a'51 Bowman Mays SGC 6 in the same auction, and a relatively weak price for the Mantle. Not sure if this is just an outlier, or if Mays is actually closing the gap with Mantle, but you don't see a Mays Rookie outsell a Mantle of a higher grade often.

Someone is gonna work some magic and get this into a 6 or better holder.