My 1956 Topps Project

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by 1963Topps Set

Didn't Topps issue team cards in 1951?

Well, how about that. They sure did.

And the learning continues. I should remember to think outside the box (and the packs) a bit more often.

[Eric72]

As I continued to sort through my second BST purchase, I took a close look at this New York Giants team card. I pored over the info on the back, read through the names, and gazed at the image. It didn’t have the same level of detail as the single player cards. Rather, it seemed like Impressionist art. The more closely I looked at the piece, the less crisp and defined the small details became.

Some of the players were sporting features that looked almost cartoonish. For instance, the person sitting front and center (Leo Durocher) fell victim to an errant brush stroke, leaving him with half a mustache. A couple spots over, third from the right, Willie Mays seemed to have been given a huge head and toothpick arms.

At least, I believe that’s Willie Mays. The player depicted seems to be African American, the only one in the front row. And therein lies something very interesting. At the bottom of the card, Mays is listed as being in the front row, third from the left.

The image doesn’t appear to be a reverse negative or anything like that. The “New York” on the front of everyone’s uniform seems to be correctly displayed. Topps simply put Mays’ name in the wrong spot.

Looking a bit further into this, I attempted to identify someone else in the team photo. The player whose image I felt most confident about is in the back row. At the far left it would appear Hank Thompson is depicted. Again, Topps has him in the wrong spot.

Based on this info, it appears that the players are listed and pictured in reverse orders. I realize this has probably been spotted and discussed countless times by hobbyists throughout the years. However, discovering little things like this is making it so much more interesting than simply crossing number 226 off my checklist.