2nd year cards are my favorite

[leaflover]

Ryan and Rose jump out at me!

[rugbymarine]

Love these 2nd year cards.

Peter, that 65 Allen is amazing. I've been looking for one that nice for about a year and a half!

Here's a few of mine:

[skelly423]

Don't forget this one!

[G1911]

I think the Brooks is the most horrific second year card Topps ever porduced. Just a terrible photo after his nice rookie portrait.

Guys like Clemente, Koufax, Aaron, Banks, Kaline, Mays, Minoso, Mantle, Palmer have very nice looking rookies. Preference to the beholder, but I think the good examples are players who have ugly combo rookies like Ryan, Rose, Seaver, Carew, or cards with horrible photos.

[rugbymarine]

Originally Posted by G1911

I think the Brooks is the most horrific second year card Topps ever porduced. Just a terrible photo after his nice rookie portrait.

TOTALLY AGREE!
When I started my Brooks set a few years ago, I would always say how ugly that card looked. My dad and I had a funny conversation about what happened. Was it mid-sneeze? Is it bad photography/touch-up? At that point, he was mostly a glove-first nobody, so I can imagine Topps just saying "Fine, whatever....just print the card. He'll be out of the league in 5 years anyway."

I was able to find a couple examples with great blue color that grew on me, but you're right. Not their best work.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by rugbymarine

TOTALLY AGREE!
When I started my Brooks set a few years ago, I would always say how ugly that card looked. My dad and I had a funny conversation about what happened. Was it mid-sneeze? Is it bad photography/touch-up? At that point, he was mostly a glove-first nobody, so I can imagine Topps just saying "Fine, whatever....just print the card. He'll be out of the league in 5 years anyway."

I was able to find a couple examples with great blue color that grew on me, but you're right. Not their best work.

I collected my 58 set with my father, the Brooks is always the card he stops on to talk about. I really like the 58 set but it's a shame they took the worst possible picture of the Human Vacuum Cleaner. Frank Robinson, Drysdale, Bunning, all have fine second year portraits in that issue but poor Brooks got the short end of the stick.

[JollyElm]

82. Left Hand of Fate (also Whitey Bored)
The fact that Topps seemingly had no other choice but to feature Whitey Ford holding out his southpaw towards the camera in the very same pose year after year after year.

See also: Gobbledybrook - having no idea what Topps was thinking when they put out Brooks Robinson’s 1958 card.

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by leaflover

Ryan and Rose jump out at me!

That '69 Ryan is a very cool card. He looks incredibly young, because he was. I guess he was only 19 when he debuted for the Mets in '66. Crazy to think he was still pitching in '93 when he was 46.