This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/2/2022
Coming off a successful debut that landed him National League Rookie of the Year honors, Willie Mays' return for the 1952 campaign came to a screeching halt early in the season due to military service. Meanwhile, Mickey Mantle was starting to live up to his hype with a .311 batting average and inclusion in the elusive high-number series, so the Mantle card naturally gets most of the fanfare. But it seems that as the years go by, the opportunity to snap up NM/MT or better examples of the 1952 Topps Mays card is coming few and far between. The featured card is key toward building one of the finest sets in existence and presents with stunning visual appeal, even considering its advanced grade. This immensely appealing example of "The Say Hey Kid's" regal, purple-backed 1952 Topps issue is centered virtually to perfection with a solid NM/MT to NM/MT+ perimeter and noticeably bright white borders around a perfectly registered and positively thrilling image for the issue. The color of the artist's rendering of Mays and the surrounding background appear deeper, and more intensely pigmented than is usual for the issue. The Mays card is often inflicted with stray print that downgrades the overall assessment but this specimen has largely dodged that problem. The reverse is completely free of wax residue and, consistent with the profoundly commanding obverse, displays a noticeably bold and deeply saturated print impression of both the red and black colors comprising the groundbreaking 1952 Topps stat-back design. This is a sharp and illustrious example of a key Mays issue that many advanced collectors consider to be one of the most overlooked cards in the entire hobby. It may not be his rookie card (1951 Bowman), and it may not be a '52 Topps high-number, but the offered Mays masterpiece will unquestionably add considerable weight to even the most advanced collections in the world!