One of the most prized issues in the 1952 Topps series, card #261 of Willie Mays can be found in varying degrees of sharpness with the image of "The Say Hey Kid" and the colorful backdrop often dulled and blurry, but not here! While the offered collectible has been restrained to SGC 6 EX/NM due to centering bias toward the bottom edge, it nonetheless features an image of superior quality and a perimeter sharpness that aligns more with specimens at the NM level. The reverse exhibits a similar centering shift, however, the overall brightness of the slate gray canvas helps to further accentuate the above-grade-level endpoints and edges. Offered is an extremely pleasing specimen for the collector that doesn't place centering above all else.