Even in the early stages of Topps' development as a producer of baseball cards, the company maintained a philosophy of making each season's collection distinct from past assemblages so that every collector series would have its own distinct "flavor." The design of the 1954 Topps baseball card set leaves behind the artist's depictions to offer one of the cleanest and most straightforward collections ever manufactured. In fact, Sy Berger, the co-designer of the inaugural 1952 Topps set, called it his favorite baseball set the company ever produced. Not only was the Topps Company's 1954 effort the first set to ever feature in-action player cut-out images as well as player portraits, but it also included first-time cardboard appearances by future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, and Al Kaline. A color photo of the player dominated the card with a small action shot in black and white. The larger picture was usually a mug shot, but the look varied from card to card with the portrait sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left, or even sometimes in the center. The black and white action picture, while much smaller, always overlapped the foreground picture, so the full-figured batting stance, swing, or pitching motion was never lost. It's the first Topps set without the great Mickey Mantle, who has signed an exclusive deal with Bowman but is known for its pair of Ted Williams cards that serve as bookends to open and close the set. Offered is a complete set of 250 cards, all graded and encapsulated by PSA with a ranking of #11 on the PSA Set Registry and an overall GPA at a robust 8.016. Virtually every card in the set is graded PSA 8 except for #155 Bob Kennedy (PSA 8 OC) and thirteen cards that go above and beyond with a grade of PSA 8.5 (15 Rosen, 23, 39, 70 Doby, 79, 84, 124, 133, 163, 181, 208, 215, and 232). The incredible rookie trio of Aaron, Kaline, and Banks are all graded PSA 8 and deserve the honor, each particularly clean and well-centered for their respective issue. An incredible, grade-consistent collaboration that was painstakingly built for excellence. For a complete breakdown grades and populations, please visit our website for a link to the PSA Set Registry.
LINK: 1954 Topps #11 Finest Set