Saturday, October 10, 2015

Room At The Top

More 1957 Baseball Paper Proof news today campers!  Before we were jolted into the realization that Topps sometimes used these proofs to create mockups of proposed future sets, we made an effort here at the Main Topps Archives Research Center to checklist known proofs from the 1957 high numbers.  We were stuck at 32 proofs but recently Friend o'the Archive Keith Olbermann sent along a couple more names and it's time to update things. There is, of course, a twist as well.

Here is where things stand today.  The entire high number run of 55 cards is shown and for each one with a known proof, either from the original Card Collectors Company ad offering many for sale or Olbermann's collection, that is noted as well.


353 Cal Neeman Proof
354 Rip Coleman Proof
355 Frank Malzone
356 Faye Throneberry Proof
357 Earl Torgeson
358 Jerry Lynch Proof
359 Tom Cheney Proof
360 Johnny Groth Proof
361 Curt Barclay Proof
362 Roman Mejias
363 Eddie Kasko Proof
364 Cal McLish
365 Ozzie Virgil
366 Ken Lehman Proof
367 Ed Fitz Gerald Proof
368 Bob Purkey Proof
369 Milt Graff
370 Warren Hacker Proof
371 Bob Lennon Proof
372 Norm Zauchin Proof
373 Pete Whisenant Proof
374 Don Cardwell Proof
375 Jim Landis
376 Don Elston Proof
377 Andre Rodgers
378 Elmer Singleton Proof
379 Don Lee
380 Walker Cooper Proof
381 Dean Stone
382 Jim Brideweser
383 Juan Pizarro Proof
384 Bobby Gene Smith Proof
385 Art Houtteman
386 Lyle Luttrell Proof
387 Jack Sanford Proof
388 Pete Daley
389 Dave Jolly Proof
390 Reno Bertoia
391 Ralph Terry
392 Chuck Tanner Proof
393 Raul Sanchez Proof
394 Luis Arroyo Proof
395 Bubba Phillips
396 Casey Wise Proof
397 Roy Smalley Proof
398 Al Cicotte Proof
399 Billy Consolo Proof
400 Dodgers' Sluggers Proof
401 Earl Battey Proof
402 Jim Pisoni
403 Dick Hyde
404 Harry Anderson Proof
405 Duke Maas
406 Bob Hale
407 Yankees Power Hitters


New additions bring the count to 34: #384 Bobby Gene Smith and #400 Dodgers Sluggers.  Here is #400, which is my favorite card in the set:



Bobby Gene Smith, another newbie to the list, is the bearer of our first twist, a ginormous top border:




The proofs must have included all the borders and gutters.  What's not clear is whether or not there were full, 264 card proof sheets run off in paper.  

One more twist, here is Ken Lehman, another "topper" and his scrawl:



I am reasonably certain that is Woody Gelman's handwriting there. I can make out "BB" and then "GENE" so he may have been next to Bobby Gene Smith atop the press sheet.

There are two other big top border cards are, one of which is also marked up:

#359 Cheney (both)
#378 Singleton (top border)

It would be pretty cool if we could confirm all 55 high numbers in paper.  The Yankees Power Hitters card that concludes the set has Mickey Mantle on it so finding that one would be sweet (and even sweeter for the owner).

1 comment:

Commishbob said...

In my best Dick Enberg voice: "That Dodgers Sluggers card....Oh My!!!!!!"