Tuesday, 25 January 2011

1951 Topps Red Back

There are some cards that you just need to have in your collection. For me, the 1951 Topps, is a must have.
It is the first national baseball card set issued by the Topps Chewing Gum Co. of Brooklyn, New York and is overshadowed by the 1952 Topps set, which is regarded by most collectors as the first 'true' Topps baseball set.
I like the underdog sets such as these and 1950's Bowmans.
It was issued in two series, 'A' series known as Red Backs and 'B' series known as Blue Backs. The cards were designed to be used a baseball card game and came as two joined (but perforated) cards per penny pack, unfortunately they were packaged with a stick of caramel candy which often melted or was squashed to the cards. The Blue Backs are scarcer than the Red Backs and are considered more valuable.
Bowman and Topps were at logger heads when this set was first issued. Bowman claimed exclusive rights to players images and sued Topps and promptly lost. This paved the way for the now historic Topps 1952 set.
Although I have cards of the same design, which were an insert in the 2003 Topps set, I haven't been fortunate enough to obtain a real '51 Topps until now.
Just the one #2 Sid Gordon. Maybe I could find some unopened packs or a box to bust and bolster this fledgling collection.
Here's an Unopened box of 1951 Topps and another.
Oh well. It looks as if I will just stick with the one card then and hope for another affordable single or two to raise their heads on e-bay.