1959 Fleer
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| baseball | | | football |
1959 Fleer Baseball | |||
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Very few players in the early history of the hobby have ever been honored with an entire set devoted to them. Babe Ruth had a six card set issued with Fro-Joy ice cram in 1928, and Jackie Robinson had all thirteen cards in a Homogenized Bond Bread set in 1947. In 1959, Fleer entered the baseball card market with a set that featured only Ted Williams, and the set was larger than the Ruth and Robinson sets combined. By 1959, Ted Williams had become legendary. His on-field exploits -- the last .400 hitter, the '41 All-Star game heroics, the two Triple Crowns and the milestone hits -- were all showcased in this set, as well as Ted's activities outside of baseball: his U.S. Marines service during two wars, his youth, his family and his fishing. Many casual fans of baseball may have missed the fact that Ted Williams is also in the Fishing Hall of Fame, but two cards in the set show him on the water. The set has a nice design, with a machine-added color picture surrounded by a white border. A baseball with William's name and a bat are shown in a corner, and the card's title appears at the bottom of the card. Some cards are horizontally formatted, while most are vertical. Card backs feature a description of the action on the card front in a caption along the bottom, while a bio dominates much of the card. Along the top, the card number appears inside a crown, along with the words "Baseball's Greatest - Ted Williams." One card in the set is one of the hobby's legends. Card #68 ("Ted Signs For 1959") was pulled from the set because it pictured Ted and Red Sox GM Bucky Harris, who was still under contract to Topps. Fleer pulled the card from the set and created a truly scarce card. During the early 1970s, the card was widely reprinted. Collectors are usually quick to spot the fake, however, from its moire pattern and pinkish tint. Many of the fake cards were stamped "REPRODUCTION" on the back, and some collectors will buy one for a couple of dollars to fill in until a real one comes along. | |||
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1. The Early Years |
 Check out more information pages: |
| 1956 Topps | 1954 Topps | 1954 Bowman | 1953 Bowman |
| 1951 Topps | 1949 Bowman | 1940 Play Ball | 1985 Topps |
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