1953 Topps Baseball Cards
Product Details
The follow-up to the famed 1952 Topps set, 1953 Topps Baseball does not match the iconic release, but is a worthy successor thanks to an attractive design and strong checklist.
Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Yogi Berra and Willie Mays are the most popular and valuable options.
See also: 1952 Topps Baseball Cards
1953 Topps Baseball Set Details
The beautiful 1953 Topps Baseball player portraits display some of the most vibrant colors and realism ever used in a trading card set to that point in time. The cards are slightly over-sized, measuring 2-5/8" x 3-3/4", with each of them resembling true miniature works of art.
While every collector has their own opinion on what constitutes the "best" vintage Topps set, few can argue that 1953 is among the most beautiful in terms of sheer aesthetic value.
Trouble Brewing
Had it not been for a decisive legal victory for Topps, the 1953 Topps Baseball set may have not been produced. The Bowman Gum Company and its parent company, Philadelphia-based Haelan Laboratories, originally filed a lawsuit challenging Topps over player contract violations. Fortunately for collectors, the US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case and Topps proceeded with production.
Originally planned as a 280-card set, the last six cards were never printed, resulting in the 274-card set as it exists today. Much smaller than the previous year's offering of 407 cards, the Topps company was fearful of a repeat late-summer sales performance that reportedly resulted in the destruction of thousands of unsold cards in 1952.
Classic Design
Each 1953 Topps Baseball card features a solid white border and displays the player's name, position, and team, along with a large team logo. In addition, the cards include one of two banner areas on the bottom of the card to house the details. American League players have a bright red banner, while National League players utilize a black version. This solid color border is often the site of the most noticeable wear as it bleeds right to the edge of the card itself.
The player's 1952 and lifetime statistics are laid out on the reverse of each 1953 Topps Baseball card. Biographical player data and a short write-up are also found. Finally, each card features a "Dugout Quiz" with trivia questions and a cartoon.
Complicated Series Release
The entire 1953 Topps Baseball product run was released in multiple waves, including Series 1 (#1-85), Series 2 (#85-165), Series 3 (#166-220) and Series 4 (#221-280). Early set collectors would have been thoroughly confused and frustrated by the numbering system as ten of the cards from Series 1 and 2 weren't printed with the others and instead released in a later series.
As if this wasn't enough to confuse unknowing collectors, several cards from Series 4 were never produced (#253, 261, 276, 268, 271, and 275). These printing issues were a result of the still-lingering problems related to player contracts and the Bowman lawsuit.
Single-Prints and Double-Prints
Following the trend for the period and due to the size of printing sheets employed, some 1953 Topps Baseball cards were single-printed while others were double-printed. While not always a conscious effort on the part of the manufacturer, certain star player cards ended up being single-printed, resulting in scarcity and increased values for those cards.
Among the notable single-print subjects are cards of Pee Wee Reese (#76), Mickey Mantle (#82), Billy Martin (#86), Yogi Berra (#104), Phil Rizzuto (#114), Warren Spahn (#147), and the high-number rookie cards of Jim Gilliam (#258) and Johnny Podres (#263).
A Closer Look
Similar to many other vintage releases, the first and last cards in 1953 Topps Baseball carry a premium. Those card numbers were always the ones to suffer additional creasing and edge wear as a result of the dreaded rubber band used by children to hold their collection together. This increased value is further enhanced because card #1 is none other than legendary Hall of Fame player Jackie Robinson. While not a star player, the final subject in the set, Milt Bolling (#28), also carries a premium due to condition rarity and the fact that the card was also single-printed.
There aren't any major variations to track down, but Series 2 (#85-165), along with a few other random cards, can be found with either white text or black text for the bio section.
Although rare, advertising panels were also distributed separately for 1953 Topps Baseball. Featuring three different uncut panels, each with three subjects, the large cards also include an ad for the product on the back.
Reboot
In 1991, the Topps Company reissued the 1953 Topps Baseball set as an Archives edition. This tribute is a true testament to the immense popularity of the set, still regarded as one of the most beautiful ever made. Relying on illustrations rather than photography, this under-appreciated technique has been utilized through the years by all trading card manufacturers with various art editions. However, it is the 1953 Topps Baseball set that deserves the credit for first perfecting the medium.
Another homage came via Living Set Baseball, the print-to-order set without an ending point.
Key Cards
Key 1953 Topps Baseball Cards to Collect
Shop for singles or check completed sales prices using the eBay links below.
#82 Mickey Mantle
#1 Jackie Robinson
#244 Willie Mays
#104 Yogi Berra
#220 Satchell Paige
#207 Whitey Ford
#147 Warren Spahn
Set Checklist
1953 Topps Baseball Checklist
Base Set Checklist
2 Luke Easter - Cleveland Indians DP
3 George Crowe - Boston Braves
4 Ben Wade - Brooklyn Dodgers
5 Joe Dobson - Chicago White Sox
6 Sam Jones - Cleveland Indians
7 Bob Borkowski - Cincinnati Reds DP
8 Clem Koshorek - Pittsburgh Pirates DP
9 Joe Collins - New York Yankees
10 Smoky Burgess - Philadelphia Phillies
11 Sal Yvars - New York Giants
12 Howie Judson - Cincinnati Reds DP
13 Connie Marrero - Washington Senators DP
14 Clem Labine - Brooklyn Dodgers DP
15 Bobo Newsom - Philadelphia Athletics DP RC
16 Peanuts Lowrey - St. Louis Cardinals DP
17 Billy Hitchcock - Philadelphia Athletics
18 Ted Lepcio - Boston Red Sox DP
19 Mel Parnell - Boston Red Sox DP
20 Hank Thompson - New York Giants
21 Billy Johnson - St. Louis Cardinals
22 Howie Fox - Philadelphia Phillies
23 Toby Atwell - Chicago Cubs DP
24 Ferris Fain - Philadelphia Athletics
25 Ray Boone - Cleveland Indians
26 Dale Mitchell - Cleveland Indians DP
27 Roy Campanella - Brooklyn Dodgers DP
28 Eddie Pellagrini - Cincinnati Reds
29 Hal Jeffcoat - Chicago Cubs
30 Willard Nixon - Boston Red Sox
31 Ewell Blackwell - New York Yankees
32 Clyde Vollmer - Boston Red Sox
33 Bob Kennedy - Cleveland Indians DP
34 George Shuba - Brooklyn Dodgers
35 Irv Noren - New York Yankees DP
36 Johnny Groth - St. Louis Browns DP
37 Eddie Mathews - Boston Braves DP
38 Jim Hearn - New York Giants DP
39 Eddie Miksis - Chicago Cubs
40 Johnny Lipon - Boston Red Sox
41 Enos Slaughter - St. Louis Cardinals
42 Gus Zernial - Philadelphia Athletics DP
43 Gil McDougald - New York Yankees
44 Ellis Kinder - Boston Red Sox
45 Grady Hatton - Cincinnati Reds DP
46 Johnny Klippstein - Chicago Cubs DP
47 Bubba Church - Cincinnati Reds DP
48 Bobby Del Greco - Pittsburgh Pirates DP
49 Faye Throneberry - Boston Red Sox DP
50 Chuck Dressen - Brooklyn Dodgers DP
51 Frank Campos - Washington Senators DP
52 Ted Gray - Detroit Tigers DP
53 Sherm Lollar - Chicago White Sox DP
54 Bob Feller - Cleveland Indians DP
55 Maurice McDermott - Boston Red Sox DP
56 Jerry Staley - St. Louis Cardinals DP
57 Carl Scheib - Philadelphia Athletics
58 George Metkovich - Pittsburgh Pirates
59 Karl Drews - Philadelphia Phillies DP
60 Cloyd Boyer - St. Louis Cardinals DP
61 Early Wynn - Cleveland Indians
62 Monte Irvin - New York Giants DP
63 Gus Niarhos - Boston Red Sox DP
64 Dave Philley - Philadelphia Athletics
65 Earl Harrist - St. Louis Browns
66 Minnie Minoso - Chicago White Sox
67 Roy Sievers - St. Louis Browns DP
68 Del Rice - St. Louis Cardinals
69 Dick Brodowski - Boston Red Sox
70 Eddie Yuhas - St. Louis Cardinals
71 Tony Bartirome - Pittsburgh Pirates
72 Fred Hutchinson - Detroit Tigers
73 Eddie Robinson - Chicago White Sox
74 Joe Rossi - Pittsburgh Pirates
75 Mike Garcia - Cleveland Indians
76 Pee Wee Reese - Brooklyn Dodgers
77 Johnny Mize - New York Yankees DP
78 Red Schoendienst - St. Louis Cardinals
79 Johnny Wyrostek - Philadelphia Phillies
80 Jim Hegan - Cleveland Indians
81 Joe Black - Cleveland Indians
82 Mickey Mantle - New York Yankees
83 Howie Pollet - Pittsburgh Pirates
84 Bob Hooper - Cleveland Indians
85 Bobby Morgan - Brooklyn Dodgers
86 Billy Martin - New York Yankees
87 Ed Lopat - New York Yankees
88 Willie Jones - Philadelphia Phillies DP
89 Chuck Stobbs - Washington Senators DP
90 Hank Edwards - St. Louis Browns DP
91 Ebba St. Claire - Boston Braves DP
92 Paul Minner - Chicago Cubs DP
93 Hal Rice - St. Louis Cardinals DP
94 Bill Kennedy - Boston Red Sox DP
95 Willard Marshall - Cincinnati Reds DP
96 Virgil Trucks - St. Louis Browns
97 Don Kolloway - Philadelphia Athletics DP
98 Cal Abrams - Pittsburgh Pirates DP
99 Dave Madison - Detroit Tigers
100 Bill Miller - New York Yankees
101 Ted Wilks - Cleveland Indians
102 Connie Ryan - Philadelphia Phillies DP
103 Joe Astroth - Philadelphia Athletics
104 Yogi Berra - New York Yankees
105 Joe Nuxhall - Cincinnati Reds DP
106 John Antonelli - Boston Braves
107 Danny O'Connell - Pittsburgh Pirates DP
108 Bob Porterfield - Washington Senators DP
109 Alvin Dark - New York Giants
110 Herm Wehmeier - Cincinnati Reds DP
111 Hank Sauer - Chicago Cubs DP
112 Ned Garver - Detroit Tigers DP
113 Jerry Priddy - Detroit Tigers
114 Phil Rizzuto - New York Yankees
115 George Spencer - New York Giants
116 Frank Smith - Cincinnati Reds DP
117 Sid Gordon - Boston Braves DP
118 Gus Bell - Cincinnati Reds DP
119 Johnny Sain - New York Yankees
120 Davey Williams - New York Giants
121 Walt Dropo - Detroit Tigers
122 Elmer Valo - Philadelphia Athletics
123 Tommy Byrne - Chicago White Sox DP
124 Sibby Sisti - Boston Braves
125 Dick Williams - Brooklyn Dodgers DP
126 Bill Connelly - New York Giants DP RC
127 Clint Courtney - St. Louis Browns DP RC
128 Wilmer Mizell - St. Louis Cardinals
129 Keith M. Thomas - Philadelphia Athletics RC
130 Turk Lown - Chicago Cubs
131 Harry Byrd - Philadelphia Athletics DP RC
132 Tom Morgan - New York Yankees
133 Gil Coan - Washington Senators
134 Rube Walker - Brooklyn Dodgers
135 Al Rosen - Cleveland Indians
136 Ken Heintzelman - Philadelphia Phillies DP
137 John Rutherford - Brooklyn Dodgers DP
138 George Kell - Boston Red Sox
139 Sammy White - Boston Red Sox
140 Tommy Glaviano - Philadelphia Phillies
142 Vic Wertz - St. Louis Browns
143 Billy Pierce - Chicago White Sox
144 Bob Schultz - Chicago Cubs DP
145 Harry Dorish - Chicago White Sox DP
146 Granny Hamner - Philadelphia Phillies
147 Warren Spahn - Boston Braves
148 Mickey Grasso - Washington Senators
149 Dom DiMaggio - Boston Red Sox DP
150 Harry Simpson - Cleveland Indians DP
151 Hoyt Wilhelm - New York Giants
152 Bobby Adams - Cincinnati Reds DP
153 Andy Seminick - Cincinnati Reds DP
154 Dick Groat - Pittsburgh Pirates
155 Dutch Leonard - Chicago Cubs
156 Jim Rivera - Chicago White Sox DP RC
157 Bob Addis - Chicago Cubs DP
158 Johnny Logan - Boston Braves RC
159 Wayne Terwilliger - Washington Senators DP
160 Bobby Young - St. Louis Browns
161 Vern Bickford - Boston Braves DP
162 Ted Kluszewski - Cincinnati Reds
163 Fred Hatfield - Detroit Tigers
164 Frank Shea - Washington Senators DP
165 Billy Hoeft - Detroit Tigers
166 Billy Hunter - St. Louis Browns RC
167 Art Schult - New York Yankees RC
168 Willard Schmidt - St. Louis Cardinals RC
169 Dizzy Trout - Boston Red Sox
170 Bill Werle - Boston Red Sox
171 Bill Glynn - Cleveland Indians RC
172 Rip Repulski - St. Louis Cardinals RC
173 Preston Ward - Chicago Cubs
174 Billy Loes - Brooklyn Dodgers
175 Ron Kline - Pittsburgh Pirates RC
176 Don Hoak - Brooklyn Dodgers RC
177 Jim Dyck - St. Louis Browns RC
178 Jim Waugh - Pittsburgh Pirates RC
179 Gene Hermanski - Chicago Cubs
180 Virgil Stallcup - St. Louis Cardinals
181 Al Zarilla - Boston Red Sox
182 Bobby Hofman - New York Giants
183 Stu Miller - St. Louis Cardinals RC
184 Hal Brown - Boston Red Sox RC
185 Jim Pendleton - Milwaukee Braves RC
186 Charlie Bishop - Philadelphia Athletics RC
187 Jim Fridley - Cleveland Indians
188 Andy Carey - New York Yankees RC
189 Ray Jablonski - St. Louis Cardinals RC
190 Dixie Walker - St. Louis Cardinals
191 Ralph Kiner - Pittsburgh Pirates
192 Wally Westlake - Cleveland Indians
193 Mike Clark - St. Louis Cardinals RC
194 Eddie Kazak - Detroit Tigers
195 Ed McGhee - Philadelphia Athletics RC
196 Bob Keegan - Chicago White Sox RC
197 Del Crandall - Milwaukee Braves
198 Forrest Main - Pittsburgh Pirates
199 Marion Fricano - Philadelphia Athletics RC
200 Gordon Goldsberry - St. Louis Browns
201 Paul LaPalme - Pittsburgh Pirates
202 Carl Sawatski - Chicago Cubs RC
203 Cliff Fannin - St. Louis Browns
204 Dick Bokelmann - St. Louis Cardinals RC
205 Vern Benson - St. Louis Cardinals RC
206 Ed Bailey - Cincinnati Reds RC
207 Whitey Ford - New York Yankees
208 Jim Wilson - Milwaukee Braves
209 Jim Greengrass - Cincinnati Reds RC
210 Bob Cerv - New York Yankees RC
211 J.W. Porter - Detroit Tigers RC
212 Jack Dittmer - Milwaukee Braves RC
213 Ray Scarborough - New York Yankees
214 Bill Bruton - Milwaukee Braves RC
215 Gene Conley - Milwaukee Braves RC
216 Jim Hughes - Brooklyn Dodgers RC
217 Murray Wall - Milwaukee Braves RC
218 Les Fusselman - St. Louis Cardinals
219 Pete Runnels - Washington Senators
220 Satchel Paige - St. Louis Browns
221 Bob Milliken - Brooklyn Dodgers RC
222 Vic Janowicz - Pittsburgh Pirates DP RC
223 Johnny O'Brien - Pittsburgh Pirates DP RC
224 Lou Sleater - Washington Senators DP
225 Bobby Shantz - Philadelphia Athletics
226 Ed Erautt - Cincinnati Reds
227 Morrie Martin - Philadelphia Athletics
228 Hal Newhouser - Detroit Tigers
229 Rocky Krsnich - Chicago White Sox RC
230 Johnny Lindell - Pittsburgh Pirates DP
231 Solly Hemus - St. Louis Cardinals DP
232 Dick Kokos - St. Louis Browns
233 Al Aber - Cleveland Indians RC
234 Ray Murray - Philadelphia Athletics DP
235 John Hetki - Pittsburgh Pirates DP RC
236 Harry Perkowski - Cincinnati Reds DP
237 Bud Podbielan - Cincinnati Reds DP
238 Cal Hogue - Pittsburgh Pirates DP RC
239 Jim Delsing - Detroit Tigers
240 Fred Marsh - Chicago White Sox
241 Al Sima - Washington Senators DP
242 Charlie Silvera - New York Yankees
243 Carlos Bernier - Pittsburgh Pirates DP RC
244 Willie Mays - New York Giants
245 Bill Norman - St. Louis Browns
246 Roy Face - Pittsburgh Pirates DP RC
247 Mike Sandlock - Pittsburgh Pirates DP RC
248 Gene Stephens - Boston Red Sox RC DP
249 Eddie O'Brien - Pittsburgh Pirates RC
250 Bob Wilson - Chicago White Sox RC
251 Sid Hudson - Boston Red Sox
252 Henry Foiles - Cincinnati Reds RC
253 *Does Not Exist*
254 Preacher Roe - Brooklyn Dodgers DP
255 Dixie Howell - Brooklyn Dodgers
256 Les Peden - Washington Senators RC
257 Bob Boyd - Chicago White Sox RC
258 Jim Gilliam - Brooklyn Dodgers RC
259 Roy McMillan - Cincinnati Reds DP
260 Sam Calderone - New York Giants RC
261 *Does Not Exist*
262 Bob Oldis - Washington Senators RC
263 Johnny Podres - Brooklyn Dodgers RC
264 Gene Woodling - New York Yankees DP
265 Jackie Jensen - Washington Senators
266 Bob Cain - St. Louis Browns
267 *Does Not Exist*
268 *Does Not Exist*
269 Duane Pillette - St. Louis Browns
270 Vern Stephens - Chicago White Sox
271 *Does Not Exist*
272 Bill Antonello - Brooklyn Dodgers RC
273 Harvey Haddix - St. Louis Cardinals RC
274 Johnny Riddle - St. Louis Cardinals
275 *Does Not Exist*
276 Ken Raffensberger - Cincinnati Reds
277 Don Lund - Detroit Tigers RC
278 Willy Miranda - St. Louis Browns RC
279 Joe Coleman - Philadelphia Athletics DP
280 Milt Bolling - Boston Red Sox RC
Advertising Panels Set Checklist
Jim Hearn / Johnny Groth / Sherm Lollar
Mickey Mantle / Johnny Wyrostek / Sal Yvars
Hot Auctions
Hottest 1953 Topps Baseball Cards Auction List
Here are the real-time rankings of the most popular 1953 Topps Baseball cards currently being sold on eBay at auction:
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Roger Ponds
One of my favorite sets of the 1950’s, the 1953 Topps set is a difficult set to complete, with cards from the last series (#221-280) tough to find. It took me more than 20 years to complete the set. Fortunately, I completed the 1953 set in the year 2000. I was lucky to have found someone who sold me the ’53 Mantle, which enabled me to complete the ’53 set. Mantle was always more expensive than any other card back then.