1958 Topps Football Cards
Product Details
The 1958 Topps Football card set's major claim to fame is the rookie card of the legendary Jim Brown (#62). The only other significant rookie in the set belongs to Sonny Jurgenson (#90). Other other players making their debut include Gene Filipski (#1), Milt Plum (#5), Jon Arnett (#20) and Willie Galimore (#114). A number of Hall of Fame players anchor the set, such as Bobby Layne (#2), Bart Starr (#66) and Johnny Unitas (#22). The checklist contains 132 standard-sized trading cards, measuring 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches. Some new design elements are incorporated into the set and a few things were restored after being left out in 1957 Topps Football.
Design
1958 Topps Football offers a distinctive design. For the first time since taking over the professional football monopoly from Bowman, Topps included a natural background behind players. They are shown inside an oval-shaped picture. It gives the illusion that the collector is "taking a peek behind the curtain," so to speak. A solid color runs around the oval, which was dependent on the player's team (however, there were some exceptions, due to trades and other factors). In the case of a white background, a black box was placed at the bottom. The player's name, position and team appeared below the photo in a color scheme that was also dependent upon the team.
The card backs feature a bisected design similar to the 1957 format. The left side begins with a card number inside a circle, with the player's name beside it. Underneath is the player's position and team, with a couple lines of vital statistics. A short biography follows, with some players also getting a year/life stat box added at the bottom. The right side has a trivia question that has been designed to be scratched off with the edge of a coin to find the answer. Of course, cards that have not been subjected to the scratching are worth more than those that were.
Printing and Distribution
1958 Topps Football was released in a single series. As a result, all of the cards were printed in equal numbers. There are no short prints.
After a one-year hiatus, team cards return to the product. Each of the team photographs is set inside an oval frame like the rest of the cards, however, the players are not named due to space constraints. One card that is not considered a part of the set but was distributed inside wax packs, is a send-in wrapper redemption offer for felt initials. The set also has an unnumbered checklist.
Condition Issues
The solid colored edges of the oval are highly susceptible to chipping. Veteran hobbyists complain of the red cards being the most difficult to locate free from this issue. Centering on some cards is also a problem.
Key Cards
Key 1958 Topps Football Cards
Jim Brown RC #62
Johnny Unitas #22
Sonny Jurgenson RC #90
Bart Starr #66
Frank Gifford #73
Set Checklist
Base Set Checklist
2 Bobby Layne
3 Joe Schmidt
4 Bill Barnes
5 Milt Plum RC
6 Bill Howton UER
7 Howard Cassady
8 Jim Dooley
9 Browns Team
10 Lenny Moore
11 Pete Brewster
12 Alan Ameche
13 Jim David
14 Jim Mutscheller
15 Andy Robustelli
16 Gino Marchetti
17 Ray Renfro
18 Yale Lary
19 Gary Glick
20 Jon Arnett RC
21 Bob Boyd
22 Johnny Unitas UER
23 Zeke Bratkowski
24 Sid Youngelman UER
25 Leo Elter
26 Ken Konz
27 Redskins Team
28 Carl Brettschneider
29 Bears Team
30 Alex Webster
31 Al Carmichael
32 Bobby Dillon
33 Steve Meilinger
34 Sam Baker
35 Chuck Bednarik
36 Vic Zucco
37 George Tarasovic
38 Bill Wade
39 Dick Stanfel
40 Jerry Norton
41 49ers Team
42 Emlen Tunnell
43 Jim Doran
44 Ted Marchibroda
45 Chet Hanulak
46 Dale Dodrill
47 John Carson
48 Dick Deschaine
49 Billy Wells UER
50 Larry Morris
51 Jack McClairen
52 Lou Groza
53 Rick Casares
54 Don Chandler
55 Duane Putnam
56 Gary Knafelc
57 Earl Morrall
58 Ron Kramer RC
59 Mike McCormack
60 Gern Nagler
61 Giants Team
62 Jim Brown RC
63 Joe Marconi RC
64 R.C. Owens RC UER
65 Jimmy Carr RC
66 Bart Starr UER
67 Tom Wilson
69 Cardinals Team
70 Jack Christiansen
71 Don McIlhenny RC
72 Ron Waller
73 Frank Gifford
74 Bert Rechichar
75 John Henry Johnson
76 Jack Butler
77 Frank Varrichione
78 Ray Mathews
79 Marv Matuszak UER
80 Harlon Hill UER
81 Lou Creekmur
82 Woodley Lewis UER
83 Don Heinrich
84 Charley Conerly
85 Rams Team
86 Y.A. Tittle
87 Bobby Walston
88 Earl Putman
89 Leo Nomellini
90 Sonny Jurgensen RC
91 Don Paul
92 Paige Cothren
93 Joe Perry
94 Tobin Rote
95 Billy Wilson
96 Packers Team
97 Torgy Torgeson
98 Milt Davis
99 Larry Strickland
100 Matt Hazeltine RC
101 Walt Yowarsky
102 Roosevelt Brown
103 Jim Ringo
104 Joe Krupa
105 Les Richter
106 Art Donovan
107 John Olszewski
108 Ken Keller
109 Eagles Team
110 Colts Team
111 Dick Bielski
112 Eddie LeBaron
113 Gene Brito
114 Willie Galimore RC
115 Lions Team
116 Steelers Team
117 L.G. Dupre
118 Babe Parilli
119 Bill George
120 Raymond Berry
121 Jim Podoley UER
122 Hugh McElhenny
123 Ed Brown
124 Dick Moegle
125 Tom Scott
126 Tommy McDonald
127 Ollie Matson
128 Preston Carpenter
129 George Blanda
130 Gordon Soltau
131 Dick Nolan RC
132 Don Bosseler RC
NNO Free Felt Initial Card
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William W Kwasniewski
Good overview. However a couple of points. I don’t believe the oval is a random shape but rather a stylized football shape which would be consistent the basically round (baseball shape) used the following year with the 1959 baseball set. And the solid colors aren’t consistent enough to be used to identify teams as players on the same team may be found with 3 or 4 different colors. I think it was just the way they fell on the print sheet. In any case I always loved this set.