This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/16/2017
Whether it was intentional or not (it probably was), Topps loaded up the difficult high-number series of their inaugural issue with a heavy number of Yankees and Dodgers cards, likely to try to keep New York baseball fans interested in the waning days of the season. Mantle, Campanella and Reese were just a few of the future Hall of Famers in the Big Apple, but the greatest find to a large segment of the population was opening that pack to find a pristine example of baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, who was enjoying another stellar season in Brooklyn. Robinson was closing in on the completion of his sixth major league campaign, including a National League MVP season in 1949, while inspiring the integration of five other major league teams. Though Robinson would play his last season in the sun in 1956, every major league team would be integrated by the end of the decade. The featured specimen has secured the elite grade of PSA 8.5, one of only 2 specimens deemed NM/MT+ by PSA, and offers a remarkable central image surrounded by a bone white frame, revealing a very slight but common counterclockwise turn, though framed very well for the issue. The corners appear to be within the range of MINT status while the reverse is aptly clean and well-centered as expected for such an elite grade. A truly magnificent specimen that is more than capable of holding its own in a world-class set.