1952 Topps Phillies - 5 Cards Added

1952 Topps #47, #74, #203 and #221

When my Mom decided a few months ago to try to track down some older Phillies cards from my wantlists, something I had included on my 1950-1954 Phillies Wantlist caught her eye.  Before listing out the Phillies cards from the 1952 Topps set I need, I've typed, "1952 Topps (Yikes - Intimidated just typing that.)"

Gathering from my declaration that these cards would be tough to collect, she thought she'd start there.  Because of her willingness to tackle the challenge of finding reasonably priced 1952 Topps cards to add to my collection, the five cards featured here were added to my collection through the "Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim" Christmas tradition.  These five join Nippy Jones as the only Phillies cards from the 1952 Topps set currently in my collection

1952 Topps #107

These cards all came from Kit Young and they're in remarkable shape.  Each had a sticker on its sleeve indicating a "GD" or "GD-VG" condition, but with the exception of a few minor dings, each of the cards looks relatively flawless to me.  The Hamner card in particular looks as if it could have come straight from a pack.  Its coloring is perfect and the card has four sharp corners.  Honestly, if these cards are truly "GD" or "GD-VG," I can't imagine what "EX" cards would look like.

I love that the facsimile autograph for Willie Jones has the former Phillies third baseman signing his nickname of "Puddin' Head."  And I'm thrilled to add the Curt Simmons card to my collection, despite his glowing head or the too-big "P" painted onto his cap.  With the exception of Jones, the bios on the backs of the cards for each of the other players depicted here include mention of their time in the military.

Without gushing too much, I can't convey enough how gorgeous these cards are in person.  And thanks to my Mom, I'm just 17 cards away from a 1952 Topps Phillies team set.  (Yikes again . . . )