the last of the 57s - a countdown

i am happy to say and pleased to report that i completed my 1957 topps set last month!

that's the image that goes on the set binder's spine.

it took a while - i first pondered going after the set in 2011, and decided to go all in on the set back in early 2015 as i recall. i was down to a couple dozen cards earlier this year and so decided to finish before the clock struck 2023. and so i did!

to celebrate, i'll rank the last 15 cards that i needed using no real criteria other than how i am feeling now as i write the post. here we go....

15. cleveland indians team card

team cards in this set are pretty blurry across the board. even though this one features bob feller in his only appearance in the set, the team's logo ensures it as the worst of the last 15 cards i needed. sorry not sorry wahoo.

14. white sox team

again, a blurry team card is tough to get too excited about, although this one does have me wondering why some players cast shadows and others don't, and whether or not minnie minoso really was in the very back behind larry doby or if he was added to the image later.

13. billy o'dell

some leading man looks with his faraway eyes, but the shading of the background has me scratching my head. are there "pink tint" variations in 1957 topps? i like the ornithologically correct logo on the hat, though.

12. bobby richardson

well, i was right. the richardson was the last card i needed for the set, and the most expensive of these final fifteen. however, the youngster posing in front of an industrial/medical complex instead of inside the house that ruth built leaves me disappointed with this card.

11. chico fernandez

at least chico is inside a stadium, however, the crop on the shot is a bit too tight for me on this card. what really dooms the card in my opinion is the drab sky that blends with his away jersey. 

10. mickey mcdermott

not the mickey m. card you wanted to pull back in '57, that's for sure. the portrait shot with the dark background is antithetical to the best cards in the set that show more of the player and some sweet stadium backgrounds. however, the bright colors of the card text make this one stand out.

9. ned garver

ned's jersey and the sky behind him are the same color, but unlike chico above, ned's image includes a pose that fills out the frame a bit better and some other colors to help out. the card text gets a bit washed out, but i appreciate seeing some of the team name on his jersey.

8. harvey haddix

poor harvey here is looking fairly optimistic. little does he realize that in a couple of years he will throw 12.2 perfect innings in a game and lose to a guy who gave up 12 hits. i like the color on this card - a nice red phillies hat - but the background is too washed out. maybe if topps had used the infield stands as a background instead of the ebbets field outfield, this tight crop would have ranked higher. also, different colors for the card text, such as a color scheme like his teammate's above would have worked, i think.

7. rene valdes

lots of color here, and a pose similar to garver's above. the colors are better, though. i assume this was a spring training shot (the text on the back is about valdes' performance in spring training prior to the 1957 season), but i don't know if topps went to florida back then. i don't know of any trees around ebbets field, but maybe the photographer found a spot for valdes to pose. if that's not a tree behind him, i don't know what it is.

6. billy goodman

this is a decent example of what i like in the '57 set, although it doesn't have the strongest background. the distinct colors of the photo and card text help the card on this countdown for sure.

5. jackie collum

here we have collum posing in ebbets field. having the colorful mennen and michaels & co signs in left field behind him are a plus for the card. however, the grass isn't too green, and his teammate has been decapitated by the crop. plus, this card suffers from the slanted horizon.

4. andy carey

a yankee at the bat rack is a pretty solid performer on this countdown. i think this is one of the better yankee cards in the entire set even though the background is monotone.

3. sam jones

mr. jones is standing with the ebbets field stands behind him, and the color of the upper deck works nicely as an accent. the card text is in contrast to the colors of his uniform, and we get a good look at the old "cardinals" script.  the only improvement i would have made here was to reduce the crop so as to get his glove in the frame, but perhaps then the card text wouldn't "pop" as much.

2. darrell johnson

this is great. the future mariners manager is shown crouching in ebbets field with the right center field backdrop. i recognize the van heusen shirts sign (it's red) and the bulova timepieces sign to its right. the photo was likely taken on the day of the cross-town mayor's trophy game that used to occur in new york. in 1957, the game was played on may 23 between the yankees and dodgers in brooklyn. there was no game in 1956, and johnson wasn't on the yankee roster for the 1956 world series. i suppose he could have been there in a non-roster role, but i like the idea of this photo being taken prior to the in-season exhibition game. 

1. wes covington

what a gorgeous card. there is so much color here that i apologize for ever thinking that this set was unattractive. back in 2006, it seemed like heritage purposely washed out the colors and at that time, i didn't have too many real 1957 cards in my collection. once i started adding dodger cards from the set in earnest, i realized just how colorful the set is. anyway, we have covington in ebbets field, with the outfield billboards in all their glory behind him. the only negative here is that the sky isn't blue. we have green grass, brown dirt, white chalk, all the colors of the signage, and covington's braves uniform with the accent piping. it's a great looking card - one of my favorites in the set, not just of these last fifteen that i needed for completion.

so, my 1957 topps set is complete. that means i have completed the topps flagship sets from 1957, 1965, and 1970-2010. i don't really have plans to chase another one, but never say never.