- #05: 1989 Topps Traded #41T Ken Griffey, Jr.
- #04: 1968 Topps #177 Mets 1968 Rookie Stars Jerry Koosman & Nolan Ryan
- #03: 1952 Topps #312 Jackie Robinson
- #02: 1954 Topps #128 Henry Aaron
- And the Number One Topps Baseball Card of All-Time is: 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle!!!
Of the five, I voted for the Mantle card. As I'm sure every person who took the time to vote did. As one of the most iconic baseball cards of all time, if the Mantle didn't get the top spot, then something would be terribly, terribly wrong with the balloting (at least people didn't rally together to vote the 2010 Strasburg card as number 1, let alone among the top 60).
Regarding the rest, all are worthy. The Griffey card is a reminder that Topps made a huge error in excluding him in the regular 1989 set, opting to hold him for the Traded set. So while the other four companies were able to include him in their base sets, the collectors had to wait until late November to get their first Topps card of the man who would captivate an entire generation of baseball fans. At least Jerry Koosman can now say his rookie card ranked fourth in the voting. It does help that he shared a card with the Express. Jackie Robinson at the third spot and Henry Aaron as number two. You could switch their ranks and there wouldn't be a complaint by anybody.
But the Mantle card is king. As it should be. In fact, it should have been a given that the '52 Mantle would be number one. They should have just gotten that out of the way and then announced the other 59 cards as they did. Why hold off stating the obvious?
Seven of my ten picks have now made their appearance on the countdown (Barry Bonds '87, Ichiro Suzuki's '01, and Alex Gordon's '06 did not make the 60).
Now that Topps has announced their Topps 60 cards of all time, I invite you (if you haven't already) to visit my side project The Topps 300 (and then some...). Review my picks of the greatest 300 cards (five cards each from 1951 to 2010) and leave comments as to what cards should have been included. On Opening Day (which is less than four weeks away), I will compile all the comments and add pictures of the cards selected by you the card collecting community and then at the All-Star Break, begin the balloting for the best cards from each year and the best cards of all time.
So congrats to the winners. Each card will be included in either a reprint set or actual cards will be inserted in future products in 2011.
Now let the debates begin.
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
I agree with the top 4, but in a different order. I would put Ryan over Jackie Robinson. I don't understand the 1989 Griffey at all. There are other cards from the 80's I'd put in front of the Griffey. The '82 traded Ripken, '80 Henderson or '85 McGwire. Always fun to debate and it was good to see the list as it unfolded.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely have put the Ryan as #2. I remember when I first started collecting, that always seemed like the most notable card from the 60's on. I actually voted for the Ryan #1, since I knew the Mantle would get it. The Griffey being this high was a little surprising.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how they will do this. I assume Griffey is still signed with Upper Deck, and they probably aren't allowed to throw a Pete Rose card in their. And what about guys like Koosman who are on the Ryan cards? They probably have to get his permission as well.
I do not understand why 1952 Topps #1 Andy Pafko and #407 Ed Mathews are left off this list? Both of those cards are the most popular bookends to the most popular set of all time!
ReplyDeleteCraig from Texas