(LOT 184)
1962 Topps #18 Managers' Dream Mantle/Mays PSA 9 MINT
MANTLE & MAYS!!! Appropriately dubbed a "Managers' Dream", presented here just happens to be one of the most formidable examples of the 1962 Topps #18 Mantle/Mays subject, a remarkable PSA 9 MINT marvel that has been joined by a mere nine other examples and incredibly bested by only a single PSA GEM MINT 10 specimen! Its substantial worth is justified by the past two sales fetching more than $70,000, and one can expect additional future prosperity with regard to its ever-increasing value. Considering that Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays had ruled the Big Apple center field position for more than a decade, along with Brooklyn's Duke Snider, it was only a matter of time before the Topps Chewing Gum placed them together on a single bubble gum card.
This long-awaited occurrence finally came to fruition in the highly popular 1962 Topps set, with the #18 subject portraying an image of Mantle and Mays, two New York icons, and dubbed "Managers' Dream". It was only four years prior that The Mick and Hammerin' Hank shared a card in the 1958 Topps set as "World Series Foes", so it's only fitting that the Say Hey Kid and the Commerce Comet would ultimately reside as a duo representation on a Topps baseball card. The photograph was taken from a previous 1961 All-Star game, given that you can see other stars in the background including Hank Aaron. Mantle is dressed in his classic Yankee pinstripes while Mays chose to wear his San Francisco road flannels. Both Hall of Famers depict good-natured smiles, with their leather gloves dangling from their left hands. Magnificent contrast and clarity, sparkling hues, near-perfect centering, pinpoint corners and miraculously clean wood-grain borders are the special highlights of this time-defying marvel.
It's no secret that the most meticulous collectors painstakingly pursue 1962 Topps subjects with the near-impossible to find clean wood-grain borders, with the '62 Topps issue one of the most condition-sensitive post-WWII sets. As previously stated, another PSA 9 subject sold for a record $75,000, clearly putting the hobby on notice that this previously underrated card is joining other high-grade Mantles with respect to staggering pricing. This astonishing heirloom portraying the Empire State's two greatest all-time center fielders is now yours for the taking with this dual appearance serving as the only Mantle & Mays offering on a single Topps cardboard issue!
MIN BID $10,000
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