(LOT 556)
1952 Topps #261 Willie Mays SGC 4.5 VG-EX+
WILLIE ROOKIE!!! Willie Mays burst into the National League in 1951, earning the NL Rookie of the Year Award behind 20 home runs and 68 RBIs. Two years later, with a year of military service squeezed in between, Mays won the NL MVP Award and led his New York Giants team to the 1954 World Series championship, the first in 21 years. The Say Hey Kid added another MVP to his resume in 1965 and finished his career with an astounding 660 home runs, 12 Gold Gloves and 24 All-Star nods.

With brilliant hues and crystal-clear clarity, the image reveals near-perfect centering with an absence of any glaring image tilt that so often plagues the '52 Topps Mays. A bold violet background, square corners exhibiting light touch wear consistent with the grade, impeccable print clarity and virtual pack-fresh surfaces displaying only soft & scattered unobstructive abrasions. This is one of the finest 4.5 VG-EX+ examples we have seen or offered, causing us to wonder why this did not achieve a higher assessment.

MIN BID $2,000
_