(LOT 778)
1958 Topps #5 Willie Mays PSA 9 MINT – "POP 5"; Highest Graded PSA Example!
One of the "Say Hey Kid's" toughest high-grade cards extant, this incredible 1958 Topps #5 Mays offering joins a meager four other examples as the finest of its kind, besting nearly all of the 3,800+ PSA encapsulated copies! All Willie Mays did in 1958 was post his highest single season average ever with the only 200-hit season (208) of May's career leading to his sensational .357 mark. Ironically, Topps would also release one of the hobbyists favorite Mays cards in 1958, depicting a brilliant portrait image revealing a "million-dollar smile" from the iconic centerfielder. The incomparable legacy of Willie Mays extends far beyond his extraordinary numbers. True, the immortal New York Giant's player accumulated a staggering 660 home runs in a steroid-free era, 1903 runs batted in, and 3,283 hits to the tune of a .302 lifetime batting average. While those figures alone would secure anyone's eternal place as one of our National Pastime's greatest players, Mays pinnacle stature stems from his unparalleled ability to play every facet of the game as good or better than any of his peers. He could hit, throw, run and field arguably better than any player who ever graced a baseball diamond, and his absolutely spectacular "over the shoulder" catch in the 1954 World Series in the deepest confines of the Polo Grounds will echo for eternity.

Any discussion of baseball's finest player ever includes the "Say Hey Kid", and it comes as little surprise that he was just voted as the second finest all-time player on ESPN's "Top 100" list, only bested by the incomparable Babe Ruth. Regarding this offering's breathtaking eye appeal the classic portrait pose is relatively well-centered with only a modest favoritism towards the upper right edges. The four absolutely blinding white borders and robust baby-blue hued background emanate flawless aesthetics, with only a microscopic factory-issued white print mark situated where the blue setting meets the central left border. Blistering sharp corner tips highlight a fine perimeter, and no glaring surface flaws are evident on either side. Vivid print registration and a super clean verso complete this 64-year-old marvel that similar to Mays' supreme excellence on a ball field, resides as the "best of the best". Advanced hobbyists surely realizing the bona fide rarity of a 9 MINT specimen, and this pinnacle PSA example has somehow managed to defy "father-time" by retaining virtually all of its original pack-fresh attributes, easily standing as one of Willie's most significant high-grade cards on the planet!

MIN BID $17,500
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