There really was no bigger star in baseball than Bobby Thomson from the end of the 1951 season through the early stages of 1952. Hitting a pennant-winning home run, of course, will elevate anyone into the national consciousness. However, many forget that Thomson slugged 32 homers in all that year. He was in the prime of his career when the 1952 Topps cards came out and while he’d have to wait until later in the season to see his first Topps card, for many kids it was worth the wait. This week, we’re offering a high quality example of Thomson’s 1952 Topps card. The PSA 6 displays very nicely with virtually perfect centering and clean corners and edges. It displays at a much higher level but the grade will allow anyone to take a shot at owning it. As popular as the 1952 Topps series is, the high number cards are ultra-scarce and owning them is often a very competitive process. There simply aren't that many good quality examples of the series available. The Thomson card came out alongside the famous ’52 Topps Mantle (actually a double print), Willie Mays, Eddie Mathews and others that have become among the most valuable early Topps cards ever produced. While Thomson’s card isn't on that level, we think it’s special for its scarcity in higher grades but also for the time in baseball history it represents. The back of the card immediately recalls the home run that beat the Giants, allowing the collector to experience the moment not just from an online write-up but from an actual piece of history from an era unlike any other in baseball history. Can you imagine the kid who was a Giants fan in the early 50s pulling this from a pack? Bobby Thomson smiling back like the home run hero he was, his moment in baseball history carved forever thanks to that home run at the Polo Grounds that caused announcer Russ Hodges to scream over and over “The Giants Win the Pennant!” Sometimes the player himself turns a ‘common’ into a classic thanks to a singular moment.
