After Bowman went by the wayside following their 1955 issue, Topps had a virtual monopoly on baseball cards for the next three years. However, in 1959, the Fleer Corporation stole Ted Williams away from their New York rival, signing the Red Sox slugger to an exclusive contract to produce an 80-card set exclusively focused on the Splendid Splinter. It was quite a coup. Kids who opened packs of Topps wondered what happened to the long-time slugger who was in the final stages of a career that would span part of four decades. The 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set isn't rare, except for card #68, which was pulled from production early in the process. Some packs survived the years as did a fairly good quantity of undisturbed lots and sets. However, finding these a grade strong enough to warrant PSA 10 is extremely difficult. This week, we are offering one of fewer than 150 cards ever to reach that level. Card #17, entitled “How I Hit .400” is simply one of a kind. Razor sharp corners, a pack-fresh appearance and excellent centering make it worthy of any collection. This card is the ONLY #17 ever to be graded ‘10’. The ’59 Ted Williams cards can often be found with crimped corners, surface wrinkles, centering issues, wax and gum stains and discoloration that has occurred over the 54 years since they first rolled off the presses. This card has none of those issues. The Ted Williams set essentially tells Williams’ life story through baseball cards. Unlike many issues, the backs of the cards play an important role here. It’s a truly unique set. If you’re putting together a graded set of the Williams cards, opportunities to add a PSA 10 come around once in a blue moon. From PSA’s Set Registry numbers, there are several collectors who are competing for the right to call their set the best ever and this card will be a very important acquisition for any of them. We expect bidding to be fierce at the end and we hope you’ll check it out.
