With this card, Topps is displaying the 1956 set, one of my favorite sets of all-time. Topps stayed with the horizontal look with this set, but went with painted baseball backgrounds and scrapped the team logos for the first time since 1951.
It all adds up to a very pleasing set, one I hope to complete one day.
What I thought about this card then: I had the mini card, which made the individual card images look even tinier. But I don't recall thinking anything much about the actual card.
What I think about this card now: Mantle looks very young. Also, I believe that action shot behind him has been used on other cards.
Other stuff: 1956 was the first year of the Cy Young Award, then awarded to the best pitcher in all of baseball. Newcombe won the first Cy Young Award, but that didn't stop him from winning the MVP award, too. Another pitcher wouldn't win the MVP award until Sandy Koufax in 1963.
Back facts: No argument with Mantle's selection for MVP. He had a heck of a season.
Other blog stuff: Here is the the regular-sized card and the mini card side-by-side. You'll note the mini-card was folded a couple of times:
What, the mini card wasn't small enough already? The '56s are great...horizontal, simple design. A really nice set.
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