A Graded Willie

Over the past couple of months I've added about eight slabbed and graded cards to my collection. Most of them are Charles Bender T- and E- cards. But three of them are cards I've wanted from the 50s and 60s.

The first one I'm posting is the best conditioned and ironically the only one destined to be broken free of its plastic prison and land in a binder. It's this 1962 Topps Willie Mays. I'm collecting the '62 set at the moment and this Mays, with its scuffed corners and off-center trimming, fits in perfectly. I love the pose and that's one reason I wanted to be sure I had a decent copy for my set. Honestly, I would have probably grabbed this one even if I wasn't collecting the '62 set.

I'm down to needing 133 cards of the 598 count base set. I also have the numerous pose variations and the 'cap logo/no cap logo cards'. I've decided on how to handle the 'green tint' variations. I'm just going to fill one binder page with nine random examples. You can check my needs list over in the right side column.

Most of the stars are already accounted for. I'm lacking the Mantle All-Star and the Bob Gibson card. Outside of those, it'll be the high numbered multiplayer rookie cards that will take some time and careful bidding.

The 1962 Topps set doesn't get much love but I have fond memories of opening packs, flipping dupes and swapping cards in the playground of St. Mary's School in Nutley N.J. It's a challenge to even decide what constitutes a complete set. But like the other sets from that era that I've built, it's a fun ride.