The 1953 Topps baseball card set marks a significant year for Cubs cards and the early years of modern cardboard collecting. Issued shortly after Topps obtained the exclusive rights to produce gum-and-card sets, the ’53 Topps offering featured for the first time key Cubs players who would help define the franchise for generations of fans.
Containing a total of 407 cards, the ’53 Topps set showcased 22 individual Cubs players through colorful artwork commissioned from various freelance illustrators. Among the notable Cubs included were shortstop Eddie Stanky, outfielders Bill “Swish” Nicholson and Bob Will, and pitchers Harry Brecheen and Jackie Collum. Three Cubs in particular — center fielder Andy Pafko, third baseman Ransom “Randy” Jackson, and first baseman Dee Fondy — received significant card numbers that acknowledged their importance to the team at the time.
Pafko, a five-time All-Star during his Cubs career from 1943-1953, was featured on the highly coveted card #1 of the ’53 Topps set. A versatile player who could both hit for average and power, Pafko slashed .285/.353/.431 with 181 home runs and 771 RBIs in 1,656 games for Chicago from 1943–1950 and again in 1953. His offensive production made him a fan favorite on many losing Cubs teams. Pafko’s #1 card remains one of the most historically significant Cubs cards ever produced.
Jackson, who played for Chicago from 1951-1956, received card #25. A three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner at third base, Jackson was coming off back-to-back .300 seasons for the Cubs in 1952-53 and was viewed as one of the team’s rising stars. He would go on to slash .272/.327/.415 with 101 home runs and 488 RBIs in 799 career games for Chicago before being traded to the Dodgers in 1956. His #25 card captured Jackson in the prime of his Cubs career.
Fondy, the Cubs everyday first baseman from 1949-1953, was featured on card #330. A versatile glove man who could also hit for average, Fondy batted .287 with 48 home runs and 272 RBIs in 548 games during his 5-year Cubs tenure. While not a true superstar, Fondy was a consistent, well-rounded player who fans could rely on at the plate and in the field on a daily basis. His presence in the later series of the ’53 Topps set reflected his standing on the Cubs roster at the time.
Beyond their notable individual cards, Pafko, Jackson, and Fondy exemplified the core position players for manager Phil Cavarretta’s 1953 Cubs team, which finished 76-78 and in fifth place in the National League. While not pennant contenders, the ’53 Cubs remained competitive with these core players leading the offense. Their inclusion in the debut Topps baseball card set helped etch these players further into Cubs franchise lore for fans and collectors just starting to snap gum and save cards during the early post-WWII era.
As baseball cards grew exponentially more popular throughout the 1950s, the ’53 Topps Cubs subset took on further historical significance. Pafko was traded after 1953 and Fondy’s career ended, but Jackson’s breakout performance in 1954 cemented him as one of the early era’s most iconic Cub stars. Young baby boom collectors could study the images of these pioneering Cubs on their colorful cardboard and imagine them playing at Cubs Park. Over decades, the condition and rarity of specific ’53 Topps Cubs players, especially high numbers of Pafko, Jackson and Fondy, have increased exponentially in price.
For serious Cubs card collectors today, finding high quality, centering ’53s of these influential early Cubs is the pinnacle. The debut Topps baseball card franchise’s first depiction of these pioneering North Siders serves as a portal into understanding the history and great traditions of the Cubs – right from the postwar period when kids first started peeling back that gray flimsy paper to uncover the colorful stars inside. In capturing Pafko, Jackson, Fondy and their teammates for posterity, the 1953 Topps baseball card set helped ensure the legacy of that pioneering Cubs squad for generations of fans to discover.
