The 1957 Topps baseball card set is one of the most iconic issues in the history of the hobby. It was the first year Topps had the Major League Baseball license exclusively after sharing it with Bowman in previous seasons. The 1957 set featured all 16 MLB teams from that season with cards of stars like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and more. It marked the beginning of Topps’ long run as the dominant baseball card company.
The 1957 Topps set contains a total of 520 cards. The cards featured colorful team photos on the front with player stats and career highlights on the back. Some key details about the iconic 1957 Topps issue:
Design: The cards featured a simple yet classic design with team logos across the top. The photos showed the players in action shots from the 1956 season. On the back was a yellow banner with stats and a black and white headshot.
Rarity: The 1957 Topps set is considered one of the most iconic and collectible in the hobby due to its high-quality design and star players featured from the era. In high grade, many key cards from the set can fetch six-figure prices.
Short Prints: There are several short printed cards from the 1957 Topps set that are extremely rare and valuable. This includes Mickey Mantle (card number 311), Willie Mays (number 373), and Hank Aaron (number 369). These cards are far scarcer in high grade compared to the regular issue cards.
Rookie Cards: Future Hall of Famers like Willie McCovey and Bob Gibson had their rookie cards in the 1957 Topps set. Others like Don Drysdale and Eddie Mathews also debuted, making these some of the most valuable vintage rookie cards.
Errors: There are a few notable errors in the 1957 Topps set. Card number 119 features Ted Williams on the Boston Red Sox instead of his correct team, the Baltimore Orioles, where he played his final season in 1956. Other errors include misspellings and uniform number mistakes.
While Topps had the MLB license, there were other competitors trying to get in on the booming baseball card market in the 1950s. One such brand was Dean’s Creamery, a dairy company based in Illinois. In 1957, without a MLB license, Dean’s produced its own set of baseball cards as a promotion. These became known as “Dean’s cards.”
Some key things to know about the rare 1957 Dean’s baseball card issue:
Design: The simple black and white vertical card design featured a player photo on the front with stats on the back. They were essentially knock-offs of Topps cards from that era.
Production: It’s estimated only about 200-300 complete sets of the 109 card Dean’s set were produced, making individual cards extremely rare today in high grade.
Legal Issues: Since Dean’s did not have an official MLB license, the set featured players without team logos or affiliations mentioned. This helped Dean’s avoid potential legal trouble at the time.
Stars: Despite the lack of logos, many top players of the day could still be identified like Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and more. This added to the allure for young collectors.
Condition: Very few high grade examples are known to exist since the cards were given away as promotions and not meant for long-term collecting. Even low-grade cards bring big prices today.
Value: With such a small production run, virtually any 1957 Dean’s card in any grade is an important find. Top stars in Good-EX range can sell for thousands. A Mantle recently sold for over $25,000 in Good condition.
While overshadowed by the iconic 1957 Topps issue, the ultra-rare Dean’s cards from the same year have developed a strong cult following among advanced collectors. Finding one in any form of preserved condition is a big find in the hobby. Together, the 1957 Topps and Dean’s sets represent a pivotal year when baseball cards first began capturing mainstream attention.
