The 1956 Topps baseball card set was the fourth series of baseball cards produced by Topps and featured all players from the American and National Leagues. Some interesting aspects of the 1956 set include that it contained 520 cards with varying player photographs on the front and stats/career highlights on the back. At the time it was the largest and most complete baseball card set released.
One unique aspect of the 1956 Topps set was the addition of limited color for the first time. While most cards featured the standard team color backgrounds, 20 catcher cards included photos with a brightly colored catcher’s mitt overlaid on a white background to help them stand out in the set. It’s believed this was an experimental run by Topps to see if adding more color could boost sales going forward.
From a player roster standpoint, the 1956 Topps set was one of the last to feature both the players that broke into the majors in the 1950s alongside the tail end of some legends from the 1940s. For example, players like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Sandy Koufax all had their rookie cards in the 1956 set alongside veterans like Ted Williams, Stan Musial, and Enos Slaughter.
The rookie cards from the 1956 Topps set today fetch some of the highest premiums in the vintage baseball card market. PSA 10 graded examples of rookie cards like Mays, Koufax, and Don Drysdale regularly sell for well over $10,000 each due to their significance and relative scarcity compared to production numbers in later decades. Even common players from the 1956 Topps set in high grades can sell for over $100 due to the popularity of the set and demand from collectors.
In addition to player cards, the 1956 Topps set included 12 team cards highlighting American and National League rosters from the 1955 season. There was also a Walter Alston manager card and an “All-Star” group card featuring 14 of the players voted onto the 1955 Major League Baseball All-Star team. With a mixture of Hall of Fame talents and rising young players, the roster captured on these special cards provide an interesting snapshot of the time period.
When it came to design and production values, the 1956 Topps set expanded upon the innovations begun just a few years prior. Cardboard stock was still relatively thin and images could be prone to damage from bending or creasing over time compared to modern card materials. The black and white player photos featured a distinctive 1950s vibe with uniforms that seem dated by today’s standards.
Nevertheless, the quality was a marked improvement over earlier 1950s issues and showed Topps’ growing experience and investment in the baseball card market. The backs provided statistical bios of players with season recaps, career stats to date, information like batting handedness and date of birth. All of these attributes are what attract modern collectors to the vintage appeal and historical significance of the 1956 Topps set.
In terms of rarity, surviving 1956 Topps cards today in high grades are scarce, but more obtainable than 1950s Bowman or 1951 leaf issues. PSA and BGS collectively have likely graded over 10,000 cards from the set in modern holder slabs for protection over the decades. Cards still enter the marketplace steadily as collections are broken up, making fresh condition early examples available with diligent searching by today’s collectors.
For both casual fans of the era and serious vintage baseball card investors, the 1956 Topps release is revered as one of the most Iconic in the hobby. It provides a snapshot in time as the 1950s came to a close and ushered in baseball’s modern era. Six decades later, the historical and collectible aspects that made it a groundbreaking set upon issue keep it highly regarded among all who appreciate the origins of the captivating hobby.
