#485 Ted Williams All Star

Such a great card! First of all the '58 All Star design is just about my favorite subset ever. Add to it the fact that Ted Williams doesn't have a whole lot of Topps cards and the fact that he's, well, Ted Williams and you have a card worth chasing. 

For me the gravy is the stat breakdown that was used on the back. I absolutely loved this stuff when I was a kid. And I still do today. These All Star cards and their 'stats versus opponents' is even better than the team cards which used to list pitchers W/L versus each team. Here is the whole back:

And here is the stat section as a larger image:

Look at Ted's numbers against the '57 Indians....9/20/.474 in 57 at bats. I don't need Sabermetrics to know that is some serious hitting. He hit over .400 versus three teams and no lower than .333 against anyone. The Orioles held him to one dinger and 7 RBIs. That was a miracle.

Also dig the write-up. How often did Topps say "Space does not permit a detailed listing...". Good stuff.

I'll try not to gush over all the All Star cards in this set. But that won't be easy. As for this copy specifically I can only admit that it's not the best one you'll come across. That spot on Ted's cheek is on the card not a scanner hiccup. Corners are soft and the surface is worn. But when I'm am building a vintage set I have to weigh cost and condition very carefully. I usually set a price I'm willing to pay and then find the best example I can for that price. I can't remember what I paid for this one as it was a few years back when I was chasing just the All Stars. But whatever it was, it was worth it.