1952 Topps Babe Ruth
I’m guessing that you’ve probably never seen this 1952 Topps card before:
Yes, this is a 1952 Topps Babe Ruth card. It’s 100% legitimate, and is actually rarer than you think.
And, no, this isn’t a card from some unknown supplement to the 1952 Topps baseball set.
You see, back in the 1950s, Topps and Bowman printed a whole ton of card sets aside from the normal baseball and football card sets that we usually think of. These included card sets devoted to popular political movements of the time - things like exposing the dangers of Communism, or cards dedicated to the history of the United States of America, stuff like that.
In fact, the non-sports trend goes back to the late 1930s, when Bowman’s The Horrors of War set about the War in the Pacific was a smash hit.
Anyway, it seems that the Look ‘N See Topps set came out sometime in the winter of 1952-53. And, since these cards were historical cards and not devoted to a certain sports season, the cards were really evergreen. Rumor has it that the set remained on store shelves until around 1956.
And so don’t be skeptical when you see a George Washington Topps “rookie” on sale at a card convention:
And the same goes for Abraham Lincoln:
You didn’t even have to be a good guy to get a card. Jesse James got one:
Of course, the fact that Washington, Lincoln, and the other famous figures of American history had their pictures on bubble gum cards makes this classic Peanuts strip even funnier:
Lucy was right. Beethoven was a notable snub in the 1952 Topps Look ‘N See set.
Topps released a set called "Who am I?" in 1967 that issued a card re-using the Babe Ruth picture. It was a gimmick scratch-off set to reveal the person underneath. The images of the unscratched Ruth cards on eBay are pretty wild. I lucked into getting this card at a stamp club auction; someone brought a sandwich bag of a dozen or so of the Who am I? cards, which I snagged for about $5. The consigner should have put the Ruth on the top, and I have no idea why it was buried a few cards into the stack. Card prices being as insane as they are, I only see one currently on eBay for under $100, and it's pretty beat up. My favorite non-sports set of the 50's is the 1952 Bowman Presidents set. Topps re-issued it with the same artwork and jazzed up backs in 1956 after they bought Bowman, and again in 1972 for the infamous '72 election season, in smaller format, complete with the necessary updates for presidents after Ike. I prefer the large format and simple charm of the Boman backs, which are in a similar style to the backs of the Bowman baseball cards in 1951.
Where is Jesse Jackson's ? 🤗