Only Three Players in 1952 Topps Set Are Still With Us

BY MARK A. LARSON
Editor & Publisher

Over 99 percent of those included in the transformative 1952 Topps baseball card set have passed on – leaving just a trio of hurlers: Bobby Shantz, Vern Law and Bob Ross.

The set, issued over seven decades ago, included a mammoth – for the time – 407 cards of players, managers and coaches. As most hobbyists know, the ’52 Topps set is also home to the most famous card of the post-World War II era featuring Mickey Mantle.

When packs hit store shelves in the spring of that year, it was the equivalent of a 10-on-the-Richter-Scale earthquake. The ’52 cards were physically much bigger than rival gum company Bowman’s baseball card offering. While the number of cards in the set also dwarfed the competition. Plus, statistics were used on card backs instead of just written biographies and player highlights … another major innovation. It essentially helped launch the hobby we know today.

— BOBBY SHANTZ —

• 1952 Topps #219 •

Bobby Shantz, who will celebrate his 100th birthday in just a few weeks, is not only the oldest living person to be included in the 1952 Topps set, but he is the only ballplayer left to have played major league baseball in the 1940s.

The southpaw pitched for seven teams between 1949-64, compiling a lifetime record of 119-99, with a 3.38 ERA. The ’52 season with the Athletics was by far his best. “Superb” might be the best word to describe it. Shantz won the MVP Award for going 24-7, leading the league in wins. His 2.28 ERA, 27 complete games, five shutouts and 152 strikeouts were also near the top. (He might have also won the Cy Young Award that year, but it wasn’t instituted until 1956.)

Although a member of three All-Star squads in 1951, 1952 and 1957, he only pitched in one – throwing a single inning in the ’52 mid-summer classic. Like the rest of his 1952 season, the lefty made the most of it by striking out the side. Unfortunately, before he could continue to attempt to add to his string of whiffs, the game was called on account of rain.

Shantz was traded to the Yankees after the 1956 season and promptly led the A.L. with a 2.45 ERA in ’57. Then he converted to being a reliever and remained mostly in that role for the last six years of his career. In addition, he won eight consecutive Gold Glove Awards between 1957-64. (Again, he might have won even more Gold Gloves, but they weren’t given out until 1957.)

• OF NOTE: He was part of the Cubs-Cardinals trade that sent him and Ernie Broglio to Chicago in exchange for future St. Louis Hall-of-Famer Lou Brock. (Depending on one’s point of view, it is considered one of the best or worst trades of all-time.)

• OF FURTHER NOTE: Shantz’s younger brother Billy played 131 games as a big league catcher between 1954-60. The Shantz brothers were teammates for Billy’s entire career. They appeared together on a card in the 1955 Bowman set – the same year they were batterymates (pitcher and catcher in the same game at the same time).

• FIRST CARD – LAST CARD: 1950 Bowman & 1964 Topps.

— VERN LAW —

• 1952 Topps #81 •

The 1952 Topps set included some strange photos. Vern Law’s card is definitely one of them, as it shows him rearing waaaayyyyy back before letting one sail to the plate.

Law, now 95, spent his entire career with Pittsburgh between 1950-67. He was the starting pitcher in 364 of the 483 games he appeared in for the Bucs. During his time in the big leagues, Law went 162-147, with a lifetime ERA of 3.77. His two best back-to-back seasons were 1959-60. In ’59, he was 18-9, with 20 complete games and an ERA of 2.98.

Just as 1952 was Bobby Shantz’s year, 1960 was Law’s best. The Pirates won the World Championship that year in no small part because of Law’s contribution. Enroute to the Cy Young Award, he went 20-9, with an ERA of 3.08 and led the league with 18 complete games. Along the way, Law appeared in his only two All-Star games that year (two games were played each season between 1959-62). In the first game, he closed it out pitching 2/3 of an inning in relief and getting a save. In the second game, he threw two scoreless innings to start the contest and earned the win. But the best was yet to come for Law in 1960.

Hall of Fame second-baseman Bill Mazeroski will forever be remembered for hitting the dramatic walk-off home run that beat the Yankees in the 1960 Fall Classic. And rightly so. Yet, Law’s performance on the mound was a big contributing factor to the Pirates’ overall success in the Series. He started Games One, Four and Seven, winning the first two and getting no decision in the final game.

Although Law tailed off in the years following the Championship, he wasn’t quite through. The righthander earned the Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1965 when he posted a career-best 2.15 ERA, with a record of 17-9.

• OF NOTE: The Pirate hurler faced the Yanks’ Bobby Shantz for three innings in the pivotal 7th game of the 1960 World Series … Law was the starter, Shantz entered the game in relief. … (The next year Shantz joined the Pittsburgh staff and the two were teammates for one season.)

• OF FURTHER NOTE: Law’s son, Vance, played in over 1,200 major league games for five teams as an infielder between 1980-91. Vance was an All-Star for the Cubs in 1988. (They are depicted together on a 1985 Topps Father-Son card.)

• FIRST CARD – LAST CARD: 1951 Bowman & 1967 Topps.

— BOB ROSS —

• 1952 Topps #298 •

Bob Ross is the least known of the three pitchers profiled here. At age 96, he is the sixth oldest living former major leaguer. As a lefty, he only appeared in 20 big league games from 1950-56, playing for the Senators and Phillies.

During his brief time on the mound in the majors, the southpaw’s record was 0-2 in 47 2/3 innings, with a stratospheric ERA of 7.17. He only struck out 29, while walking 38. He spent parts of 13 seasons in the minors and ended up with a losing record there too. His last year as an active player was 1959. Ross didn’t make up for his big league pitching at the plate either … going just 1-for-12. But it was a double.

• OF NOTE: At different times during his minor league career, Ross was teammates with future Hall-of-Famers Roy Campanella (1948 St. Paul Saints) and Mickey Mantle (1951 Kansas City Blues). In addition, he and Bob Uecker played together for the Wichita Braves in 1957.

• OF FURTHER NOTE: Ross played on the same high school team (Fullerton Union – Fullerton, CA) as future Braves Gold Glove-winning, All-Star backstop and major league manager Del Crandall.

• FIRST CARD – LAST CARD: 1952 Topps & 1954 Topps … his only two cards.