Marshall Fogel The Birth Of The 52 Topps Set
19731941
Posts: 9
Had it not been for some lucky unusual set of circumstances, none of us who have finished the 52 Topps set could have done so. I can't think of another set where the finding of hordes of cards on two occasions made it possible to complete the most famous baseball card set in high grade. Without the two important finds of high numbered cards begining around 251 and ending at 407. {Eddie Mathew's rookie card.}
We all know the story that around 1960, Topps baseball executives ordered the high numbered cards to be dumped into the Atlantic Ocean.---and they were---
This first circumstance made various high numbered cards very rare.
The second circumstance was simply that the 52 set was not distributed nationwide back in those days.
So here we are in 1986, when Al Rosen meets a fellow at the his home and is paralyzed when served on a silver tray a "dream come true" --- covered with "minty" 52 Topps cards---piles and piles stacked 15 to 20 high.
As Al later related to me once he removed himself from a catatonic state, he began shaking. {imagine Al Rosen shaking about anything}
And there they were hidden in on stack about 37 Mantle cards glowing as if the halo around Mantle head was reflecting off Al's shining dome located above his eyebrows.
$90,000 later Al leaves the domain in this New England area having spent an enormous sum of money of pictures of baseball players of which many are simply dead. Of course, his wife reacted accordingly. {Think of our clandistine behavior with our loved one when we spend $100.}
Nonetheless, the first piece of the chance of putting together the 52 set is complete. Al places an add in SCD and advertises the better Mantle cards for $3500 and the lesser grades as low as $2000. The high priced Mantles don't sell and Al eventually sells them at a discount. {let me say it for you--If only I knew then what I know now}
Well where did the cards come from---The fellow's father worked for a toy company that gave the cards as a premium to promote the sale of toys.
The only perfectly centered psa 10 Fifty two Mantle came from this sale. {See the card featured in my set registry or the Mantle player set registry.} My Mantle ended up in a card shop back east and the card was purchased by Mike Murphy {Mark Murphy's Father--Mark is the leading unopened pack and case dealer} for $8,000. The card was sold with Mike's set in Wolfer's auction run be Duane Garrett out of San Francisco around 1993 or 1994. Duane was a great person but tradgically he took his life when he jumped from the San Francisco bridge. Ultimately, the set ended in the hands of Bill Hughes of Executive Investments out of Orange County, California. He then sold the perfect Mantle card to David Hall the private owner, at that time, of PSA. {David was responsible for finally promoting slabbed baseball cards which in my opinion helped save this industry from fraud and the fatal demise of collecting untampered cards. Alan Hager was the inventor of card slabbing in the early 90's but it took David to bring credibililty to the concept because the dealers hated it. Greg Bussineau of Superior Sports card was the first major dealer to buy into the concept and yours truly was the first major collector to do so as well.}
With this backround regarding slabbed cards, David submitted the card for grading and it was, as we know graded a gem mint 10. When David was in Hawaii for the Kit Young convention, he was attempting to convince dealers to "buy" into PSA. A deal was made and if David would sell his "fabulous graded card collection" and thus, rid himself of this apparent conflict of interest David would have an opportunity to make a success of slabbed card grading. So in the summer of 1995, his collection went up for sale along with the coveted Mantle card once purchasd for $8000 by Mike Murphy the late eighties. That night when I paid $121,000 for that card, I knew I would be "beaten to death by the critlics" including my very best friend Bill Mastro. That beating dream came true. Most importantly, Al Rosen dubbed me the "Poster Boy for PSA" This is the first and only time, someone has been a pinup in Al's mind that has hair on his chest.
Well, the rest is history concerning this famous card from 1986 and---many considered the second most valuable card in the hobby. Feel free to speak your mind on this though
Well, I will stop for now. Let me know, as Paul Harvey says, if you would like to hear the rest of the story to include the famous pool table event when in the spring of 1995, David Hall, Charlie Merkel and Marshall Fogel spin the wheel in dividing one of the best partial 52 topps set available at the time while the cards rested on a nine foot pool table while the three of us are macking our picks--sweat rolling off our foreheads only because we each have the desire to best the other two. Why did Marshall, as his first pick take Clyde Klutz who name doesn't even beat in the hearts of trivia buffs. So long. Your friend Marshall Fogel
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Comments
Feel free to jump in anytime w/ advice, stories or your expertise, it is appreciated!...jay
Website: http://www.qualitycards.com
Groucho Marx
Fascinating! It is nice to hear a story from someone who was actually involved in the process, and not a second-hand account that has been "whispered down the lane."
Question: Has David Hall tried to rebuild any/all of his collection?
Bernie
Currently collecting.....your guess is as good as mine.
Every great collection has a fascinating story and yours is no exception. Thank you very much for sharing this incredible story.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall seeing this 1952 Mantle Gem Mint 10 at the 2000 Anaheim National on display in front of the PSA Booth among many other pristine graded Mantles. It was stunning!
Congratulations for owning the Best of the Best!
Matt
<< <i>Let me know, as Paul Harvey says, if you would like to hear the rest of the story to include the famous pool table event when in the spring of 1995, David Hall, Charlie Merkel and Marshall Fogel spin the wheel in dividing one of the best partial 52 topps set available at the time while the cards rested on a nine foot pool table while the three of us are macking our picks--sweat rolling off our foreheads only because we each have the desire to best the other two. Why did Marshall, as his first pick take Clyde Klutz who name doesn't even beat in the hearts of trivia buffs. >>
Yes, by all means! I'd love to hear this story too!
54 Red Hearts
and now 64 Stand ups
Always looking for 1957 Topps BB in PSA 9!
Greg Bussineau wasn't the 1st major dealer to carry slabbed cards, Tony Galovich was dealing in graded cards in 1986 and did so with several different grading services. from the mid 80's to the early 90's i don't know of any dealer who sold more high grade vintage slabbed cards, since 99% of the major dealers HATED grading, they couldn't overgrade which was rampant in the 80's & your right if Hall hadn't gotten PSA to fly big time, the market for expensive high end cards would have never developed like we see today. there was a time when $5000 was BIG bucks for a card. today that's no big deal.
You may have been the 1st collector to buy PSA cards on a large scale, but again Tony helped several major collectors assemble some awesome collections in the pre PSA days. (I bet you may have even bought cards from Tony, he wasn't inexpensive, but he did carry the best of the best. I'm sure all of those cards are now residing in PSA holders, where they belong
appreciate sharing your story, beats reading about iverson beating up his wife or whatever he allegedly did
Golden Flash...are you by chance a Kent State Alum? If you get a chance...email me at the below link...I would be intersted to find out.
John
TTT.....just because the story is so darn good. (also for those who missed it the first time around)
We need more threads like this!
Erik
John,
Thanks for bringing this story back.I missed it the first time around.I wish Marshall would post more often as he seems to have quite a bit of knowledge about the earlier days of the hobby.(Marshall,If you are reading,that was a hint
Vic
that thread. Thanks for bumping it to the top, Basilone!
If you're out there reading, Mr. Fogel, please post more stories!
As Johnny Carson would say, "That is some wild stuff. That is some
wild & crazy stuff."
<< <i>Tony Galovich owned a shop around the corner from my house where he was known for ripping off the kids, he was also a regular at all the Orange County card shows. Many collectors and dealers thought he was a joke and a hack. Reading your post, you seem to think otherwise. Looking back, I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. >>
There is no commentary on Bill Hughes either. There is not enough bandwidth on here for it!
cheers
minibeers
1963T Dodgers in 8s
Pre-war Brooklyn 5s or higher
Great story!!!!!
I don't know if you will be reading these replies but figured I would throw my two cents in anyway.
I have been in the hobby since 1979 and remember the day when Alan first purchased those 52' cards from the guy in Mass. and then he panicked and tried to dump off as many as he could on his local buddies- Joe Espo (B & E Collectibles), John Broggi (JKJ Collectibles), Paul Lewicki, and Brian Morris to recoup some of his cash.
At the time there were more 52 Topps high numbers available at local New York City card shows than there were 84 Donruss!
If only we had a crystal ball like you did and put our cash into those 1952 babies instead of Dwight Gooden and Don Mattingly rookie cards, but hindsight is 20-20.
Again, great job on the story and feel free to share some more of your hobby experiences with us whenever you have the time.
Regards,
Jim
Check out my ebay auctions listed under seller ID: jeej
Make sure to read part 2: here.