Mickey Mantle Master Set

mikeschmidt

I like it!!!


Now, I can just hope that someone out there will complete it and add scans. Might take a while, but there is hope.

MS

Mantlefan

I agree, the set is awesome. I doubt that anyone will ever complete it. Right now there are no PSA graded Mantle Home Run Derby cards and the Stahl-Meyer Franks cards are all graded PSA 1 and impossible to find even in that condition. Still, it's a great challenge and if I win the Mega-Millions lottery, I'll make the sacrifice.

mikeschmidt

The Stahl-Meyers are out there -- they just cost a bundle. I think that there have been close to a half a dozen to a dozen auctioned off in the last two or three years.

As for the Home Run Derby card? My as well be looking for the 1961 Topps Dice Game!

Alfiewt

I really like it too! I glad PSA decided to make two sets. It will be really interesting to see who has some of the really difficult to find Mantle cards. I think there might be one or two people who ever complete it but not in all high grades. Some of the cards are just so rare.

I hope to see more master sets added for other players. Master sets for Cobb and Ruth would be real interesting.

NickM

There may be some divergence of opinion on what cards should be included in a Babe Ruth master set.
Among the widely collected Ruth cards that were not issued until well after he retired are the 1949 Leaf, 1962 Topps subset, and 1951 Connie Mack All-Stars. Which, if any, of these, should be in the master set?
[I haven't even gotten into cards like the 1973 Topps #1 Ruth/Aaron/Mays card. ]

Nick

mikeschmidt

I believe that it is Joe Orlando's general opinion to not include any post-playing career cards in a player set registry. That helps avoid the problem of cards like TCMA -- the 1953 Brown & Bigelow playing card sets -- and the absolute hoardes and hoardes of commemorative sets of today with cut up uniforms, bench seats, cleats, bats, autographs, checks, etc. stuffed in it. If you can keep the Registry for vintage players related to their playing days (at least in some regard), that helps answer some of these questions I think.

Perhaps one day there may be collectors who want to add and collect such player sets -- but there have not been many lurking on the Registry...yet.

NickM

mike - rather than a general prohibition on post-playing days cards, wouldn't a case-by-case evaluation of the cards sought to be added to the master set be preferable? It's easy to toss out the late '70s TCMA sets or the Shakey's All-Time Greats (let alone the modern "old timers" sets), but much more difficult with the '49 Leaf Ruth, the entire '51 Connie Mack All-Stars set, or the '59 Campanella cards. Those are cards that most player collectors consider important to their collections.

Nick

brucemo

Isn't Ruth in the Fleer Ted Williams set, too? I think that playing days, or playing days plus one year, is a good guideline. The cases that you want to catch are when a player has an unexpected career termination before the next season. Clemente died in 1972, but he was in '73 Topps. The Campanella '59 Topps card is another example.

'49 Leaf Ruth is a vintage card, but it's after his playing days and isn't in a category with his playing days cards. Same is true of Connie Mack AS. If you allow that stuff, where do you draw the line? There are lots of old sets with retired players. A master set should include none of this stuff or all of it.

bruce

NickM

brucemo - the '73 Clemente was a regular card showing his statistics from 1972, a year in which he played. It's hard to distinguish this from a card issued the season after a player retired in the offseason - such as the '69 Mantle. Campanella, on the other hand, suffered his automobile accident in late 1957. His 1959 card was a tribute card.
I forgot about Ruth in the '59 Fleer set, although that's also a multi-player card, which even some master set collectors don't collect. He does appear all by himself in the 1960 Fleer set though.
I would prefer to see the master set for a player include all the post-career cards which are regarded as significantly collectible. This is somewhat subjective, but seems to me preferable to cutting out cards that most player collectors would not feel complete without.

Nick

ArmourGuy

Hello guys,

reviving this MAntle master set thread to ask a question. I recently started having my mantle momentos graded and started the master set "Honorato" named after my dad. Anyway although the salada and 64 topps coins are listed, the master set does not currently include the 55 armour Mantles (correct or incorrect spelling) nor the 1960 armour MAntle. Any reason why these were left out ?? I have requested that they be added.

ArmourPhil