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1955 Topps All-American Set

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  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    Another beauty that I p/u'd recently (1/7 and no 10's)

    image

    He passed away just a few months ago at the ripe age of 98. A statement from the University of Kentucky said Kercheval was a native of Salt Lick, and he graduated from Lexington's Henry Clay High School and earned a degree in animal husbandry from UK, where he played basketball, track and football.

    According to a news release from UK, Kercheval was the first player to be named first-team All-SEC when the league started in 1933. He was inducted into the Henry Clay High School Hall of Fame, the UK Athletics Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.

    While he played quarterback, defensive back and kicker, he was best known for his punting for UK and later for the Brooklyn Dodgers of the NFL.

    He set several SEC records, including most punts in a season, 101 during his senior year, in 1933, according to UK. During his time as a Wildcat, Kercheval punted 234 times for an average of 44.8 yards per kick.

    He was a running back and punter in the NFL for seven years.

    Kercheval had a love for horses, and he worked part-time on the C.V. Whitney farm during the offseason. His friends from the horse industry remember him fondly.

    "Ralph Kercheval was one of the greatest gentlemen I've ever met," said one of those friends, Marylou Whitney. "He was a very devoted husband, wonderful to his friends ... and I'll always miss his great dancing. I love his wife very much. I loved them both."

    Kercheval went on to train and breed horses at farms across the country. When he was general manager at Sagamore Farm in Maryland, he bred Native Dancer.


  • DavemriDavemri Posts: 2,011 ✭✭✭
    Nice card. How many more cello's are yet to be openened? or..... Are you done opening them? That #1 set is outstanding.


    Dave

    FINISHED 12/8/2008!!!
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  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    Thanks for the compliment Dave re. #1 set. Hoping to hit 9.30+ soon. Still waiting for that ever elusive Horseman 10 !!!!!!

  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    I forgot to mention an interesting tidbit re. Kercheval (see above) - he is a cousin of the actor Ken Kercheval, who starred with Larry Hagman on Dallas.
  • shagrotn77shagrotn77 Posts: 5,585 ✭✭✭✭
    You didn't answer Dave's question.
    "My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. Our childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When we were insolent we were placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds - pretty standard really."
  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    Re. how many left and will be opened? That is something that remains to be disclosed and determined. I can say this, there is a single unopened graded pack up for auction at the Memory Lane Big Game Auction on Super Bowl Sun. It is an 8 with Bernard on the front and a tough #100 Fats Henry on the back.
  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    I stumbled across an interesting article that asks the question "Who would have won the Heisman Trophy" had it been awarded prior to the inception year of 1935, when (see card 78 from the '55 Topps AA Set) Jay Berwanger from the Univ. of Chicago won it. The AA Set has eight other Heisman winners featured, and according to the people at SI who penned this article, another 15 different players who have cards in the '55 AA set would have taken home the Downtown Athletic Club's prized trophy, had it been conceived at the turn of the 20th century. Three players in the set (Heston, Thorpe and Grange) would have won it twice! Anyway, below is the heart of the article and the players from the AA set who would have won it.

    "This article examines who may have won such an award had it been presented in the sport's developmental years. Records and statistics are not well documented from the period, and so comparisons are difficult to make. To offer structure, the Walter Camp first-team All-Americans from the first quarter of the Century, as well as various teams constructed in the years between 1925 and 1934, serve as a list of finalists from which the retrospective Heisman winners were selected.

    Camp was one of the game's most respected scouts of his time, and his eye for football talent was trusted more than that of any other. It should be noted, however, that Camp was at least partly responsible for the general consensus of the time that the best teams and players resided in the Midwest and along the East Coast -- the same regional bias that has brought criticism to the Heisman throughout its existence. For example, arguments could be made for early-era players from the Southwest and Southern Conferences -- the forerunners to the Big XII and the SEC, respectively -- but history suggests that had the Heisman balloting been conducted in those years many of those players would have been overlooked.

    The Heisman Trophy is also not without its faults. The award has too often recognized offensive players only, and rarely has its voters shown respect for the contributions made by linemen. Although many years were dominated by linemen who mastered a different style of football, for the sake of consistency the selection process relied on roughly the same unwritten criteria that has been used for almost three quarters of a century: talent, versatility, team success, big-game performance, leadership and sentimental favoritism (and it wouldn't be fun if there weren't a few surprise selections thrown into the mix).

    Based on how history suggests voters may have cast their ballots, here are the Heisman winners for the years 1900 through 1934:

    1903 -- William Heston, Michigan
    Unfairly overlooked by voters (and Camp) in 1901, Heston made sure they paid attention in 1903. His 15 touchdowns contributed to Fielding Yost's "point-a-minute" cause, and the nation's finest back was the undisputed leader for a team that went 11-0-1.

    1904 -- Heston
    In a game against Kalamazoo, Heston gained 400 yards, and in a game against Chicago he carried the ball an astounding 38 times. While 1904 may not have been Heston's best year, he was nonetheless worthy of a second Heisman. His four-year totals at Michigan -- during which the Wolverines were 43-0-1 -- were simply too much to ignore.

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    1908 -- Bill Hollenback, Penn
    As Penn's senior captain, Hollenback helped his team win a national championship with 11 victories in 12 games. (Penn played to a 6-6 tie against Jim Thorpe's Carlisle Indians). A tall back for his time, the 6-2 Hollenback once played a game with a fractured leg and a pair of dislocated shoulders

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    1909 -- Ted Coy, Yale
    Following in the tradition of the fine Yale squads from the era, Coy and his teammates went 10-0, outscoring their opponents 209-0. After missing the first four games of the season due to an appendectomy, Coy returned to lead Yale past Army, Princeton and Harvard.

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    1911 -- Jim Thorpe, Carlisle
    Upon returning to Carlisle after a two-year hiatus, Thorpe quickly regained his top form. Voters were impressed by how well he ran the ball, punted, returned kicks and played defense. Thorpe gained 899 yards that season, but it was the 18-15 win over Harvard that earned him the Heisman.

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    1912 -- Thorpe
    How's this for an encore: Only months after blazing past the rest of the field at the Stockholm Olympic Games, Thorpe gained 1,869 rushing yards in his final season at Carlisle. One four-game stretch included 200-yard days against Army, Springfield and Brown, and a 362-yard effort against Pennsylvania. Thorpe scored 198 points that season.

    1913 -- Charles Brickley, Harvard
    The Ivy League dominated the first several decades of college football, and in 1913 Brickley dominated the conference. He accounted for the only points in the win over Princeton, and in the season finale against Yale his five field goals allowed Harvard to complete a 9-0 season.

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    1917 -- Elmer Oliphant, Army
    The runner-up to Harley in 1916, Oliphant edged out Ohio State's top back this time. As a senior, Oliphant set a Cadets record with 125 points. In his final two seasons Oliphant was the key ingredient in Army's 16-1 record.

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    1921 -- Brick Muller, Cal
    Arguably the finest weapon to play for Andy Smith's stacked Wonder Teams, Muller contributed his fair share to the Bears' 312 points during his junior season. Cal beat Washington and USC with ease and squashed rival Stanford 42-7. The only blemish on Muller's 28-game collegiate career was a 0-0 tie to Washington & Jefferson in the 1922 Rose Bowl.

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    1923 -- Red Grange, Illinois
    In a year in which no one player produced a convincing argument for the Heisman, the Illinois sophomore who helped guide his club to an 8-0 mark and a national championship gets the award. Grange gained 723 yards that season, and in his collegiate debut against Nebraska he scored three times.

    1924 -- Grange
    After scoring four touchdowns in 12 minutes against Michigan and returning later to score twice more, Grange left no doubt who the nation's finest athlete was.

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    1925 -- Ernie Nevers, Stanford
    Arguably the most competitive year in the history of the Heisman, the "Big Dog" denied Grange the privilege of being the award's only three-time winner, while also edging Mort Kaer of USC and Andy Oberlander of undefeated Dartmouth. Voters couldn't help but recall Nevers' heroic effort in the loss to the Four Horseman in the Rose Bowl to cap the 1924 season, or his all-out performance in the Indians' upset win over rival Cal in his final collegiate game.

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    1927 -- Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan
    Oosterbaan was the choice of many as the greatest college football end of his era. In 1927 he no longer had the arm of Bennie Friedman or the guidance of Fielding Yost, yet Oosterbaan helped his Michigan squad earn a 6-2 mark as he took home a third consecutive All-America nod. He also threw a pair of touchdown passes in the shutout win over rival Ohio State.

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    1928 -- Red Cagle, Army
    One of the game's first gifted passers and one of its most accomplished rushers, Cagle had already been a star at Southwestern Louisiana Institute before joining Army in 1926. His contribution toward Army's 8-2 record two years later, including his role in wins over Yale and Nebraska, was enough to earn him the trophy.

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    1929 -- Gene McEver, Tennessee
    The winner should have been Minnesota's Bronco Nagurski, whose team was just three points from an undefeated season. But Nagurski was somewhat under-appreciated during his time. McEver helped put Tennessee football on the map by scoring 130 points in the Volunteers' 9-0-1 season. Nine of his touchdowns came from 25-plus yards, and in the finale against South Carolina the halfback found the end zone five times.

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    1932 -- Harry Newman, Michigan
    Much like Carideo, Newman masterfully managed the best team of the year. The final four games of Michigan's national championship season were decided by an average of fewer than eight points, and it was often Newman who was instrumental in pushing each of those games in Michigan's favor.

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    1933 -- Beattie Feathers, Tennessee
    In a bit of an upset, Feathers narrowly won over Cotton Warburton of top-ranked USC. Feathers grabbed the nation's attention early on with a pair of long touchdown runs in Tennessee's season-opening win over Virginia Tech. During his three years in Knoxville the Vols were 25-3-1. For that reason, the newly formed Southeastern Conference named Feathers its Player of the Year.

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    1934 -- Don Hutson, Alabama
    In leading the Crimson Tide to a 10-0 mark and a national championship, Hutson was honored with the school's first Heisman. Hutson scored the deciding touchdown in a pivotal 13-6 win over Tennessee; three weeks later, in the homecoming game against Clemson, he caught six balls and scored twice.

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  • nendeenendee Posts: 562 ✭✭✭
    I saw a 7 PSA avg 1955 AA Topps set on Legacy went for around 5k - would that be the going rate for a complete PSA'ed 7 avg? New to the board, but in love with this set... image
    Cubs and Purdue Fan - Ouch!

    My collecting blog: http://ctcard.wordpress.com
  • Check this newly listed Horseman out........it is on Ebay and being sold by Just Collect. Of course they ask the question how is the card not a 9?

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  • Hi, everyone. New to the Collector's Universe Forum and new to this thread. Im about 40% of my way through this set so bear with me as Im asking questions and learning. Macboube has set the bar so high, but it still fun to chase and this set is beautiful.
    Go Army, Beat Navy!
  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    Welcome, and glad to have you on board. I am happy to assist if u ever have a question re. AA's. Needless to say, this set has consumed me for the past few yrs.
  • mexpo75mexpo75 Posts: 1,931 ✭✭✭✭
    Armyautin, If you have ANY question in regards to the AA's Macboube is the THE man to go to. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable, he is a great person.
    PackManInNC
  • Thanks guys, Im excited to find this thread. Im originally an Army-Navy/Army-Notre Dame football collector and found my way into the AA set via the Doc Blanchard card. Once I received it in the mail, I was hooked. Im sticking mostly to graded cards for now. I have a stack of ungraded cards but wont even attempt a guess to their graded level. I have some mid grade extras, but would only be looking to trade.
    Go Army, Beat Navy!
  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    The Blanchard is just a beautiful card - one of the best in the set. I still cannot believe they did not have a Glenn Davis card.
  • baseballfanbaseballfan Posts: 5,456 ✭✭✭
    army
    its a great set, good luck with yours

    fred
    Fred

    collecting RAW Topps baseball cards 1952 Highs to 1972. looking for collector grade (somewhere between psa 4-7 condition). let me know what you have, I'll take it, I want to finish sets, I must have something you can use for trade.

    looking for Topps 71-72 hi's-62-53-54-55-59, I have these sets started



  • << <i>The Blanchard is just a beautiful card - one of the best in the set. I still cannot believe they did not have a Glenn Davis card. >>




    Ref: Glenn Davis Card. I can not agree with you more. Personally, my only disappointment about this set is his lack of inclusion. Glenn Davis was known as "Mr Outside" and was runner-up for the Heisman trophy in 1944, 1945 (losing to Doc Blanchard), and finally won the trophy in 1946. He scored a record 59 touchdowns in his tenure at West Point. He also lead Army to a National Championship in 1944, 1945, and 1946 (dont give me any of that ND won in '46 BS).

    The only thing I could figure is that he already had a NFL contract and had a card with the 1950 Bowman set. Not sure why that would proclude him from this set though. Makes me ask the question, what in the world did Hank Foldberg do that would demand a spot moreso than Glenn Davis? Hank (card #32) was on the same team as Glenn Davis ('44-'46). I think the 1950 Bowman artis shot of Glenn Davis would made a beautiful '55 AA card.

    Go Army, Beat Navy!
  • nendeenendee Posts: 562 ✭✭✭
    Cubs and Purdue Fan - Ouch!

    My collecting blog: http://ctcard.wordpress.com
  • nendeenendee Posts: 562 ✭✭✭
    Sorry - misfire on the last message. I want to "upgrade" some of my cards from PSA 7's to something higher. Anyone have some stray PSA 8's that we can do a trade + cash to help me out? I love this set and have been trying to find some great 8's....

    Thanks all!
    Cubs and Purdue Fan - Ouch!

    My collecting blog: http://ctcard.wordpress.com
  • Tried to sell some of my '55 AA cards and people are telling me they are going for 50%-60% of SMR. Can you tell me where this magical place exist because I would like to buy from there. Ive never gotten a deal like that on ebay.

    Also, nendee, contact me. Ive got some extra 8's that I'll trade with you.
    Go Army, Beat Navy!
  • recbballrecbball Posts: 1,521 ✭✭✭
    I have a bunch of '55 Topps AA on 0.99 auction this week, three HOF RCs!
    Pick some up cheapimage
    link
  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    A heartfelt congratulations to RVS for doing the unimaginable.......A 9.30 GPA on this, one of the most desirable sets in all of card collecting. In scouring the PSA Registry, you will be hard pressed to find any pre 1970 sets with this astronomical of a GPA.
  • Ive got some 1955 Topps All American PSA cards for sale. Grades go from PSA 5-8. All are pretty much in line with the VCP. I would also trade for a PSA 8 I do not have, Im in the PSA registry as "armyautin" if you want to see what I need. Send me a note if you are interested at armyautin@gmail.com
    Go Army, Beat Navy!
  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    Finally, an SGC 96 crossover (POP 1 of 3 - with 0 higher). Sweet card, and unlike many, many other SGC 96's and 92's that would not cross (including several of Stuckemeyer's from the #1 SGC Registered set), this one did. As Vince from Oz would say Giddy-Up!


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  • Congrats Jim. That card is a ripper. Now let's hope my Parkies get some luck.
    Collecting HOF RC's in hockey, baseball, football and basketball. A fool's errand some have said.
  • Breaking up my set, as well as a '61 baseball set.....just too much work. I've posted a Don Huston Rookie PSA 9, Otto Graham PSA 10, Sammy Baugh PSA 9 (all available on eBay) if you're interested. I'll put more cards into auctions over the weeks to come.
  • Edit: Auction Complete
    Go Army, Beat Navy!
  • Edit: Auction Complete
    Go Army, Beat Navy!
  • I am pretty excited to finally finish my '55 AA set with a 7.908 set rating. It's not a top 20 rating, but Im really happy with it. Ive got three PSA6s in the set that I will eventually upgrade to an 8, but Im just happy to have a complete set. It truly is a great looking set. Next project is to complete my run of Army-Navy tickets with a side project of the 1948 Leaf Football Basic set in a PSA 5. Im dedicating a few years....uhh, decades...to this project.

    A major thanks to MacBoube for his help with completing this set. He is a top notch guy in my book and a great one to work with.

    '55 AA set
    Go Army, Beat Navy!
  • CWCW Posts: 1,214 ✭✭✭
    Congrats on completing the set!

    I enjoyed checking out the scans, too.

    Good luck landing that Hutson down the road! Lots of competition for that one in PSA 8.



  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    Hey Chuck - Long time.....hope all is well. There is an incredible looking PSA 9 Thorpe on Memeory Lane's latest auction pallete - looks like yours - it is that good. Where did this come from?
    Any ideas?

    Congrats to Army Autin - three upgrades and it is a complete world class set!
  • CWCW Posts: 1,214 ✭✭✭
    Hey there, Jim! Things are fine here, hope the same for you.
    I did finally manage to pick up that '54 Dan Dee Mantle I was
    searching for -- found a gorgeous PSA 5 a couple weeks ago.

    I did also see that Thorpe in Memory Lane. An outstanding card, and
    it will be interesting to see how the market prices it. I was going
    to email you a link in case you were going for another, but figured
    you must've seen it. It does have the slightest tilt, but the print looks
    better than my card. From where it originates, I do not know.

    Shoot me an email should you ever decide to make a trip out here
    to the Big House.

    Finishing off with a scan, here are four favorites from my set.
    Thanks goes out to Jim for helping me land the 2 PSA 9's. I picked up
    the Four Horsemen a few months ago, and it's a huge upgrade to my
    previous PSA 7.

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  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    Wow - what a well centered 7 on that Horseman. Nice card. The 9's and the Hutson are sweet as well. Congrats on that Mantle - what a huge card.
  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    A very hearty standing ovation to two terriffic AA collectors and their recent feats.

    1) H. Bard for his 8.25 level & #7 current finest! (go Blue! sorry Howie)
    2) S. Army Autin on his 8.02 and top 15 !!!!!!!!! (go Black Knights! & Beat Navy)
  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    It gives me great pleasure to expand on recbball's recent (hof rooks) post celebrating Clarence "Ace" Parker's 100th birthday (born 5-17-1912) - and the only pro football Centenarian.

    From wiki., and the ny times. At Duke, Parker competed in three sports: football, basketball, and baseball. From 1934 - 1936, he starred at tailback, doing most of the running and passing for Duke. He was second team All-American in 1935 and consensus All-American first team in 1936. He placed sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1936. Parker was a great open-field runner and one of the best punters in college football at the time. His 105 yard kickoff return against North Carolina is still a Duke school record. Parker also stood out as a baseball player at Duke, playing in 1935-1936.

    In his senior season at Duke, he served as team captain for the Duke Blue Devils who went 9-1, caputured the league title with a 7-0 record, and finished the season ranked 11th in the Associated Press national poll.[2]

    He was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955. He was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1963, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1972, and was an inaugural member of the Duke University Sports Hall of Fame, inducted in 1975.

    As of 2011, Parker is the oldest living member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As of October 2011, Parker is the oldest living former professional football player. As of May 8, 2012, he is the last living person to play on the same major league baseball field as Baseball Hall of Fame member Rogers Hornsby. On May 7, 1937, Parker appeared for the Philadelphia Athletics while Hornsby played one of his last games for the St. Louis Browns. Parker and Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr are the last men to play on the same field as baseball immortal Lou Gehrig.

    Sid Luckman, the Bears’ Hall of Fame quarterback, once said that Sammy Baugh “was the best player ever. No one will ever equal him.” Baugh responsed with characteristic humility: “It’s a wonderful thing for Sid to say, and I appreciate it immensely, but I don’t believe it. I’ll tell you the best I ever saw: Ace Parker… He could punt, he could pass, he could run, he could play defense. I mean, he could do it all.”

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  • Thanks! It is a great set. That Parker is pretty amazing.
    Go Army, Beat Navy!
  • macboubemacboube Posts: 336 ✭✭
    I have nine different AA's in PSA 8 going up on Ebay sun. nite - all from cello packs, including two HoF rookies - Kinnard and Henry. IMO this is a seriously undergraded Henry:

    image
  • Jim...STILL waiting for you to hook me up with a Tom Harmon PSA9 for my Heisman set....LOL...hope you are well!
    Successful transactions with FavreFan1971, ffishonn, Davemri, Publius, DavidPuddy, frcarvell, recbball, and many others...
  • Good luck with the auctions MacB! Bump for a great seller.
    Go Army, Beat Navy!
  • recbballrecbball Posts: 1,521 ✭✭✭
    My set is up for auction at Huggins and Scott, (ends 08/06):

    '55 Topps All-American
  • Hi everyone, thought I would revive this thread. I am new to the forum and just finished reading this thread up to this point. Lots of great information!



    I have been working on putting together a set of 55s for the last few years and am at 81/100. Just recently discovered the registry and set rankings so I tried uploading what I have so far. Having some trouble getting them all registered though as some seem to be in other's sets still.



    Some of the info in this thread has been great, and the back stories on the players is very interesting. It really gives me a lot of inspiration to complete this set hopefully some day soon. I am aiming for 6s to 8s but have ended up with a handful of 5s that I plan to upgrade at some point.



    I have a pretty good display going and was wondering if anyone happens to know of any available 1955 Topps All American related accessories such as opened pack wrappers, or even an opened box? With the set being 100 cards, I have 6 rows of 15 cards and one row of 10 cards. Was looking for something that would fit into the display and would fill the gap on my row of 10 cards.



    Also, would love to hear more stories if anyone has anything new to share on this set. To me it seems to only pick up more and more popularity as time passes.



    Thanks!



    "The Mile High Collection" Working to complete my set of 1955 Topps Football All Americans
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