1959 Topps Baseball

Compared to previous baseball card issues, the 1959 Topps set was enormous, at 572 cards.

The player photograph on the front is surrounded by a round solid-color border. The photograph is color, with a facsimile signature across it, player name at top, plus team name and logo at bottom. Card backs were in green and black for the first 506 cards, then red and black for the remaining ones.

Again, team photo cards have a checklist on the back. In addition to the All-Star cards, there are also 'Baseball Thrills' and (for the first time) 'Rookie Stars' cards. There is also a card devoted to baseball commissioner Ford Frick.

A minor variation in some cards exists with certain ones featuring a line added to the player biography which indicates the player has been traded or demoted to the minor leagues. The cards without the extra verbiage are considered harder to find and are thus more expensive (though their prices do not count within the larger set total price).

Prominent players in this set include Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Felipe Alou (rookie), Stan Musial, Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra, Roger Maris, [George] Sparky Anderson (rookie), Bob Clemente, and Bob Gibson (rookie).