My Favorite 1959 Fleer Ted Williams Cards

After it not being on my radar for a while, I'm happy to say that I've put the 1959 Fleer Ted Willaims set needs on my want list which can always be found at the top of the blog. I acquired a large stack of these cards at the Mansfield show earlier this year for a very good price, but I wasn't too sure if I wanted to pursue the set right away.

Then, I got lost in everything else I had to do whether it be baseball card related or not. But finally, I've come to the conclusion that this set is something I'm interested in collecting. Out of the 80 cards included in the set, I figure I have around 20-25 of them right now. 

I'm not expecting all too many people to have cards from this set available for trade, but if any of you have cards that I need for the set, please feel free to shoot me an email. I'm certain we'd be able to figure some type of trade out.

For now, I figured I'd show off my 5 favorite cards from the set as a way to establish and make certain the fact that this is now one of the sets I'm actively pursuing, even if it is way smaller than most of the other sets.

Out of the 20-25 cards I currently have from the set, here are my 5 favorites. 

#5 On To Naval Training -1942

One of the best parts of dedicating an entire set to Ted Williams is that it doesn't have to be all baseball-related. Williams was an avid fisherman in his free-time, so there are a few cards in this set dedicated to his fishing. Additionally, there are a few military-related cards, one of them being his naval training in 1942 for when he served in World War 2. His service in the military lasted 3 seasons (1943-1945) and given his average home run totals during full seasons and his career home run total (521), I believe Williams would have had a very good shot at the 600 home run club and the 3,000 hits club if he hadn't missed 3 years in his prime.

#4 Honors for Williams -1943

The honors that Williams received in this picture are explained in detail on the back of the card. Part of the card back reads "The Sporting News... named Ted as Number One Player for 1942 and the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers Association unanimously voted for him their Player-of-the-Year award." These honors were bestowed on Williams just 3 years before receiving the ultimate honor in baseball, the MVP award. He later went on to win yet another AL MVP in 1949 in addition to winning one in '46. 

#3 Williams' Greatest Year -1941

So far, all 3 cards I've chosen this far commemorate events from Williams' career from 1941-1943, but don't worry, the rest of this list won't just be all early 1940's. Furthermore, the Fleer Ted Williams set boldly declares that 1941 was Williams' greatest year of his career and I must say, it's pretty tough to disagree. Williams' season career-highs in batting average and OBP were reached in '41 along with incredible home run totals (37) and RBI totals (120). He somehow was unable to win MVP, coming in 2nd to Joe DiMaggio in what I believe was the absolute incorrect choice if you compare what Williams was able to do with far fewer at-bats.

#2 Farewell To Baseball? -1952

As we move on to the 1950's, there was some speculation during the 1952 season regarding if Williams would play baseball again. He was drafted into yet another war, the Korean War, and barely played for the Red Sox in 1952 and didn't play all that much more in 1953. The reason I chose this card out of all the other options I had is for one main reason. This card shows that Ted was about way more than just baseball. He served the American people for 5 seasons, sacrificing time from his career that, if he didn't do, could've made him a top 5 player in baseball history. That, combined with how well this card, in particular, is done, makes a good case for why I put it at #2.

#1 Williams Hits .388 -1957

My favorite cards in this set are the split picture shots that include multiple different images on one card like the one shown above. However, I chose this one over all the other options I had due to what it commemorates. In his age 38/39 season, Williams hit an astounding .388, not to mention his 38 homers that year as well. All of this truly sums up the caliber hitter that Ted Williams was since I can guarantee there are maybe 2 other guys in baseball history that could hit nearly .400 when they're 38 and 39 years old, another testament to the level of greatness that Ted Williams possessed.