Top 5 Cards; Ernie Banks

I haven't been doing top 5 cards posts as much as I used to, but on the occasions that I put one together, I prefer the player of choice to be from the golden era of Baseball. That is, the 50s-70s.

Nothing against any other player, but from the late-1950s through the mid-1970s, Baseball featured dozens of future Hall of Famers and countless other star players. Topps also produced some of the best Flagship sets of all-time back then with checklist after star-studded checklist.

The colorful products, the players, and simply the time period provides a lot of material to work with, and it also helps that I have quite a lot of fun writing posts about Baseball legends from that time period. You can never really go wrong with vintage cards anyway.

When choosing a player for today's post, I realized I had already done a top 5 cards post for many 60s players. Stargell, Clemente, Williams, Robinson, and McCovey are just a few of the names along with my favorite player of all-time, Hank Aaron. 

However, 1 major name still had not been used up until now. Today, I'll be doing a top 5 cards post for Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks.

At 105 cards, Ernie Banks is in the Gold Tier of all my player collections, and his representation in modern-day Topps products is a major reason why. It also helps that I have a nice selection of vintage banks cards. Ultimately, I decided to go with all vintage cards for this list, beginning with a 1950s card at spot #5.

#5 1959 Topps Cubs Clubbers

With teammates Dale Long and Walt Moryn accompanying Banks on this 1959 Topps combo card, the whole idea of vintage cards is truly embodied. Bold and bright colors are a staple for vintage sets, and I'm very fond of the 1959 Topps combo cards in particular. In a way, it's almost better than more well-known Cubs like Billy Williams and Ron Santo aren't featured alongside Banks. That way, Mr. Cub can be the star of the card. 

#4 1970 Topps

1970 may have been Banks' 2nd to last year in Baseball, but his 1970 Topps card remains one of the greatest card made of the 500 home run club member. As the years went on, Topps began producing more and more cards with action images featured, or at least pictures that show the player in motion. You wouldn't see a card like this of Banks in the early to mid-1960s. 

In addition to featuring a classic Topps design, Banks 1970 Topps card includes one of the best images to ever make it onto one of his Topps base cards of all-time.

#3 1967 Topps

If it features the right image, 1967 Topps can include some of the greatest sets in Topps history, and this Ernie Banks card certainly no exception. While I don't necessarily think the orange color is the best fit for the Cubs cards, the image as absolutely perfect though I could do without the fake signature. However, the Cubs blue on Banks' sleeve actually compliments the orange very well, and the result is an excellent card of Banks.

#2 1962 Topps

I knew I wanted Banks' classic 1962 Topps card to be included on the countdown, but I originally figured I'd put it at #5 or #4. But the more I studied the card, the more details begin to jump out at me, such as the black and white image in the light blue circle. 

The sky blue is a nice contrast to the bold red at the bottom of the card, but the main detail that captures my attention is the simple yet near-perfect photo of Banks, creating a card that is both simple and complex at the same time.

#1 1954 Topps (rookie card)

Because my Dad bought this card many years ago, it's always been a part of my collection since before I can remember. With that being said, it doesn't take away from how special this card truly is. I mean, it's a rookie card of one of the greatest hitters of all-time, recently graded by Beckett. You can't get much better than that.

I certainly have critiqued 1954 Topps in the past, but the white background on Banks' rookie card has become so classic because of how it's such an excellent fit. The old-school Cubs logo is another detail very reminiscent of the time period. 

But, it's the way the 2 different pictures compliment each other that helps to create one of the most iconic rookie cards ever made, and one I'm proud to have at the top of my list.

The 2 Greatest Words; BGS Mail Day

Many months ago, I made the decision to begin preserving certain cards in my collection in the most effective manner possible; submitting these cards for Beckett Grading.

I suppose it all started over a year ago when I was pondering the most effective way to store my cards. As I began to realize that binders, at least in my case, weren't keeping the vintage cards from all the dust that tends to get under the plastic sheets. 

With some cards of Hall of Famers in my collection dating back to the 50's, I knew it was up to me to preserve some of them, and what better way than having them graded at the same time.

As for the PSA vs Beckett debate, I've always been more fond of the latter of the 2 due to their accessible population report online, sub-grades (not for vintage, though), and autograph authentication grades as well. That's why I hand-selected a few Beckett cards to send off for grading, cards I just recently got back in the mail.

Quite possibly the biggest surprise of the bunch was the  1970 Kellogg's 3D card of Tom Seaver receiving a stellar grade of 8.0. I knew the card, especially for its age, was in very good shape which is why I sent it out. However, I wasn't expecting it to return with a grade so high. After all, 8.0 is cutting it very close to the grades some modern cards, typically chrome cardstock, tend to receive.

In what could very well be the greatest duo ever shown on a combo card in baseball card history, MLB legends Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays both appeared on this Managers' Dream card as a part of the 1962 Topps set. For many years now, it's been up to me to take good care of these 50+-year-old cards while also keeping them in as good of condition as possible. That's why, in a way, I felt validated to get this card back at a respectable grade of 5.0.

As if one Mantle card wasn't enough, I made the decision to send out 2 different Mantle's from the same 1962 Topps set with the 2nd card, Mickey's base card, coming back at a grade of 3.5, deemed "very good" by Beckett. Most of the vintage cards in my possession were bought by my Dad many years ago in a big grocery bag for $20, resulting in a massive variety of different cards of Hall of Famers and legends.

Because of how they were stored for so long, the condition on them isn't the greatest, but ultimately, any grade we can get on them is considered a plus due to how long these cards went without proper care. No matter what, a 3.5 on a Mickey Mantle base card is something I'm absolutely stoked about.

And yet, there was an even more magnificent card included in the BGS order. One of the crown jewels of my entire baseball card collection and a card that, to my knowledge, I've yet to show here on the blog. 

This is Ernie Banks' 1954 Topps rookie card, graded at a BGS 3.0, I grade I am incredibly pleased with due to already being at a disadvantage due to the card being slightly miss-cut, particularly noticeable at the top.

For nearly 2 decades, this card sat in a vintage card sleeve in a custom picture frame on a bookshelf in my house, safe from dust, sure, but not necessarily from drops or at least, not protected at the level this card should be. When I was forming this list, Banks' rookie card was an easy choice to include for obvious reasons, but also because it would ensure it would be protected more so than just the picture frame it sat in beforehand.

Along with the 1/1 Cubs quad relic from 2017 Heritage, the Ernie Banks rookie card is at the pinnacle of my entire collection. Now, both incredibly special Cubs cards are safely graded in Beckett slabs, capping off what was a successful BGS order.