Four from 1959 Topps

I've been going over my last year+ of acquisitions and figuring out what I never posted.  Today we have four cards from 1959 Topps.  I considered trying to complete the 1959 set but abandoned the idea, for now at least.  After I finish 1972 Topps and 1955 Bowman, I'll see if I want to start another set project.  But I did pick up a few cards to test the waters.

Johnny Podres.

I have a certain fascination with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  This being the 1959 set, it's after the move to Los Angeles, but I'm interested in Podres for his role with Brooklyn as MVP of the 1955 World Series.  Podres was part of the 1959 and 1963 World Series champion Dodgers as well.  He played with them in their 1965 championship season, too, but not in the postseason.

Danny Murtaugh with Frank Thomas and Ted Kluszewski.

On my list of "These guys should be in the Hall of Fame," in addition to Curt Flood and Dick Allen, is Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh.  This card was just before Murtaugh led Clemente, Mazeroski, Groat, and company to upset the Yankees in the 1960 World Series.  He would go on to beat the Orioles in the 1971 World Series as well, and the Orioles were again arguably the better team.  Murtaugh is pictured here with Frank Thomas, who I featured in a recent post of 1955 Bowman cards, and Ted Kluszewski.  This is one of my only cards (and the only one issued during his playing days) of Kluszewski.

Richie Ashburn.

I tend to pick up cards of Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts in pairs.  I got the 1959 Roberts first and posted it some time ago.  Then there's a little asymmetry, in that I picked up a 1957 Roberts but not the corresponding Ashburn.  But that's balanced on my binder page by the following card, which is also a 1950s Ashburn, although that's not all it is.

Richie Ashburn and Willie Mays.

So, saving the best for last, we have Richie Ashburn and Willie Mays!  Of course in hindsight Mays is the much bigger star and better hitter.  But in 1958, Ashburn led the majors in batting average with .350, and Mays was second with .347.  Coming in third, fourth, and fifth were Stan Musial, Ted Williams, and Hank Aaron.  Cards like this, and the Pirates one above, remind me of the 1980s Fleer Super Star Specials, in which Fleer would come up with just about any excuse to have a couple of popular players on a card together.  Even though these old Topps cards came first by several decades, I experienced the Fleer versions first, as these 1950s cards were unaffordable and inaccessible to me back then.

Thanks for reading!