[KChiefs1]

Great read about the 1952 Topps cards.

One of card collecting's greatest classics, Mantle's Topps rookie card is the key to the 1952 Topps set, and without question the most popular and valuable postwar baseball card extant. But it wasn't just Mick's other-worldly talents that lifted the status of this card to its lofty heights within the hobby. That would be entirely too cut-and-dry for us collectors because as you know, we all love a good back story, a little mystique, some greater substance that goes beyond the stats on the verso. And, boy, the tale of Mantle and his "high number" colleagues has all of that and more.

Just as is the practice today, the 1952 Topps set was released to the public in the Spring of that year in two series: a low-number (1-310) and high-number (311-407) product. The initial offering, which coincided with the start of the baseball season sold out at a furious pace. Youngsters, excited by a fresh start for their local teams, just couldn't get enough of these colorful, well-crafted cards.

The buying frenzy continued through July, and with every pack that sold Berger and Gelman's excitement and expectations rose in anticipation of the release of the second series. Unfortunately though, their youthful inexperience became apparent when they mistimed its release.

By the time the "high-numbers" came out it was so late into the summer that the high hopes that fill every fan at the start of the season had faded along with their team's chances of winning it all that year. As such, they shelved their dreams of a World Series title until next year, forgot about all things baseball (including cards) and turned their attention to the upcoming football season. Sales of the second series were so poor that Topps was left with a tremendous amount of unsold product, the type of surplus that a start-up company just can't afford to keep.

By the start of the 1953 season, concern turned to panic as nothing was more irrelevant to the children collecting at the time than last year's cards. Like all kids, they wanted what was new and different which sent Berger and Gelman scrambling to come up with creative ways to move their inventory. Despite their efforts to partner with carnivals, toy companies, and promotional campaigns, hundreds of cases still sat unopened in their warehouse. 1953 turned into '54 and '55, and with each passing year the 1952 issue fell further from the minds of everyone, including the pioneering pair.

By 1960, eight years of frustration finally forced the hands of Berger and Gelman. Faced with a warehouse still filled with case after case of the '52 Topps second series they decided it was time to cut their losses and make room for new business. A call was made for a garbage barge and onto it went some 300 to 500 untouched cases according to Berger's statement in a 2001 copy of Tuff Stuff magazine's Topps 50th anniversary issue (via Bleacher Report). Within the hour all were loaded and the ship made its way towards open waters where it would lay to rest thousands of Mantles, Jackie Robinsons and Eddie Mathewses at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.