1951 TOPPS 75 TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AUCTION
I t took a couple of years, but Topps managed to sign up enough ball players to issue an integrated release encompassing five different sets in 1951 called Baseball Candy. While best known for its Red Back and Blue Back cards, Baseball Candy also counts Team, Connie Mack All-Star, and Major-League All- Star cards as part of an intended interlocking whole, with the latter two being die cut and condition sensitive in the extreme. In addition to penny packs that merely included a single Red or Blue Back, nickel packs holding several 2 card panels of each were released. The eleven Connie Mack All Stars were packed with the Red Backs, while eight Major League All Stars came with the Blue Backs in this configuration, along with a Team card. There was no bubble gum to be found in any Baseball Candy packs, merely an appropriate slab of individually wrapped caramel. In addition to a pair of Red Back variations involving Tommy Holmes and Gus Zernial, the nine Team cards can be found with or without the year 1950 appearing alongside each team name. The Reds and Blues were intended as distinct fifty-two card decks, designed to allow a simple baseball game to be played with them. Contractual difficulties and associated legal issues arising with their main competitor Bowman ended up killing Baseball Candy. As a result, the Blue Backs and, especially, the associated Major League All Stars are harder to find than the corresponding Red Backs and Connie Macks as they appear to have been stopped mid-production. The Teams are missing seven squads, and some short prints lurk in the series. Famously, three Major League All Stars (Roberts, Konstanty, and Stanky) were never issued in packs, becoming legendary rarities, with only a half dozen examples of each known today. The true intent of the overarching Baseball Candy brand was likely playability (a later reissue included a paper baseball diamond with partially suitable instructions), but the meaning was muddled in 1951 and remains so to this day.
12. 1951 Topps Red Backs Complete Set w/ Variations (55) MINIMUM BID: $300
15. 1951 Topps Connie Mack All- Stars Lou Gehrig (HOF) - PSA EX- MT 6 MINIMUM BID: $2,500
17. 1951 Topps Connie Mack All-Stars Grover Cleveland Alexander (HOF) - PSA VG-EX 4 MINIMUM BID: $250 16. 1951 Topps Connie Mack All- Stars Babe Ruth (HOF) - GAI EX 5 MINIMUM BID: $1,000
13. 1951 Topps Blue Backs Complete Set (52) MINIMUM BID: $500
14. 1951 Topps Five- Cent Wrapper MINIMUM BID: $50
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