Five Scorching Hot Non-Rookie Cards of the 1950s

Many of today's vintage baseball card collectors focus on rookie cards of the game's all-time greats. As a result, cards like the 1954 Topps Hank Aaron and 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente carry a significant premium. However, when the decade in question is the 1950s, even non-rookie cards can fetch sky-high price tags.

Though the correct answer here will vary from collector to collector, a strong case can be made that the 1950s was the single greatest decade to be a baseball card collector. Among the superstars coming out of packs in the 1950s were Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Stan Musial. As sick as that roster sounds, it was literally the tip of the iceberg. And while rookie cards carried no special cache at the time, the 1950s featured no shortage of Hall of Fame rookie cards. Still, that's the one group of cards this article will NOT consider, instead focusing on the Scorching Hot Non-Rookie Cards of the 1950s.

1953 Topps Satchel Paige

While Old Satch made his Topps debut in the 1953 set, his generally accepted rookie cards date back to the 1949 Bowman and Leaf sets, the latter of which is often catalogued as 1948. Notably, by the time the 1953 Topps Satchel Paige card was issued, the former Negro League ace had already pitched in more than 1,000 professional games, according to incredible new research from Mark Armour of the Society for American Baseball Research. Even more remarkably, Paige would go on to pitch in nearly a thousand more!

1952 Topps Mickey Mantle

Not surprisingly, the "Holy Grail" of the Modern Hobby makes an appearance on the list of scorching hot non-rookie cards. About the only disagreement might come from the faction of collectors who regard the 1952 Topps card as Mantle's rookie. While such a viewpoint has little factual basis given that the Mick was already in the 1951 Bowman set, the Hobby is as much governed by lore as by fact. As such, this may be an example where enough people believing something for all intents and purposes makes it true!

1952 Topps Jackie Robinson

RELATED: The Five Essential Baseball Cards of Jackie Robinson

Like Mantle, Jackie earned his first Topps baseball card in 1952, either 3, 4, or 5 years following his rookie card, depending who you ask. Also like Mantle, Robinson's card came as part of the 1952 Topps storied high numbers, adding a bit to its mystique. In fact, the Robinson card, at 312, immediately followed Mantle's famous card 311 on the Topps checklist.

1954 Bowman Ted Williams

In early 1954, Topps archrival Bowman issued a gorgeous baseball card of Ted Williams. There was only one problem. The Splendid Splinter had already signed an exclusive deal with Topps. Oops. As a result, Bowman yanked the card fairly early, replacing it with Ted's teammate Jim Piersall and creating a rarity in the process.

1959 Home Run Derby Hank Aaron

One of the toughest sets of the decade didn't come from Topps or Bowman but instead from a promotion tied to the popular Home Run Derby television show. For that reason, even though the card came out five years after his rookie card, the Home Run Derby Aaron has a price tag comparable to the the Hammer's iconic 1954 Topps card.

Hank Aaron during his 1957 NL MVP season | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC