Three Iconic Rookie Cards Help 1955 Topps Set Stay a Favorite
Like the early baseball card sets produced by Topps, the 1955 edition is significant in more ways than one.
With 206 cards, the 1955 set is numerically the smallest Topps flagship release. The set, which turns 70 in 2025, also marked the first time Topps displayed the card image horizontally, making for a stunning visual.
Even today, the overall impact of a set on the hobby hinges on the strength of the rookie class, and 1955 is no different. The fourth Topps flagship release is buoyed by the rookie cards of three Hall of Famers: Sandy Koufax (#123), Harmon Killebrew (#124) and Roberto Clemente (#164).
For hobbyists interested in building a collection of Hall of Fame rookie cards, picking up Killebrew’s card is makes for a good foundation since it can be obtained without breaking the bank. A PSA 1 (Poor) graded copy of Killebrew’s rookie card, which has a population of 195, sold on eBay for $99.99 on Jan. 25.
With a Card Ladder value of $103.91, Killebrew’s PSA 1 copies have arguably an undervalued price point, considering Killebrew was a 13-time All-Star who still ranks 12th in baseball history with 573 career home runs. The last PSA 4 (Very Good-Excellent) Killebrew (population 1,345) sold on eBay for $203 on March 21, which isn’t a significant jump in price to presumably pick up a copy with better eye appeal.
Getting into a Sandy Koufax or Roberto Clemente rookie requires a collector to dig deeper into their pockets.
Koufax is a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection in 1972 and is arguably the most dominant left-handed pitcher to ever toe a Major League rubber. With a population of 554, the last PSA 1 Koufax rookie with a sale verified by Card Ladder was a $375 eBay best offer on Tuesday; the most recent sale of an SGC 1 Koufax rookie (population 340) was an eBay sale on March 20 for $425.
The last Card Ladder-verified sale of a Koufax rookie graded a 2.5 (Good+) by SGC (population 267) was an eBay auction that concluded on Tuesday with a winning bid of $597.77. An SGC 1.5 (Fair) Koufax (population 282) selling for $600 on March 19 reflects how beauty is in the eye of the beholder for vintage collectors, some of whom might value centering regarding eye appeal; other collectors might prefer an off-center or miscut card with cleaner corners and edges.
Arguably, the most coveted card in the 1955 set is Clemente’s rookie card. An SGC 1 (population 209) was sold in an eBay auction on March 20 with a winning bid of $898.88, while the last SGC 1.5 (Fair, population 181) was sold on Tuesday for $949 on eBay.
The 1955 set also includes the second Topps flagship cards of Ted Williams (#2), Al Kaline (#4), Ernie Banks (#28) and Hank Aaron (#47). What the set loses in luster by not featuring Mickey Mantle, who was under contract with Bowman and wasn't featured in the Topps flagship sets for 1954 and 1955, the inclusion of three iconic rookie cards among a total of 20 Hall of Fame players (Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays among them) cushions the blow, to say the least.
-1f9b5aba42acf122a9de17edfe18f6ad.jpeg "Jeff Howe")
Jeff Howe is a sports writer with over two decades of professional experience contributing to ESPN.com, Rivals.com and the Sporting News, among other publications. He currently reports on the Texas Longhorns for “On Texas Football” after covering the Longhorns for 247Sports and CBS Sports. His hobby journey started when he was 6 years old, hanging out at his dad’s card shop and collecting cards alongside his two brothers.