Lot # 1398: 1961 Topps Near-Complete Set (585/587)

Presented is a very sharp-looking near-complete set of 1961 Topps consisting of 585 different cards (out of 587 in the set), missing only #42 and 542 Twins Team for completion. The 1961 Topps set includes five different Mickey Mantle cards, and was Topps' first venture into the popular League Leader subset. The Most Valuable Player subset, an extremely difficult high-number run, and the rookie cards of Juan Marichal, Billy Williams, and Ron Santo also highlight this set. Condition is 30% Ex to Ex-Mt (including a couple Nr/Mt), 57% Vg to Vg-Ex, and 13% lesser (including a couple with a slight miscut). Keys: #2 Maris (Vg), 10 B. Robinson (10/90 L/R, otherwise Ex-Mt), 35 Santo RC (Ex+), 44 AL HR Ldrs (Fr), 80 Killebrew (Vg+), 120 Mathews (Vg), 141 B. Williams RC (Ex), 150 Mays (Gd+), 160 Ford (Vg-Ex), 200 Spahn (Ex), 211 Gibson (Ex), 228 Yankees Team (Ex+), 260 Drysdale (Vg+), 287 Yastrzemski (15/85 L/R and B/T, otherwise Ex), 290 Musial (Ex), 300 Mantle (Vg), 307 Mantle WS Gm. 2 (Ex+), 344 Koufax (Ex-Mt+), 350 Banks (Vg-Ex), 360 F. Robinson (Vg-Ex+), 388 Clemente (Ex), 401 Ruth Hits 60th (Vg-Ex+), 405 Gehrig Benched (Ex+), 406 Mantle Blasts HR (Ex-Mt), 415 Aaron (Gd+), 417 Marichal RC (Vg), 425 Berra (Gd), 429 Kaline (Ex), 443 Snider (Ex+), 475 Mantle MVP (Vg-Ex), 478 Maris MVP (Vg-Ex), 482 Mays MVP (Ex), 484 Aaron MVP (90/10 T/B, otherwise Vg-Ex), 517 McCovey (Vg), 576 Maris AS (PSA EX-MT+ 6.5), 577 Aaron AS (Vg+), 578 Mantle AS (Vg-Ex+), and 579 Mays AS (Vg-Ex). 1961 will always be remembered as a "magical year" in baseball history, and a high-quality, mid-grade near-complete set of 1961 Topps as offered here will always be a highly prized "time capsule." Total: 585 cards.