1956 Topps
1956 · Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. (Brooklyn, NY)
340 cards with team-card and horizontal-action design. Heavy on white-back / gray-back variations (~196 cards have both). Includes Mickey Mantle #135, Hank Aaron #31, Roberto Clemente #33, AL/NL President cards Will Harridge #1 and Warren Giles #2.
Key Facts
- Release
- 1956
- Manufacturer
- Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. (Brooklyn, NY)
- Distribution
- One card plus bubble gum per nickel pack; Mantle returns to Topps after the Topps–Bowman exclusivity war ended
- Card stock
- Color cardstock with team-color player portrait paired with action shot below, 2⅝″ × 3¾″
- Printer / Designer
- Sy Berger (Topps) — debut of the iconic team-action-scene layout
- Series
- Single 340-card issue (with white-back and gray-back variations for cards #1–180)
- Total cards
- 544
Key Cards
Mickey Mantle (#135)
Mantle's Triple Crown season — back with Topps after his Bowman tenure ended.
Willie Mays (#130)
Say Hey Kid post-1954 World Series, fully in his prime.
Hank Aaron (#31)
Aaron coming off his first All-Star selection — third-year card.
Roberto Clemente (#33)
Clemente's sophomore card — Pirates star in his second pro season.
Sandy Koufax (#79)
Sandy's first Topps card after his RC year — still finding his command.
Ted Williams (#5)
Splendid Splinter's middle-prime card.
Jackie Robinson (#30)
Robinson's final Topps card — retired after the 1956 season.
Ernie Banks (#15)
Mr. Cub in his breakout 28-HR season as a shortstop.
Harmon Killebrew (#164)
Killer's second-year card — still developing into a power threat.
Duke Snider (#150)
Snider during the Brooklyn Dodgers' final championship-window season.
Yogi Berra (#110)
Berra in his third-MVP-window year — anchoring the Yankees behind the plate.
Don Larsen (#332)
Issued the year Larsen threw his perfect game in the World Series.