Ted Williams is one of the best baseball players of all-time and in some experts opinions he was “the best”… some say if he was a New York Yankee he would have been named the #1 athlete of all-time when ESPN did the “Top 100 Athletes of the 20th Century” but we regress.
Let’s take a look at 2 of the most underrated Ted Williams baseball cards.
1948 Ted Williams Leaf #76 (buy on eBay)
From pre-war to post-war, and what a difference a decade makes! The 1948 Leaf Williams card is a key to the set, while it’s amazing to look at compared to the drab cards from the past.
There’s a shot of the player leaning back as he prepares to swing a bat, with lots of detail found in the crumples of his shirt. A lively red background is a condition sensitive, but it helps to grab attention, while his name is listed at the bottom in a blue box with white text. The strong color scheme is one of the reasons why it’s so popular, and it puts many modern cards to shame.
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Given the age, print defects, and centering issues are typical and hold back the majority of copies from achieving a higher grade.
2005 Mickey Mantle & Ted Williams SP Legendary Cuts Dual #DCMW (buy on eBay)
Fast-forward almost 50 years and you’ll find the 2005 SP Legendary Cuts release. Part of a 90-card set, this duo card celebrates two of baseball’s legendary HOFers: Mickey Mantle and Williams.
What sets it apart is a duo of certified player autographs, taking up the majority of the space found on the landscape card. Upper Deck sourced the autos from a number of reputable dealers, so each card is different from the next. There are small images of both Mantle and Williams in the bottom left corner, with each veteran holding a bat in a classic pose. SP logos are found in the middle, noting that the card is one of the ‘Dual Cuts’.
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There are just four copies altogether. The serial number is filled in black ink and is found on the bottom right corner.