1961 Golden Press

This set originally came inside a booklet and the cards are of the "punch out" variety. With Topps cornering most of the market with exclusive player contracts during this time, most sets featured Hall of Fame or retired players. This set features thirty-three cards of the greatest players from the first half of the twentieth century.

What separates this release from Topps and Fleer are the photograph choices and the colorization. Featuring "in action" poses, it brings to life many top tier players of the past in a way that was rarely depicted on cardboard before on a consistent basis.

The coloring is off just enough to give the cards an ethereal look to the past. It still gives vibrancy to these players. The little details still show up in the cards. In Eddie Collins' card, the historic arched windows of Comiskey Park are clearly there in the background. They cannot be mistaken for another park, which gives the card more poignancy since old Comiskey was demolished after the 1990 season.

Even though most places list Eddie Collins as being on the Athletics, that is clearly a White Sox uniform on him and he's on the field at Comiskey Park in Chicago. So he is the only White Sox card in this set. There are other subjects who played for the White Sox, but no one else is pictured in a White Sox uniform.

28 - Eddie Collins

This is a unique set for the time. It could almost be a precursor to the SP Legendary Cuts sets that Upper Deck put out in the 2000s. The design has a very similar feel. Although the card itself feels nothing like those sets due to the perforations that held the cards in the booklet.

This is a great short set consisting of thirty-three cards that can be picked up fairly inexpensively. Don't expect to find these in pristine condition because of how they were sold originally.