Willie Mays 1952 #261
Like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays' rookie card was actually the 1951 Bowman edition, but Mays' 1952 Topps was his highest ranked card and placed him third in the rankings for the Baseball Card Hall of Fame. Mays moved up to the majors from Minneapolis in 1951 where he was hitting .477. He started his major league career by going 1 for 26, but manager Leo Durocher had no thoughts of ever sitting him down. Mays responded by winning the Rookie of the Year Award. Mays lost most of 1952 and all of 1953 to the military, but responded in great fashion in 1954 by winning the batting title with a .345 average and the MVP Award. In 1955 he put up great numbers and led the majors with 51 home runs.
He won 12 consecutive Golden Gloves for centerfielders from 1957 to 1968 which legitimizes his status as the best fielding centerfielder of all time. When his hitting and fielding prowess were combined the "Say Hey" kid tops the list as the greatest centerfielder of all time. While Leo Durocher extolled Mays' virtues as a ball player, Mays just went through the motions, rarely getting excited, finding ways to single-handedly beat every other team in the league with his fielding, base running and, oh yes, he could hit too. He was the first five tool player.
