The Artwork That Became Sid Gordon’s 1953 Topps Card

Here’s another piece of original Topps artwork for the archive: the artwork used to create Sid Gordon’s 1953 Topps #117 card.

Unfortunately, that’s about the best scan I could produce from the relatively small image in the catalog.

The piece appeared in Mastro’s December 2002 catalog, where it was described as the original 3-1/2” x 5” artwork for Gordon’s card. Mastro offered it framed alongside two examples of the finished card, with a minimum bid of $1,000.

And here’s the artwork next to the finished card.

Gordon was coming off an excellent run when this card was issued. The two-time All-Star had topped 20 home runs every season from 1948 through 1952 and was nearing the end of his stint with the Braves. In December 1953, he was traded by the Milwaukee Braves, along with Larry Lassalle, Sam Jethroe, Curt Raydon, Max Surkont, Fred Waters and $100,000, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Danny O’Connell.

I haven’t been able to trace the artwork to another public sale or collection after its Mastro appearance, but hopefully it turns up somewhere soon. In the meantime, you can find plenty of copies of Gordon’s 1953 Topps card on eBay.

Happy collecting!