#333 Rube Walker - Brooklyn Dodgers

Albert Bluford Walker
Brooklyn Dodgers
Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  175
Born:  May 16, 1926, Lenoir, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1948-51; Brooklyn Dodgers 1951-57; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958

Died:  December 12, 1992, Morganton, NC (age 66)

Rube Walker was a back-up catcher for 11 big league seasons and then a long-time pitching coach for another 21 big league seasons.  Walker came up with the Cubs and the 79 games he played in as a rookie in 1948 were his career high.  He'd start 50 games behind the plate for the Cubs in 1950, again a high water mark.  Walker was included in a blockbuster eight-player deal with the Dodgers in June 1951, heading to Brooklyn along with Andy Pafko (#312) and Wayne Terwilliger (#73).  He'd serve as Roy Campanella's (#101) back-up from 1951 to 1957, and Walker was behind the plate in the 1951 National League tie-breaker series when Bobby Thomson (#257) hit his Shot Heard 'Round the World to send the rival Giants to the World Series.  The Dodgers went to four World Series with Walker on the roster, but his only postseason action came as a pinch-hitter during the 1956 series against the Yankees.

Walker transitioned to a coaching role during his final season with the Dodgers in 1958.  In 608 games, he batted .227 with 35 home runs and 192 RBIs.  Walker was a minor league manager between 1959 and 1964, and then a long-time pitching coach for the Senators (1965-67), Mets (1968-81) and Braves (1982-84).  He won a World Series ring with the Mets in 1969, and was a trusted advisor to Hall of Famers Gil Hodges (#145), Casey Stengel, Yogi Berra (#110) and Joe Torre.

December 12, 2003 - My family at the Buena Tavern

Building the Set
December 25, 2003 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #251
My Dad/Santa brought me nine cards for our set for Christmas in 2003, with all but one of the cards coming from his dealer of choice, Kit Young Cards in San Diego.  The Brooklyn Dodgers team card (#166) was the lone non-Kit Young Cards addition, as that card came from TemDee in Turnersville, New Jersey.  It was a strange mix of commons from Kit Young Cards, with no semi-star or star card to balance out the lot.  We were admittedly in a lull collecting the set, with only 18 cards added during all of 2003 and only six cards added, as Christmas presents, in 2004.

Pictures from the Christmas of 2003 show us opening gifts at my Mom's house on December 26th, which has since become a tradition for us.  So while the official set records indicate these nine cards were added on December 25th, it was most likely a day later I opened the cards while in Millville.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set
Walker never appeared in a Bowman set and had an impressive run of Topps set appearances between 1952 and 1958.  The bigger photo is the same used on Walker's 1954 and 1955 Topps cards.  That's likely him sliding into a Giants' infielder, as Walker wore #10 with the Dodgers during his entire run with the club.  The back of the card highlights his minor league success and his strong throwing arm.  Topps reprinted the card in its 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers box set.

1956 Season

Walker's career was winding down at this point.  He appeared in 54 games overall, making 37 starts behind the plate to give Campanella days off.  Walker batted .212 with three home runs and 20 RBIs.

1952 Topps #319

1954 Topps #153

1957 Topps #147

1958 Topps #203

1974 Topps #179

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #319
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1952-58, 1973-74
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2005 Topps Dem Bums #DB-RW

48 - Walker non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/13/25.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #332 Don Larsen - New York Yankees / #334 Bob Miller - Philadelphia Phillies

Order Collected: #297 Bob Skinner - Pittsburgh Pirates / #334 Bob Miller - Philadelphia Phillies

#299 Charley Neal - Brooklyn Dodgers

Charles Lenard Neal
Brooklyn Dodgers
Second Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  165
Born:  January 30, 1931, Longview, TX
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1956-57; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-61; New York Mets 1962-63; Cincinnati Reds 1963

Died:  November 18, 1996, Dallas, TX (age 65)

Charlie Neal's career year in 1959 corresponded with the Dodgers winning the National League pennant and ultimately the World Series.  Making his debut in 1956, Neal served as a back-up second baseman to Jim Gilliam (#280) and started Game 3 of the 1956 World Series against the Yankees and Whitey Ford (#240).  He became the club's regular shortstop in 1957, with future Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese (#260) making the move to third base.  In 1958, and now playing in the Dodgers' new home in Los Angeles, Neal tied Gil Hodges (#145) for the team lead in home runs with 22.  Neal and left fielder Wally Moon (#55) were the two top sluggers for the Dodgers in 1959.  Neal became a World Series hero when he hit two home runs in Game 2 against the White Sox, with the Dodgers eventually won the series in six games.  He batted .370 in that World Series, and for the regular season he batted .287 with a league-leading 11 triples, 19 home runs and 83 RBIs.  Neal won his only Gold Glove following the 1959 season, and he'd also be named to three All-Star teams between 1959 and 1960.

Dealt to the Mets for their inaugural season, Neal was the opening day second baseman for Casey Stengel's expansion team.  He'd bat .260 for the 120-loss Mets in his last full year as a regular.  He'd play one more season in 1963 with the Mets and Reds before retiring.  Neal batted .259 in 970 big league games, collecting 858 hits, 87 home runs and 391 RBIs.

January 28, 2006 - Celebrating Dad's 62nd birthday

Building the Set
December 3, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #275
This was a relatively late edition to our set and one of eight cards we purchased at the 93rd Philadelphia Sports Card Show held at the convention center in Ft. Washington.  My notes say we purchased this Neal card for a little over $7.  With the Ocean City baseball card shows long gone by now, our only options for local baseball card shows were the "Philly Shows" held in Ft. Washington or the occasional mall baseball card show. 

My Dad didn't like the drive to Ft. Washington, and this would have been one of only a few shows we attended together in this location.  Looking at my records of when and where we purchased our cards, a full year would go by before we'd add any more cards to the set.

The year-long hiatus in collecting the set came at a time my wife and I were expecting our first son and as we moved into our first real house.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set
Bowman beat Topps with Neal's rookie card appearing in their 1955 set.  Topps reprinted this card in their 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set.  The action shot on the front looks to be a spring training sliding drill, as the player tagging out Neal is also wearing a Dodgers' hat.  The cartoons on the back of the card summarize Neal taking on the second base job in 1956 and his speed on the basepaths.  He'd steal a career-high 17 bases in 1959, and had 48 stolen bases for his career.

1956 Season

Neal was the opening day second baseman for the Dodgers, with incumbent second baseman Gilliam moving to left field.  With manager Walter Alston (#8) needing more offense out of his line-up, Neal was benched in early May and would make a handful of starts throughout the rest of the season.  Gillliam would end up with the majority of the starts at second, with Jackie Robinson (#30) sliding back over to second base for 22 starts.  Neal batted .287 in 62 games, collecting a pair of home runs and 14 RBIs.

Given the start at second base in Game 3 of the World Series, Neal went 0 for 4 and made an error, leading to an unearned run.  It would be his only postseason action until he redeemed himself in the 1959 World Series.

1955 Bowman #278

1959 Topps #427

1960 Topps #386

1963 Topps #511

1964 Topps #436

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #278
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1956-64
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers #163

74 - Neal non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/13/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #298 Johnny Schmitz - Boston Red Sox / #300 Vic Wertz - Cleveland Indians

Order Collected: #195 George Kell - Chicago White Sox / #303 Jim Dyck - Baltimore Orioles

#295 Clem Labine - Brooklyn Dodgers

Clement Walter Labine
Brooklyn Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  August 6, 1926, Lincoln, RI
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1950-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1960; Detroit Tigers 1960; Pittsburgh Pirates 1960-1961; New York Mets 1962

Died:  March 2, 2007, Vero Beach, FL (age 80)

Clem Labine was a two-time All-Star and a three-time World Series Champion, best known for his 11 seasons as one of the Dodgers' best firemen.  Labine was a key member of the Dodgers' bullpen throughout the 1950s, leading the league with 60 appearances the year the Dodgers won their only title in Brooklyn in 1955.  Labine was 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA and a save in four World Series games against the Yankees in 1955, and although the Dodgers lost their repeat bid in 1956 against the Yankees, he was even better than the year before, throwing 12 scoreless innings.  Although not an official statistic at the time, Labine has been retroactively credited with leading the league with 19 saves in 1956, and 17 saves in 1957.  Those were also his two All-Star seasons.

Labine moved with the Dodgers to Los Angeles, pitching in 2 1/2 seasons on the West Coast, and winning another ring with the Dodgers in 1959.  Moving to Pittsburgh in 1960, Labine would win one more World Series ring with the Pirates, and he retired after appearing in three games for the expansion Mets in 1962.  At the time of his retirement, Labine's 94 career saves ranked fourth all-time, and he was the Dodgers' franchise leader in saves and games pitched with 425.  Overall, Labine was 77-56 with a 3.63 ERA in 513 games and 1,079 2/3 innings pitched.

Building the Set
August 13, 1989 in Bridgeton, NJ - Card #83
We went nuts at the Bridgeton Baseball Card Show in August 1989, buying 12 different cards for our 1956 Topps set, all at $1.50 a piece.  That's an impressive haul for $18!


I have no other information on the location of this show, other than it was held in the nearby city of Bridgeton, New Jersey.  What I do have however is the checklist I brought with us to the show.  I believe this is the second full checklist we carried around, having retired the prior version I created in 1988 and posted with the William Harridge (#1) card.

Just looking at this checklist brings back fond memories of finding the cards, deciding to make a purchase, negotiating a price and then finding a flat surface so that we could cross off the newest additions.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set
I spent a little bit of time trying to figure out the company advertisements behind Labine as the pitcher poses in Ebbetts Field, and I came up empty.  Labine was in both the 1954 and 1955 Topps sets, and the main photo here is re-used from his 1955 Topps card.  The cartoon panels on the back of the card highlight his 1955 World Series appearances and his low breaking curve.  He's also referred to as a "reliefer."

Topps reprinted the card in its 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set.

1956 Season

Labine enjoyed an All-Star season for the National League Champions, going 10-6 with a 3.35 ERA in 62 games pitched.  He recorded 19 saves to lead the league, and struck out 75 in 115 2/3 innings pitched.  Labine pitched the biggest and perhaps best game of his career in Game 6 of the 1956 World Series.  With the Yankees holding a 3-2 series lead following Don Larsen's (#332) perfect game in Game 5, manager Walter Alston (#8) named reliever Labine as his starting pitcher for Game 6.  Labine threw 10 scoreless innings, out dueling Yankees' starter Bob Turley (#40).  The Dodgers won the game in the bottom of the 10th, forcing a Game 7, when Jim Gilliam (#280) walked and came around to score on Jackie Robinson's (#30) RBI single.

1952 Topps #342

1953 Topps #14

1957 Topps #53

1959 Topps #403

1961 Topps #22

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #342
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1952-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2006 Topps Heritage Then and Now #TN10

95 - Labine non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/16/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #294 Ernie Johnson - Milwaukee Braves / #296 Andy Seminick - Philadelphia Phillies

Order Collected: #285 Eddie Miksis - Chicago Cubs / #296 Andy Seminick - Philadelphia Phillies

#280 Jim Gilliam - Brooklyn Dodgers

James William Gilliam
Brooklyn Dodgers
Outfield

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  175
Born:  October 17, 1928, Nashville, TN
Acquired:  Purchased with Joe Black (#178) by the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Baltimore Elite Giants (Negro League) for $11,000, before 1951 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Elite Giants (1946-1948); Brooklyn Dodgers 1953-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1966

Died:  October 8, 1978, Inglewood, CA (age 49)

After his first three seasons in professional baseball with the Baltimore Elite Giants, Jim "Junior" Gilliam joined the Dodgers organization in 1951 and he'd serve as a player and popular coach with the club until his untimely death in 1978.  Gilliam made his debut with the Dodgers in 1953 as their opening day second baseman, sharing an infield with Gil Hodges (#145) at first base, Pee Wee Reese (#260) at shortstop and Jackie Robinson (#30) at third base.  He'd win Rookie of the Year honors that year, while batting .278 with 21 stolen bases and leading the league with 17 triples.  As a player, Gilliam was a member of seven pennant-winning Dodgers teams, with his club winning World Championships in 1955, 1959, 1963 and 1965.  He was a four-time All-Star.  Gilliam retired with a .265 average, 1,889 hits and 203 stolen bases.

He joined the Dodgers' coaching staff in 1965 while still an active player, switching over to a full-time coaching role in 1967.  With the Dodgers through the 1978 season, Gilliam was a part of three more pennant winning teams in 1974, 1977 and 1978.  He passed away at the end of the 1978 season following a massive brain hemorrhage and Gilliam's #19 was retired prior to Game 1 of the 1978 World Series.

Building the Set
August 16, 1987 from Cooperstown, NY - Card #48
This was one of the first four cards we purchased in the summer of 1987, officially marking the beginning of us collecting the 1956 Topps set.  As told now frequently in our set's origin story, and most recently with the post for the Walker Cooper (#273) card, I was essentially gifted with a shoebox of vintage Topps baseball cards in the summer of 1983 or 1984.  Within the spoils were 44 cards from the 1956 Topps set – by far the most cards from any one set.  I studied them, I sorted them, and I pretty much memorized every detail of those 44 cards.

A few years later, in the summer of 1987 while on a family vacation, I was giddy with excitement when we came across a few 1956 Topps cards in the Walker Gallery on the main drag in Cooperstown, New York.  It was our first trip to Cooperstown, and details from that family vacation still make up several of my most important core memories from my childhood.  My Dad and I studied the cards for sale and he casually asked me the question, “Why don’t we try to put together the whole set?” We bought four cards that day for $9.25, including this Gilliam card which was all of $3.25.  Those cards, along with the 44 from the magic shoebox, became the basis for our 1956 Topps set.

That small but incredibly meaningful purchase meant so much to me that I tacked a Walker Gallery business card to my bulletin board in my bedroom on 12th Street, where it hung for years.  I also felt compelled to clip the price tags from the rigid plastic sleeves in which each of these cards were originally purchased.  I knew then I wanted to remember everything about the purchase, and these are included at the back of our 1956 Topps binder, along with other ephemera from baseball card shows, stores and special occasions when cards were added to our set.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set
Gilliam is the rare example of a player appearing in all four Bowman and Topps sets from 1954 and 1955.  The head shot photo from his 1955 Topps card is reused here, and the action photo could very well be a Yankees baserunner sliding into second base during the 1953 or 1955 World Series.  The cartoons on the back focus on his career highlights to date.  Gilliam scored at least 100 runs each season between 1953 and 1956.  The second cartoon panel has an uncorrected error, as Gilliam starred in the 1953 World Series, and not 1952.

Topps reprinted the card as part of its 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set.

1956 Season

This was Gilliam's best season statistically as he batted an even .300 over 153 games with 102 runs scored, 23 doubles, eight triples and 43 RBIs.  His 21 stolen bases were second in the league behind Willie Mays (#130), who had 40.  He walked 95 times and had a career-best OBP of .399.  Gilliam was one of the top offensive players on the team, trailing only center fielder Duke Snider (#150) in bWAR for the Dodgers.  As a testament to his versatility, Gilliam started 152 games - 98 at second base, 49 in left field and five in right field.

1953 Topps #258

1955 Topps #5

1959 Topps #306

1962 Topps #486

1974 Topps #144

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Topps #258
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1953-1964, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Donruss #208

152 - Gilliam non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/30/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #279 Johnny Groth - Kansas City Athletics / #281 Art Houtteman - Cleveland Indians

Order Collected: #253 Irv Noren - New York Yankees / #60 Mayo Smith MG - Philadelphia Phillies

#270 Billy Loes - Brooklyn Dodgers

William Loes
Brooklyn Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  165
Born:  December 13, 1929, Long Island City, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1950, 1952-1956; Baltimore Orioles 1956-1959; San Francisco Giants 1960-1961

Died:  July 15, 2010, Tucson, AZ (age 80)

Known for his oddball and sometimes zany comments to the press, Billy Loes pitched for 11 seasons in the majors, winning a World Series ring with the Dodgers in 1955.  After 10 games in 1950 and missing all of 1951 while in the military, Loes stuck with the Dodgers in 1952 as a 22-year-old swingman.  He'd go 13-8 with a 2.69 that season for Brooklyn in what may have been his best year.  On the eve of the World Series against the Yankees, he made headlines by predicting the Yankees would likely win in seven games.  Helping to prove his prediction, Loes was the losing pitcher in Game 6.  In that game, the Yankees scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning on a ground ball that hit off Loes' leg.  He told reporters afterward he had lost the ground ball in the sun.

Loes also proclaimed he'd never want to be a 20-game winner, "because then I'd be expected to do it every year."  He'd win at least 10 games in five different seasons, including a career-high 14 in 1954.  To add to his persona, Loes was incredibly superstitious, waiting to go to the mound only after the opposing base coaches were in position, and going periods of time without uttering a word to anyone during mound visits.  Sold to the Orioles in May 1956, Loes made the All-Star team in 1957 and was 12-7 with a 3.24 ERA for Baltimore in 1957.  He'd pitch through the 1961 season with the Orioles and Giants, primarily as a reliever, before retiring from the game.  In 316 major league games, Loes was 80-63 with a 3.89 ERA and he recorded 645 strikeouts over 1,190 1/3 innings pitched.

Building the Set

December 25, 2006 from Mays Landing, NJ - Card #286
I was officially given this card on Christmas Day in 2006, but my Dad had purchased it several weeks (months?) earlier at a baseball card show held at the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing, New Jersey.

This was one of nine cards I received that Christmas from my Dad, and he spent a total of $210 on all nine cards with the Hank Aaron (#31) card being the big ticket item at $150.  Like all his purchases, he was extremely proud of this card's condition and I'm sure there was a negotiation story that went along with the acquisition.

Our first son Doug was born a few weeks before Christmas that year and we brought him home just in time for the big day.  He obviously doesn't remember much from his first Christmas, but he spent the holidays being held and loved by his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  One of the great joys of my life was seeing how proud my Dad was to have a grandson.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set
Loes was exclusive with Bowman in 1954 and 1955, returning to Topps in 1956.  In the action photo, his uniform #30 can be seen, and that was the number he wore with Brooklyn between 1952 and 1956.  Behind Loes, several other Dodgers players can be seen warming up, along with some potential autograph seekers lined up in the Ebbets Field box seats.  The cartoons on the back cover his arm injury in 1955, his signing out of high school and his pitch repertoire.  The card was reprinted as part of the 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set.

1956 Season

Loes spent spring training battling shoulder pain, which at one point got so bad he threatened to quit baseball.  He made just one start with the Dodgers on April 29th, lasting 1 1/3 innings and giving up six runs on five hits to the Pirates.  On May 14th, the Orioles acquired him as a waiver claim, paying the Dodgers $20,000.  Loes pitched in 21 games for the Orioles, making six starts, and was 2-7 with a 4.76 ERA in 56 2/3 innings pitched.  He thew a complete game on June 30th against the Red Sox, and also notched three saves.

1952 Topps #20

1953 Topps #174

1954 Bowman #42

1957 Topps #244

1961 Topps #237

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #20
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1952-1953, 1956-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers #160

44 - Loes non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/21/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #269 Jack Meyer - Philadelphia Phillies / #271 Foster Castleman - New York Giants

Order Collected: #241 Don Mueller - New York Giants / #103 Willie Miranda - Baltimore Orioles

#260 "Pee Wee" Reese - Brooklyn Dodgers

Harold Henry Reese
Brooklyn Dodgers
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  160
Born:  July 23, 1918, Ekron, KY
Acquired:  Obtained by the Boston Red Sox from the Louisville Colonels (American Association) as part of a minor league working agreement
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1940-1942, 1946-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958

Hall of Fame Induction:  1984

Died:  August 14, 1999, Louisville, KY (age 81)

Pee Wee Reese was one of the biggest stars and the captain of the Dodgers throughout the 1940s and 1950s, earning 10 All-Star Game nods and helping his team to seven National League pennants.  Reese came up with the Dodgers in 1940 and he'd make his first All-Star team in 1942.  After missing three full seasons while serving during World War II, Reese returned in 1946 and enjoyed nine straight All-Star seasons with the Dodgers, culminating with a World Series win over the Yankees in 1955.  While playing steady defense at shortstop, he led the league in runs scored with 132 in 1949, in walks with 104 in 1947 and in stolen bases with 30 in 1952.  Reese batted .272 in 44 World Series games, and finished in the Top 10 of National League MVP voting eight times.  Reese showed unwavering support for his teammate Jackie Robinson (#30) during Robinson's early days in the majors.  With racial slurs from spectators and opposing players, along with teammates initially refusing to play with Robinson, it was Reese who accepted and welcomed Robinson, putting his arm around him during pregame warm-ups before a game in Cincinnati.  

The popular Reese played one season with the Dodgers in Los Angeles following their move west, retiring after the 1958 season.  He batted .269 with 2,170 hits and 1,338 runs scored and with Robinson at second, comprised one of the finest double play combinations of his era.  Reese still ranks among the top of all shortstops in games played (19th with 2,014), putouts (12th with 4,040) and assists (26th with 5,891).  The Dodgers retired his #1 in 1984, the same year the Veteran's Committee inducted him into the Hall of Fame.  Reese was a long-time announcer for nationally televised games throughout the 1960s.

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #332

I last shared this full story with the Whitey Ford (#240) post, but I'll repeat myself, in an edited version, here.  The way my Dad and I finished the 1956 Topps set was somewhat anti-climatic but nevertheless a joyful memory.  Leading up to the Christmas of 2007, my Dad (with the help of my Mom) scoured eBay and other online baseball card stores for the remaining 29 cards we needed to complete the set.  Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the holidays, he knew we had completed the set but he kept it quiet, wanting to surprise me on Christmas morning.  I have no idea, and I'll never know, what the true last card was that he acquired to finish off the set.  And I have no record, nor was he able to tell me, how much they had paid for any of these final 29 cards.  This Reese card was one of the final 29.  Normally, this would have been considered a marquee card to add, but some of the other cards included within that final 29 haul were Roberto Clemente (#33), Whitey Ford (#240) and a spotless Checklist card for the 1st and 3rd Series.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set
Reese was exclusively with Bowman in 1954 and 1955, and this marks his first Topps card since 1953.  The first cartoon on the back celebrate Reese's status as one of the Dodgers' all-time greats.  The final cartoon panel explains he received his nickname by playing marbles and not entirely because of his short stature.  The card was reprinted as part of the 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set, and again in the 2019 Topps Update Iconic Card Reprint insert set.

I'm almost positive the action shot on the card is from a photo taken on October 4, 1955, during Game 6 of the World Series, and I found the photo (shown above) from Getty Images.  A Topps artist must have been tasked with moving the ball from in front of Reese's face to a foot or so to the side of him.  The play happened in the bottom of the seventh.  With Billy Martin (#181) on first, Yogi Berra (#110) grounded to first base, with Gil Hodges (#145) throwing to Reese to force out Martin.  Reese's throw back to first would be late, with the Yankees avoiding the double play.  The Yankees would win the game, 5-1, but Johnny Podres (#173) pitched a shutout in Game 7 to give Brooklyn their lone World Championship title.

1956 Season

Reese and the Dodgers enjoyed one last hurrah in Brooklyn, winning the National League pennant, but this time falling to the Yankees in seven games in the World Series.  Now 37 years old, Reese was still the club's regular shortstop, playing in 147 games and batting .257 with nine home runs and 46 RBIs.  It was to be his last year as a regular, with Charlie Neal (#299) getting the bulk of playing time at shortstop for the Dodgers in 1957.

1941 Play Ball #54

1951 Bowman #80

1952 Topps #333

1953 Bowman Color #33

1958 Topps #375

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1941 Play Ball #54
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1952-1953, 1956-1958
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary #341

702 - Reese non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/20/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

National Baseball Hall of Fame

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #259 Sam Jones - Chicago Cubs / #261 Bobby Shantz - Kansas City Athletics

Order Collected: #257 Bobby Thomson - Milwaukee Braves / #271 Foster Castleman - New York Giants