Teammates And Friends As They Should Be Remembered…On Baseball Cards

A reader from Indianapolis recently sent me a photo of a prized baseball card and asked about the same 1957 Topps card of Reds teammates Gus Bell and Wally Post.  Happily, I will share our communications with the rest of you who might be old baseball card fans, yourselves.

What a joy it was when some weeks ago I received an email from a Press Pros reader from Indianapolis who wrote the following:

“Sonny…Some time ago I ran across a PPM article you wrote about former Reds player Wally Post, with a picture of Post’s 1962 Reds card, and the cover photo from Sports Illustrated in 1956, picturing Post, Ted Kluszewski, and Gus Bell.  As an old Reds fan it was always my understanding that those three, along with Joe Nuxhall, were close friends on the Reds.  And, I wondered if you had ever taken the time to look at Post’s and Bell’s own 1957 Topps cards, a particular favorite year for many card collectors, including myself.  If you have, I would be interested in hearing what you think about those cards, as I have an almost complete ’57 set of Reds players.  In addition, I greatly enjoyed the story about the Post family in St. Henry, Ohio, and someday I hope to visit St. Henry, where Wally Post now rests.  All the best,”  … Pat Fitzgerald

First I will say that the 1957 Topps cards are a highly sought after set of cards for their photo quality.  And by that I mean that the players in that set of cards were all well-posed to make them as recognizable as possible to card buyers when they went to see the players at the ballparks.  Being as it was 1957, the actual print quality or some of the cards did leave something to be desired compared to more modern printing methods, but found in mint condition those cards are still very nice to look at.

Second, in that same article you mentioned from five years ago, I had spent time with the Post family who shared that, indeed, Wally Post, Ted Kluszewski, Gus Bell and Joe Nuxhall were all close friends, and that some of their children were close friends with the Post children growing up during the baseball seasons in Cincinnati.  If memory serves, Wally’s daughter, Sue Post (now Hoying), mentioned that they had been good friends with Jim O’Toole’s children during the early 60s.  And when Wally Post passed away prematurely (he was 52) in 1982, it’s my understanding that many of those players attended his funeral in St. Henry.

The Sports Illustrated cover that you mentioned is one of my prized old photos from a copy of the magazine that I found at a garage sale in Piqua, Ohio, years ago.  It was in pristine condition.  It still is, and I used it to copy the photo (above) that appeared in the article you read.  It’s a neat picture because the three of them just look like they would be good friends, like teenage boys.

As for the three Topps cards you asked about, in my opinion the Kluszewski card is the best of the three.  The lighting for the photo was better, the background was better, and the pose of Big Klu was better.  Back in those days Topps used a lot of different photographers to save money and travel and few of them made those shots with any kind of posing consistency.

I do like the the Post and Bell card, however, because I think they look very natural.  And with the Post card, it reminds me a lot of how Wally Post looked when I first met him at Crosley Field in 1962.  The Reds were playing the Mets that day and Wally hit a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to win the game.  Having met in prior to the game, it was a thrill for a 10-year-old that I’ll never forget.

And the Bell photo is cool because every card of Gus Bell ever made looks like Gus Bell did in that ’57 Topps card.  He just had a knack for looking like Gus Bell.

The same can be said about the Joe Nuxhall card from the same set.  Over the years Joe changed very little in appearance on his baseball cards, and almost always struck a classic pitching pose for the photos.

It’s also notable that at least some of the cards pictured here were taken at the old Polo Grounds, in New York, because Topps headquarters were in New York City, and many of the cards in that day were made from photos taken at the Polo Grounds or Yankee Stadium.

As for the collectible value of those cards, I have a friend in the Chicago area that has one of the country’s best collection of vintage baseball cards, including the 1957s.

And just about all of the ’57s, in near-mint shape, have marketable value, with the Kluszewski card being the most expensive, at least according to him.

I’ll also add that finding these cards in near-mint shape is like looking for a needle in a haystack.  Because, back in those days kids would take their baseball cards and play baseball games with them, or put them in the spokes of a bicycle to make noise like a motor scooter.

They thought it was cool, never giving thought to what a mint condition Ted Kluszewski card might be worth in 2026.  It is documented that Klu’s card, in perfect shape, has sold for as much as $2,500!

The neatest thing about them is…they just look old.  And while they might not be in mint, or even pristine condition, they do look like, in most cases, that they’ve been cared for…and that they meant something to someone back in the day.

And Pat, I appreciate your taking the time to send photos of your card, and I’m also sure that many people in St. Henry will appreciate the story behind the 1957 Topps cards featuring Ted Kluszewski, Gus Bell, and Wally Post.

And one final bit of nostalgia.   Back when Waite Hoyt was broadcasting the Reds games on WCKY, he often had colorful nicknames for many of the Reds players in the 50s.  And when Wally Post would come to the plate to hit Hoyt frequently referred to him as “The St. Wendelin Walloper.”  Waite had never been to St. Wendelin, Ohio, but because of Wally he looked it up…knew where it was.

A far cry from the Tommy Thralls of this day.