Welcome to the 1955 Topps All American page!
This site is designed to provide information
to collectors about the most original and interesting Topps set ever created.
Introduction
Set Details
More Information
on the set
Did you know...
Images
One More Thing...
Introduction
The 1955 All American set was Topps' third
attempt at a football set. Two earlier sets, in 1950 and 1951, focused on
current college football stars. The 1955 set provided an historical review
of great college players, dating back to the1890's. The real value of the
set, in my opinion, lies with the great college players it recognizes.
The 1955 Topps All Americans feature some
of the greatest superstars in football history. It includes the only regular
issue cards for players such as Red Grange, Ernie Nevers, Jim Thorpe, Don
Hutson, Ace Parker, Mel Hein, and Wilber "Fats" Henry. The All Americans also
include the only card for the famous Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, as well
as one for their coach, Knute Rockne. The first Heisman trophy winner, Jay
Berwanger, is also included in the set, along with ten other Heisman trophy
winners.
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Set Details
The card design
The 1955 Topps All American set has only one
hundred cards. The set was sold in packs of 1 card for a penny, 9 cards for
a nickel and a 22 card cello pack. The cards measure 2 5/8 inches by 3 5/8
inches. Most of the cards have a horizontal design. The cards of Paul Governalli,
Ken Kavanaugh, Gene McEver, Bob Reynolds, and Jim Thorpe have a vertical
design. The card front features a white border, a green, red, yellow, orange
or blue field, and two images. One of the images is a black and white football
action photo, in the background, and the other is a colorized photo of the
player, in the foreground. The front also features the player's name, position
and college or university logo, as well as a red and white shield, with the
phrase All American in blue letters at the top. The card back has a blue
background with black text lettering, a cartoon in conjunction with a football
trivia or football rules quiz, the phrase All American at the bottom in bold
white letters, and the card number, in white, inside a football in the upper
left hand corner. The text on the back usually summarizes the player's career
and accomplishments, and may mention his professional football career as
well. There is no statistical information provided.
Errors
The set contains only one major error, and
some minor ones. The major error involves #14, Gaynell Tinsley and #21, Whizzer
White. On some of these cards the biographical information is switched. Some
cards of #38, Amos Alonzo Stagg, have the back for #19, Bruce Smith. There
is a misspelling of the name of Nile Kinnick on card #6 as Niles Kinnick.
Red Grange's card, #27, identifies him as a Quarterback rather than a Halfback.
The player photo on #91, Bob Odell, is actually that of Howard Odell.
Short Prints
Thirty five of the one hundred cards in the
set are short prints, i.e. fewer cards were produced for these players than
for the rest of the set. The three most important short print cards are Four
Horsemen, #68, Don Hutson, #97, and Fats Henry, #100.
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More Information on the set
Here is a checklist
of the 1955 Topps All American set
Colleges and Universities
represented in the set
Members of the Professional
Football Hall of Fame in the set
Heisman Trophy winners
in the set
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Did you know...
Whizzer White was a Rhodes Scholar
and a US Supreme Court Justice
Cotton Warburton won an academy award
for film editing on Mary Poppins
Chub Peabody was governor of Massachusetts
Paul Governalli wrote a 1949 Ph.
D. thesis at Columbia on the salary structure in the NFL
Tom Hamilton was the commander of
the USS Enterprise during WWII
Brud Holland served as the US Ambassador
to Sweden in the early 1970's
Jay Berwanger, the first pick in
the first NFL draft, turned down an offer to play in the NFL, in order to
pursue more stable career opportunities
Pudge Heffelfinger received a $500
"performance bonus" for playing in a game in November, 1892, thus making
him the first professional football player
Ernie Nevers pitched for the St.
Louis Browns from1926-1928, and gave up two home runs to Babe Ruth in 1927
Images
Here is what some of the cards look like:
1955 Topps All Americans
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One more thing...
This page should not be construed as an offer
to buy or sell any cards from the 1955 Topps All American set. It is for
information purposes only.
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