1957 Topps Baseball Cards – 12 Most Valuable

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When discussion turns to the most beautiful set ever issued, 1957 Topps baseball cards always feature heavy in the conversation.

With bright, clear photos and minimal design elements, there is nothing to distract collectors from the grandeur of the game and its denizens.

And, whether or not you love the 1957s or think they’re overrated (in which case you’re wrong), there is no denying their continued appeal and strength on the old-card market.

What follows is a rundown of the 12 most valuable 1957 Topps baseball cards, as culled for PSA 7 copies from the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide.

1957 Topps Mickey Mantle (#95)

Against a dark Yankee Stadium background, Mantle stands out like a ghost in a spotlight as he follows through on a left-handed swing in his Yanks’ Pinstripes here on this 1957 Topps card.

And a spotlight would have been a fitting device for the young slugger, who had enjoyed perhaps his greatest season in 1956, winning the American League Triple Crown and MVP award, and driving the Yankees to yet another World Series title.

Like just about every other Mantle card issued in the 1950s, this one paces its set, with a $1250 price tag in PSA 7 condition.

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1957 Topps Brooks Robinson Rookie Card (#328)

What do you get when you combine one of the greatest players ever at his position, an all-time classic card design, and a rookie card in a scarce high-number series?

Why, you get the 1957 Topps Brooks Robinson rookie card, of course!

And you also get one of the most valuable cards in the whole set, a status this card has held for decades.

These days, the RC of the Hall of Famer and Baltimore Orioles legend generally fetches $800 or more in graded NM condition.

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1957 Topps Frank Robinson Rookie Card (#35)

This card may be even better looking than the B. Robby above … or that could just be my Cincinnati Reds bias showing.

Whatever the case, there is no denying that Frank Robinson was one of the most dominant hitters of his time, and probably in the top 10 (or better) plate men of all time.

He was also the focal point of one of the worst/best trades in history when the Reds sent him to the Orioles before the 1966 season because he was an “old 30.”

A Triple Crown, MVP, and World Series MVP later, and it was clear F. Robby was headed to Cooperstown.

His rookie card sells today for around $600 in PSA 7.

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1957 Topps Ted Williams (#1)

Speaking of old dudes who could still rake, Ted Williams turned 39 in August of 1957.

It was amazing he could still tie his shoes at such an advanced age, right?

Uh-huh.

All the Splendid Splinter did that summer was hit .388 with 38 home runs for the Boston Red Sox. That was good enough for his fifth batting title.

And he’d win a another in 1958.

It’s all part of the glory of Teddy Ballgame and part of the reason his striking 1957 Topps card — the first in the set — sells for $500 or more in PSA 7.

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1957 Topps Yankees’ Power Hitters — Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra (#407)

From the #1 card in the 1957 Topps set, we now jump to the very end of the run.

Mickey Mantle and teammate, Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, were a threat to go deep every time they stepped to the plate.

And they seemingly had the American League MVP award on lockdown during the 1950s, with Berra nabbing three (1951, 1954, 1955) and Mantle taking the 1956 and 1957 hardware.

Appearing here at the very end of a tough high-number run, the Pinstripe Pair form the basis for another $500 card (in PSA 7).

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1957 Topps Sandy Koufax (#302)

Koufax was still several years from breaking out when this smiling shot of the young southpaws greeted collectors in the summer of 1957.

By the time he became a legend for the Los Angeles Dodgers, this classic must have twinged some painful memories for the faithful back home, owing to its “Brooklyn” team designation.

Today, this early career beauty pushes $500 in PSA 7.

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1957 Topps Willie Mays (#10)

Willie Mays, on the other hand, was a bona fide superstar as 1957 dawned.

He already had a National League Rookie of the Year award (1951), an NL MVP award (1954), and a 50-homer season (1955) under his belt, and Topps rewarded him with the coveted #10 slot in their 1957 set.

(I’m not kidding — the “zero” cards were big things, especially this early in a set.)

Of course, The Say Hey Kid was on a collision course with all-time greatness, and this card reflects that status at about $350 in PSA 7.

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1957 Topps Hank Aaron (#20)

Pretty must the same story here for Aaron as above for Mays, except Henry wouldn’t win his only MVP award until that summer of 1957, and he never did top 50 home runs in a season.

And, back in 1957, probably not many fans would have predicted that it would be Aaron who would go on to break Babe Ruth‘s all-time home run record.

That kind of talk was reserved for Mantle and Mays. Maybe Duke Snider if you were silly.

Anyway, Aaron may have been the best of the lot when all was said and done, and this card reflects that status at about $350 in PSA 7.

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1957 Topps Don Drysdale Rookie Card (#18)

Drysdale was just 20 years old heading into the 1957 season and fresh off a 25-game Major League debut in 1956 that saw him go 5-5 with a 2.64 ERA.

A jump to 17-9 in ’57 set up Drysdale as one of the first stars for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they moved west in 1958. Though it took him a few years to really settle in as a superstar, Big D eventually won enough games and garnered enough of the spotlight to put together a Hall of Fame career.

His smiling RC, here in the 1957 Topps set, is a $300 (or so) item in PSA 7.

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1957 Topps Roberto Clemente (#76)

Like others on this list, Clemente was still a few years away from superstardom when his smiling 1957 Topps card first found its way into collectors hands.

Still, he was already a regular for the Pittsburgh Pirates at just 22 years of age, and the future looked bright for “Bob” (as Topps insisted on calling him in those days).

The decades have been kind to this Bucs legend, and Clemente has never been more popular than he is today, making his ’57 card a $275+ buy in graded NM condition.

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1957 Topps Dodgers Sluggers (#400)

How many Dodgers sluggers did it take to match the Yankees’ duo of Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra?

Four, apparently, at least according to card #400 in the 1957 Topps set.

Even if that seems like overkill, it makes a for a great card as Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, and Duke Snider do the old kneel-with-the-bat trick on this horizontal issue.

It’s a star-packed card with plenty of Cooperstown power, and it clocks in around $200 in PSA 7 condition.

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1957 Topps Yogi Berra (#2)

Mickey Mantle topped this list with his own single card.

Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra made the cut with their duo card up above.

So it stands to reason that (probably) the greatest catcher of the 1950s makes the list on his own merits — or the merits of his solo card — too, right?

Right.

And Berra powers in here in the last slot on the strength of sales around $150 for PSA 7 copies.

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