Fifties Friday: 1955 Topps

The competition with Bowman was really taking a toll on Topps. Their 1955 set featured the smallest number of cards of any Topps baseball set, only 206 cards. Maybe this small set made Topps realize that something had to be done or both companies would be in trouble. A year later it would be Topps that came out on top, buying out Bowman in time for the 1956 season.

Unlike Bowman, which came up with the TV set design, Topps design team seems to have taken the year off in 1955. The cards have the same basic design as the '54 cards: a big head shot and a smaller action shot/pose. The only major difference is that the '55 cards were horizontal instead of the vertical '54's.

There were only 12 Cubs in the set. Among the 12 is my earliest Topps card of Ernie Banks.