1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle #253

How I Arrived at the Hobby Score

This card received a 97.5 overall Hobby Score.

While the 1952 Topps card is more famous, the 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle #253 is Mantle’s true rookie card—his first appearance in a licensed major set. Bowman, which had a near-monopoly on baseball cards at the time, produced a beautifully illustrated horizontal design for the 1951 series. Mantle’s card features a young, clean-cut version of The Mick in a Yankees cap, bat on shoulder, gazing toward baseball immortality.

Fewer than 2,000 copies have been graded by PSA across all conditions, and high-grade examples are exceedingly rare. The card’s age, scarcity, and historical importance make it one of the most coveted vintage cards in the hobby. It stands not just as a key Mantle collectible, but as one of the cornerstone pieces of all sports card collecting.

Mickey Mantle debuted for the Yankees in 1951, won three MVPs, and blasted 536 home runs while anchoring one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. He was the embodiment of post-war baseball: power, speed, grit, and stardom. His legend helped carry the baseball card hobby into the modern era, and this rookie card marks the beginning of that legacy.