1958 Topps #2B Bob Lemon
Yellow-team (YT) lettering variation - the team/city name is printed in yellow instead of white. The white version is the common counterpart; yellow variants run roughly 2-2.5x scarcer.
Uncorrected error (per Beckett): back says won 20 games in seven different seasons. Yellow-letter variation tracked by Beckett as YT. Yellow team/city-name variation; common counterpart is white lettering. It was never corrected, so there is only one version of the card.
Yellow Team lettering variation: the team/city name is printed in yellow instead of white. PSA population data puts yellow copies at roughly 2-2.5x scarcer than their white counterparts.
About Bob Lemon
Topps issued Bob Lemon as #2 in its 1958 first series, in Cleveland Indians colors. This copy carries the yellow team lettering, one of the early-series variations found alongside the common white. Beckett lists the back as an uncorrected error for its line that he won 20 games in seven different seasons. The season behind it was rough: bone chips in his elbow ended 1957 at 6-11, and in 1958 he pitched in only 11 games, going 0-1, before the Indians put him on waivers in July.
Bob Lemon came up with the Cleveland Indians as a third baseman, debuting in September 1941, then lost three seasons to Navy service in World War II. Back in 1946 he opened the season in center field, but major league changeups ate him up, and manager Lou Boudreau moved him to the mound. Pitching coach Mel Harder taught him the slider that became a key pitch in his repertoire. By 1948 he was a star, throwing a no-hitter against Detroit on June 30, leading the majors with 10 shutouts and winning two games as Cleveland beat the Boston Braves in the World Series. He won 20 or more games seven times from 1948 to 1956, went 23-7 for the 111-win 1954 pennant club, made seven straight All-Star teams, and finished 207-128 with a 3.23 ERA. He could hit, too: his 37 career home runs rank second all-time among pitchers. Bone chips in his elbow cut short his 1957 season, and his last big-league game came in July 1958. Lemon then coached and managed, taking over the 1978 New York Yankees in midseason and leading them to a World Series title. The Indians retired his number 21, and the Baseball Writers' Association of America elected him to the Hall of Fame in 1976.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · BaseballCardPedia
Variations & how to tell them apart
Yellow Team (YT) #2
Fourteen Series 1/early-2 cards exist with the team/city name printed in yellow instead of white. The white version is the common counterpart; yellow variants run roughly 2-2.5x scarcer.
- #2 — base card: the lettering is printed in WHITE — the base, more common version. — see the card page
- #2B — Yellow Team: the team/city name is printed in YELLOW — the scarcer version, roughly 2-2.5x tougher than white per PSA populations. (this page)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 181 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 32 | 52 | 32 | 50 | 1 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-09. Counts cover this variation only; the base version is tracked separately. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded (the +/Q qualifier rows are excluded).
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Related cards
More Bob Lemon in this set: #2
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #2 Bob Lemon
- #22 Hal Naragon
- #35 Don Mossi
- #35B Don Mossi (Yellow Team)
- #47 Roger Maris
- #55 Chico Carrasquel
- #79 Dick Williams
- #79B Dick Williams (Yellow Team)
- #102 George Strickland
- #123 Dick Tomanek
- #133 Russ Nixon
- #158 Cleveland Indians Team
- #170 Vic Wertz
- #182 Joe Caffie
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Bob Lemon card?
It is card #2 of the 1958 Topps Baseball set - Topps' sixth flagship issue: 494 cards numbered 1-495 (#145 was never issued), with die-cut player photos on solid-color backgrounds and the first team logos on Topps fronts. It pictures Bob Lemon, Cleveland Indians, and this is the Yellow Team lettering variation.
What is the 1958 Topps Bob Lemon yellow variation?
On this version of #2 the team/city name is printed in yellow instead of white - one of the set's 33 recognized lettering variations. Yellow copies run roughly 2-2.5x scarcer than the white version per PSA population data.
What is the error on the 1958 Topps
Per Beckett it is one of the set's 11 uncorrected errors (UER): back says won 20 games in seven different seasons. Yellow-letter variation tracked by Beckett as YT. Yellow team/city-name variation; common counterpart is white lettering. It was never corrected, so there is only one version and no error premium.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Bob Lemon #2 are there?
PSA has graded 181 copies and SGC 19 as of the 2026-07-09 snapshot (this variation only). Population is a scarcity guide, not a price - high-grade 1958s are notoriously tough because of the set's chronic centering and print-quality issues.
Sources: PSA CardFacts, Beckett, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research (Topps Archives, 2026). Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-09-30.