1958 Topps #33B Cal Neeman
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.
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 Cal Neeman
Neeman hit .259 with a career-high 12 home runs in 76 games for the Cubs, mostly catching against left-handers as Sammy Taylor took over much of the work. His #33 came in the first series, printed with the Chicago Cubs. Two versions exist: the common white team lettering and a scarcer variation with the team name printed in yellow, both numbered #33.
Calvin Amandus Neeman was born in Valmeyer, Illinois, in 1929 and played basketball and baseball before leaving Illinois Wesleyan University to sign with the New York Yankees in 1949. Army service in the Korean War cost him the 1951 and 1952 seasons, and he worked up through the Yankee farm system as a catcher before the Chicago Cubs chose him in the 1956 Rule 5 draft. He arrived in the majors in 1957 as a rifle-armed receiver, led National League catchers in games caught, and was named to The Sporting News All Rookie team. Manager Bob Scheffing reworked his swing to hit from the end of the bat, and Neeman showed real power, but platoons and new catchers cut his playing time. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960, later played for Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Washington, and finished in 1963 with 30 home runs in 376 games. He died in Lake St. Louis, Missouri, in 2015.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · BaseballCardPedia
Variations & how to tell them apart
Yellow Team (YT) #33
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.
- #33 — base card: the lettering is printed in WHITE — the base, more common version. — see the card page
- #33B — 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 | 130 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 29 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 0 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 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 Cal Neeman in this set: #33
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #7 Dale Long
- #33 Cal Neeman
- #41 Dave Hillman
- #66 Lee Walls
- #80 Dick Drott
- #91 Chuck Tanner
- #99 Bobby Adams
- #122 Walt Moryn
- #135 Moe Drabowsky
- #144 Bobby Morgan
- #159 Taylor Phillips
- #184 Elvin Tappe
- #201 Jim Bolger
- #209 Bob Anderson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Cal Neeman card?
It is card #33 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 Cal Neeman, Chicago Cubs, and this is the Yellow Team lettering variation.
What is the 1958 Topps Cal Neeman yellow variation?
On this version of #33 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.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Cal Neeman #33 are there?
PSA has graded 130 copies and SGC 17 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.
How many cards are in the 1958 Topps set?
494 issued cards, numbered 1-495 - #145 (Ed Bouchee) was pulled before release and never issued, leaving a permanent gap. The PSA master census counts 534 items: the 494 base cards plus 33 yellow-letter variations, 4 numerical checklist-back team cards, the 'Herrer' #433 error, and 2 unnumbered ad cards.
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.