1958 Topps #450 Preston Ward
A short print (SP), displaced by the Musial/Mantle All-Star triple prints on the final sheet.
Short print: Four Series-6 cards short-printed because Topps triple-printed the Musial (#476) and Mantle (#487) All-Stars on the final press sheet, displacing them. Physically evidenced by a 2026 Topps Archives sheet study. Not a scarce series - 1958 has no traditional scarce high numbers.
About Preston Ward
Ward's 1958 Topps card is #450, in the sixth and final series, and lists him with the Kansas City Athletics. The checklist marks it SP, one of four short prints in the set alongside #443, #446 and #462. His season was split between Cleveland and Kansas City, and he hit .284 with 118 hits, the best average of his career. He shared the infield work that year, with 60 games at first base and 58 at third.
Preston Meyer Ward was a 6-foot-4 first baseman from Columbia, Missouri, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed. His professional career began in the Brooklyn farm system in 1944, when he was 16. He reached the majors with the Dodgers in 1948 and got another chance with the Cubs in 1950, then missed 1951 and 1952 to military service during the Korean War. He finally stuck in 1953 and went on to play for the Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Athletics, working as a utility man and platoon player. Most of his games came at first base, with 95 in the outfield and 74 at third. Over nine seasons and 744 games he hit .253 with 522 hits, 83 doubles, 15 triples, 50 home runs and 262 runs batted in. His best totals were 12 home runs and 48 runs batted in in a season. Out of Missouri, he was also drafted by the St. Louis Bombers of the Basketball Association of America in 1949 but never played for them. He died in Las Vegas in 2013.
Sources: Wikipedia · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 270 | 0 | 3 | 48 | 109 | 53 | 33 | 24 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-09. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded (the +/Q qualifier rows are excluded).
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Preston Ward card?
It is card #450 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 Preston Ward, Kansas City Athletics.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Preston Ward #450 are there?
PSA has graded 270 copies and SGC 18 as of the 2026-07-09 snapshot. 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.