1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays Headline October 25 Sports Card Auction

290-lot online-only sale features fresh-to-market baseball and hockey cards, rare pre-war issues, memorabilia and a Gretzky-era wax box

NEW HAMBURG, ONTARIO, CANADA, October 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle; the 1952 Topps “Big Three” of Mantle, Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays; and a rare 1937 O-Pee-Chee Joe DiMaggio headline Miller & Miller Auctions’ Pre-1980 Sports Cards & Memorabilia, scheduled for Sunday, October 25, 2026.

The 290-lot auction brings together a diverse selection of fresh-to-the-market material spanning baseball and hockey across several decades, with recognized hobby staples alongside scarce and historically significant issues. The offering includes recently graded vintage cards, pre-war rarities, hockey memorabilia and an important group of early Canadian sports cards and tobacco issues.

“An exciting offering of fresh-to-the-market material, this auction includes some pre-war card treasures including Georges Vezina and Clarence Day’s rookie card,” said Ben Pernfuss, Consignment Director for Sports Cards & Memorabilia. “It’s a great opportunity to see recognized names alongside some much scarcer early material.”

This is an online-only auction with no live webcast portion. Lots close in sequential order beginning at 6:00pm EDT on October 25, with bidding available through LiveAuctioneers and Miller & Miller Auctions. Phone and absentee bids are also accepted, and all lots are offered in Canadian dollars.

The centerpiece of the sale is Lot 86, a 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle graded PSA 1 PR and estimated at CA$40,000-60,000. A recent discovery from a single-owner collection and recently graded by PSA, the card represents the rare sixth series of Topps’ landmark 407-card release, which begins with Mantle at #311 and runs through #407. The 1952 Topps Mantle is among the most recognizable cards in the hobby and remains an enduring symbol of post-war baseball collecting.

Lot 85 presents the 1952 Topps #312 Jackie Robinson, graded PSA 2 Good and estimated at CA$8,000-12,000. Also a recent find and recent PSA grade, the card comes from the same scarce sixth series as the Mantle. Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s modern colour barrier in 1947 and went on to become a six-time All-Star and 1949 National League MVP.

Lot 84 offers the 1952 Topps #261 Willie Mays, graded PSA 2 Good and estimated at CA$4,000-6,000. Known as the “Say Hey” Kid, Mays played 22 Major League seasons and established himself as one of baseball’s defining all-around players. His 1952 Topps card joins the Mantle and Robinson in giving collectors all three of the celebrated “Big Three” cards from the sale’s featured set.

“The sale offers a treasure for any collector, with the ‘Big Three’ from the 1952 Topps baseball set including #311 Mickey Mantle, #312 Jackie Robinson and #261 Willie Mays,” said Pernfuss. “Having all three represented in one auction gives the sale a particularly strong vintage baseball focus.”

Lot 89 is a 1979–80 Topps Hockey wax box containing all 36 original wax packs, authenticated by ICert as Authentic and estimated at CA$10,000-25,000. From a long-time collection and untouched since the early 1980s, the box has been examined and verified as authentic and unaltered. The packs contain cards from Wayne Gretzky’s rookie season, making the group an important sealed-product offering from one of hockey’s most significant collecting periods.

Lot 65 features a 1937 O-Pee-Chee #118 Joe DiMaggio graded PSA 1.5 FR, estimated at CA$5,000-10,000. The scarce Canadian issue has been graded only 37 times by PSA at the time of cataloguing, and this example comes from a recent single-owner family find. DiMaggio spent his entire 13-year Major League career with the New York Yankees, winning three American League MVP awards and nine World Series championships.

Lot 61 is a 1955 Bowman #202 Mickey Mantle graded PSA 6 EX-MT and estimated at CA$4,000-6,000. Offered from a single-owner collection and recently graded, the card captures Mantle during one of the defining periods of his 18-year Yankees career.

Lot 75 is an extraordinary 1910 historical card album containing an extensive group of early Canadian and international tobacco cards, including 27 of 36 cards from the 1910 C56 Hockey set and nine cards from the 1911 C55 Hockey set, including #38 Georges Vezina. Estimated at CA$8,000-12,000, the album also contains 41 cards from the 1910 C60 Lacrosse set and numerous additional tobacco issues covering flags, military subjects, aviation, prominent Canadians, Boy Scouts and other themes. The album remained with one family after its young original collector left to serve in the First World War.

Lot 184 offers three consecutive full tickets from Game 3 of the 1972 Summit Series, covering Section 13A, Row 28, Seats 6–8. Estimated at CA$2,000-3,000, the tickets come from a recent single-family find. PSA has evaluated only 13 full tickets from Game 3, with just two graded higher than these PSA 9 examples. Played at Winnipeg Arena on September 6, 1972, Game 3 ended in a 4–4 tie as Canada and the Soviet Union continued their historic eight-game series.

“The breadth of this sale is what makes it especially interesting,” Pernfuss added. “From the 1952 Topps ‘Big Three’ and high-grade vintage cards to early Canadian hockey rarities, historic memorabilia and the Gretzky rookie-year wax box, there is material here for collectors across the hobby.”

Auction link: https://live.millerandmillerauctions.com/auctions/4-M6BHJU/pre-1980-sports-cards-memorabilia

The full catalogue is available through Miller & Miller Auctions. Bidders can register online and place bids in advance of the sequential lot closing beginning at 6:00pm EDT on October 25.

Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. is Canada’s trusted seller of high-value collections and specializes in art, antiques, watches, advertising and significant collectibles. The firm is currently accepting consignments for upcoming sales. To consign a single piece, an estate or a collection, call (519) 573-3710 or email info@millerandmillerauctions.com. To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions and upcoming auctions, visit www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com. Updates are posted frequently.

Ben Pernfuss
Miller and Miller Auctions Ltd.
benp@millerandmillerauctions.com