In 1958 the Pirates finished second, their first winning season since 1948, and Clemente hit .289 in 140 games. When it was over he joined the Marine Corps Reserve and spent six months on active duty, at Parris Island, at Camp Lejeune and in Washington, D.C.
The 1958 Topps set has 494 cards, numbered to 495 because number 145 was pulled before release and never issued. Its idea was simple and loud: the player cut out of his photograph and set against a single flat color. Clemente's color is a bright yellow. He stands in a batting stance with the bat back over his shoulder, BOB CLEMENTE printed in red across the top, a cartoon Pirate in a box at the lower right, and a red band at the bottom with his position and team.
On most copies the team name is white. On a few it is yellow, and those are the ones set builders chase.
That bottom band is where the card divides in two. On most copies the words PITTSBURGH PIRATES are printed in white. On a smaller number they are printed in yellow. The yellow-letter versions came from the early series of the set and were printed in shorter supply, and the yellow #52 is one of the variations collectors working on the full set have to chase separately. The ordinary white-letter card is the one most collections hold.
The design that makes the card look good also makes it hard to keep. A solid yellow ground shows any stain or print speck at once, and it gives centering nowhere to hide, because the eye measures the border against a flat field of color. The red band at the bottom takes wear at the corners first.
It is the second Topps card in a row to call him Bob, and the one where the name is largest.
