Signed example of Willie Mays' first Topps card.  The card itself has been handled, and does exhibit a severe top-to-bottom centering issue that leaves the reverse miscut, but the overall image quality remains strong.  Mays applied his signature across the card center, slightly to the left of the canvas.  The autograph is a vintage ballpoint signature, one of very few older signatures we have seen on his 1952 Topps issue.  For quite some time, collectors frowned upon autographed cards, as it was believed that the autograph was destructive to the condition of the card.  As signed cards became better accepted, hobbyists began using the preferred tool of modern autograph collecting - the Sharpie.  True vintage signatures in ballpoint ink are few and far between.  The PSA population report indicates that they have authenticated 26 signed 1952 Mays cards; we suspect very few of them feature such early signatures.