Tom Ruggie’s Nearly Complete Signed 1952 Topps Set Named PSA Baseball Set of the Year

One of the most ambitious signed-card projects in the hobby has earned PSA’s top baseball set honor for 2026. Collector Tom Ruggie’s autographed 1952 Topps collection has been named the 2026 PSA Baseball Set of the Year, with PSA-authenticated signatures on 406 of the set’s 407 cards. That leaves just one card standing between Ruggie and a completely signed 1952 Topps set: Al Benton #342.

The recognition came from a field of more than 157,000 registered baseball sets in the PSA Set Registry. The 1952 Topps set is one of the most famous releases in sports card history, with 407 cards and a checklist that includes Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays and Yogi Berra. Ruggie has managed to find authenticated signed examples of nearly every card in the set, including those major stars.

What makes the project particularly difficult is not simply finding the cards. More than 70 years have passed since the set was released, and many of the players died before signed baseball cards became a major collecting category. For some of the lesser-known players, authenticated signed examples can be considerably harder to locate than the cards themselves.

Ruggie said he never originally planned to build the entire set. After acquiring signed examples of the biggest names, including Mantle, Mays and Robinson, he realized how much of the checklist he had already completed and decided to pursue all 407 cards. That decision turned into a project spanning decades.

“This recognition means a lot to me,” said Ruggie. “It wasn’t something I applied for, and I was absolutely surprised when I was notified my set was being honored. I started collecting autographed sports cards five decades ago as a child because I loved the hobby.”

The collection was honored during the 2026 PSA Set Registry Awards Dinner in Rosemont, Illinois, held during the National Sports Collectors Convention. Ruggie also received a one-of-one custom canvas created by artist Murray Henderson featuring a tribute to the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card and an embedded PSA-authenticated Mantle cut autograph.

For Ruggie, the award is a major milestone, but the collection still is not technically complete. The hunt continues for a signed Al Benton #342. That final card may not have the name recognition of Mantle or Robinson, but at this point it has become the most important card left in the entire project.

Until one surfaces, Ruggie’s collection remains 406-for-407, close enough to earn PSA Baseball Set of the Year honors but still one signature short of finishing one of the hobby’s most unusual 1952 Topps sets.