Refraction Action: Stan Musial '59 Chrome reprint

This is a continuing series on Baseball Card Breakdown where I attempt to display the glory of a refractor or any kind of optically interesting card that a still picture can't quite capture.

Today's image features Stan Musial.

Pretty, ain't it? Again, this is a real composite image, not artificially created. The card is a 2001 Topps Chrome Through the Years Reprints #6 - reprint of 1959 Topps #150 Stan Musial.

I always get a kick out of that Topps logo. Ah yes, "50 Years of Topps Chrome". Kids back in 1951 must've been so happy when they scraped together enough pennies to buy a pack of Topps Chrome from the corner market.

Americans were smaller back then.

But anyways, Stan the Man is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all-time. He passed away earlier this year at the ripe ol' age of 92.

I picked this card up on Listia a few months ago when I realized I didn't have any Stan Musial cards in my collection and that needed to be rectified. Sure, a vintage card would be better. But a reprint will do in a pinch. And the fact it's a swell-lookin' refractor is a neat bonus.

Here's what a scan of the card looks like with my scanner.

Not a bad card at all, but nowhere near as colorful as it is when it's rockin' n rollin' in the rainbowed light.

Here's the back. Let's marvel at these incredible stats..

These aren't even his full stats! Day-um, as the kids say! Since this card is a reprint of his '59 Topps card, we only see his career up through '58 here, but he kept at it through the '63 season. For full stats, you can head over to his page at baseball-reference.

Here's what the original 1959 card looks like (I don't own it, sadly).

It obviously looks pretty similar to the reprint, though it's got a facsimile autograph and no Topps logo. It seems that nearly all original copies are off-center, skewed to the right.

Finally, here's some "alternate" refractin' action..

This one is nice, too. A bit "deeper" and darker than that other one.

Cheers, Mr. Musial. You were awesome.