VINTAGE CARDS

This is the rookie card of the greatest player who ever lived. It is one of his most difficult cards overall, making it one of the most important cards in the hobby. It pictures a young Ruth, firing the ball as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox before they traded him to the rival New York Yankees. The M101-4 and M-101-5 sets were released only a few years after the famed tobacco card sets produced by the American Tobacco Company. Like those releases, these are smaller sized cards (but slightly taller) at 1 5/8″ wide x 3″ tall. What differs from the early tobacco and candy cards, however, is that the M101-4 and M101-5 sets featured photographs of players instead of lithographic art. The black and white images of players filled up most of the space on the fronts. At the bottom, the player’s name, position, team, and checklist number was included. Produced by Chicago-based printer Felix Mendelsohn, blank back cards were sold in sets and sheets. But Mendelsohn also marketed his cards to businesses, who had their company information stamped on the card backs and then used them for promotional purposes. The backs of these black and white cards varied greatly. They were created for distri

This is, perhaps, the most recognizable sportscard in the entire hobby and the anchor of the most important post-war set in existence. Strangely enough, it is not Mickey Mantle's official rookie card, but there is no question that it is the slugger's most important card. Despite a couple of major finds of 1952 Topps cards during the last 25 years, this card has remained difficult to obtain in NM-MT or better condition as many of those find examples exhibit poor centering. There are actually two different versions of this doubleprinted card. The line surrounding the Yankee logo is a solid black on one version, while the other version has a line that is only partially filled. There is also a slight variance in color and focus between the two. Despite the minor difference in appearance, there is no difference in market value. Most of the high-grade examples found today were a product of either the large 1952 Topps find from the New England area during the 1980s or a few smaller finds from Canada over the last two decades. After slugging .530 in 1952, Mantle was well on his way to stardom. This would be the first of 16 All-Star selections for the Yankee Slugger, a man who made the #7 f

This legendary quartet represents the most important component to the ultra-popular 1933 Goudey set and it features the most destructive hitter who ever played the game. The Sultan of Swat is pictured on four different cards #s 53, 144, 149 and 181. The #53 (or Yellow Ruth) is considered to be the toughest, closely followed by the #149 (or Red Ruth) that portrays the slugger in an identical pose. While the #144 (or Full Body Ruth) was double-printed and is more plentiful overall, it is actually harder to find in high-grade than the #181 (or Green Ruth). In fact, there is a subtle difference between the two versions of the double-printed #144 card, with one version exhibiting much better focus and clarity than the other. With the exception of the Napoleon Lajoie rarity, a card that wasn't part of the original set, these four cards represent the core of this elite Goudey production. While this issue is not Babe Ruth's most valuable or scarce, it is arguably his most important and it captures the mighty slugger near the tail end of his career.