Masterpieces and Uncommon Commons XXV
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on:
2/12/2010
Goudey’s 1933 offering tore through the landscape of dime stores and corner drugstores like a buzz saw through a cheesecake. Never had the world seen a more interesting, colorful, fully-illustrated baseball card set marketed with the youth of America in mind. The gum card was not only born, it was indelibly imprinted on society.
Enos Gordon Goudey founded the Goudey Gum company in 1919, after having worked for chewing gum giant Beemans. His Boston-based factory turned out penny gums that young and old alike chewed with glee. Demand quickly outpaced supply, requiring Goudey to open a new factory in Allston, Massachusetts in 1923. Goudey steadily grew his business and provided a downtrodden, depression era world with an affordable decadence, penny gum.
In 1932, the 69 year-old Goudey sold his gum dynasty, staying on as a consultant through the transition year of 1933, Goudey helped shape what would be the most important development in chewing gum history: the introduction of the baseball card.
The 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth number 144 full batting pose card towers over the hobby much like the Chrysler Building towers over the New York skyline. Dominant. Elegant. And unforgettable. The same could be said of Ruth himself and the shadow cast by his career over the entire sporting world. Over a half-century after his death, Ruth remains the most talked about, most revered athlete of all-time.
The obscurity of Ruth’s Goudey batting pose at high grade cannot be ignored. Only five examples encapsulated by PSA brandish higher grades. No GEM 10’s of this card exist.
A true museum-grade artifact, this particular Ruth exhibits none of the color softness and tonal variations common among Goudeys, that resulted from early, high-speed screen printing. As a veteran hobbyist and art enthusiast commented upon examining this card, “you can almost feel the grass” in the background behind the legendary slugger.
Every detail of this offering provides perfection. The delicate pinstripes along Ruth’s uniform hold marvelously. Color registration, a common problem resulting from early screen technology, measures perfectly. The snowcap white borders framing this treasure gleam as though never touched by human hands. If not for a tiny bit of aging on the reverse, coupled with a slight bleed-through from the vibrant red Big League Gum panel, this card would undoubtedly challenge for the highest-graded Goudey Ruth on record.
The opportunity to own this card at this grade cannot be overlooked. Individual and institutional collectors and buyers take note. We have never seen so superior an example of this card. What stands before you defies age and time. No larger icon in all of sport exists. This is Babe Ruth in his most memorable and inspirational pose.
A final note. Before you determine your bidding strategy, remember one thing: Life’s greatest cause for regret stems from inaction.
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