In a groundbreaking sports memorabilia sale, a 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth rookie card recently sold for an astounding $7.2 million, securing its place as the third-highest sum ever paid for a sports card.
The final price narrowly missed surpassing the $7.25 million record set by a T206 Sweet Caporal Honus Wagner card which was sold in August 2022.
The historic card, featuring a 19-year-old Babe Ruth during his time as a pitcher for the International (minor) League side Orioles, holds the distinction of being the most expensive Ruth item ever sold.
Archibald Davis, a 16-year-old Baltimore paperboy in 1914, originally collected the cards in daily papers featuring his favorite Orioles players.
The Babe Ruth card was among the 15 cards passed down through the Davis family for 107 years, often played with by children who were unaware of their significant value.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
The 1914 Babe Ruth rookie card just sold at auction for $7,200,000.
It’s officially the 3rd most expensive card EVER sold. pic.twitter.com/PPK0RbljTX
— The Collectibles Guru 🧠 (@ericwhiteback) December 4, 2023
The cards were loaned to the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum in Baltimore in 1998, where they remained on display until 2021 when they were privately sold.
Brian Dwyer, president of Robert Edward Auctions, who brokered the sale, highlighted the card’s remarkable preservation over the years, stating: “Overall, the card was pretty well preserved; the fact that it was in the hands of the museum for the last twenty-plus years helped keep it in the condition that it’s in.”
With only ten known copies in existence, the rookie card’s rarity contributes to its immense value. Dwyer emphasized the card’s significance, noting: “It’s one of only ten that we know to exist.”
To put it in perspective, there are over 1,500 1952 Topps Mickey Mantles and 32 T206 Sweet Caporal Honus Wagners receiving a grade with card grader PSA alone.
The card’s uniqueness lies not only in its scarcity but also in the historical context it represents. Ruth’s upbringing and journey to baseball stardom, from being a ward of St. Mary’s Industrial School to becoming a legendary figure, add a layer of significance to the card.
“With this card, you have Ruth having been a ward of the state for more than two-thirds of his life, not knowing much about the world and certainly not knowing what he was going to become. [That’s] what this card symbolizes,” Dwyer explained.
This mock-up of Babe Ruth hitting a bomb off of Kershaw in 2023 is hilarious 😂 pic.twitter.com/HorRnpGc6O
— JP_YankeesGirl (@90syankskid) December 10, 2023
Surprisingly, the existence of the Ruth rookie card was not widely known until the 1980s, highlighting the card’s discovery long after Ruth became an iconic figure in the history of baseball.
“The Ruth is the most significant card, and it has not had its moment in the sun yet, so to speak,” said Dwyer, reflecting on the card’s growing importance in the world of sports collectibles.
This marks the first time in a decade that a Babe Ruth rookie card has been available for sale. The last transaction in 2013 saw a price of $450,000.
“It’s easier to buy an NFL team in the last decade than it has been to buy one of these cards,” Dwyer said.
A 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth rookie card sold for $7.2 million, including the buyer's premium, the third-highest sum ever paid for a sports card. ⚾️😲 pic.twitter.com/021z8RR8vz
— Roger E. Maris For Hall Of Fame (@RMaris0961) December 6, 2023
REA communications director P.J. Kinsella added: “It could be well over a decade, possibly more, before we see another one of these come up to auction.”
The Babe Ruth rookie card was graded a 3 by card grader SGC (Sportscard Guaranty Corporation), further solidifying SGC’s dominance in the realm of high-value sports card auctions.
The top three most expensive sports cards ever sold, including the $12.6 million 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card and the $7.25 million Wagner card, have all been graded by SGC.
What is your most valuable sports collectable?
If you could have any piece of memorabilia, what would it be???