Lot # 67: 1909 T204 Ramly Walter Johnson PSA 5 EX

Category: 1900-1920

Starting Bid: $7,500.00

Bids: 30 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Newman Auction",
which ran from 6/12/2021 11:00 AM to
7/10/2021 7:00 PM




(LOT 67)
1909 T204 Ramly Walter Johnson PSA 5 EX

One of the hobby's illustrious keepsakes is the highly coveted 1909 T204 Ramly Walter Johnson, generally accepted as one of his inaugural MLB conventional sized cards. Indeed, along with his prized 1909 T206 subjects, the T204 Johnson resides as one of his "mainstream" rookie cards. While the ultra-rare Johnson 1908 Rose Postcard (for which there are only 3 known examples) certainly precedes his Ramly issue, many meticulous hobbyists still negate the concept of postcards sufficing as true baseball cards. Regardless of your viewpoint on the "Big Train's" true rookie card, his T204 Ramly subject certainly stands tall as one of Johnson's most significant cardboard issues. Presented here is an outstanding PSA EX 5 offering of this extremely condition sensitive memento, one of only five PSA encapsulated copies and bested by less than ten examples!

For some inexplicable reason, the ornate and stylish 1909 T204 Ramly set does not include most of the incomparable turn of the century Hall of Famers, excluding such legends as Cobb, Wagner, Mathewson, Lajoie and Speaker. While some of the games "second tier" stars were included in this Turkish cigarette brand issue (Plank, Brown, Collins, etc.), it remains a mystery as to why the elite aforementioned players were omitted from its distribution. Fortunately, one of the exalted subjects just happened to be Walter Johnson who ultimately embarked on an unparalleled career leading to his arguable stature as the greatest pitcher who ever toed a Major League pitching rubber. Johnson's accomplishments are virtually insurmountable, including 417 lifetime wins, 3,508 strikeouts, a lifetime 2.17 ERA, and an incredible 110 shutouts (including 38 "1-0" wins). He succeeded the great Christy Mathewson as our National Pastime's consummate professional and was idolized by thousands of aspiring young ballplayers. Strongly consistent with Johnson's supreme pitching prowess are the outstanding technical attributes of this esteemed offering.

A superb black & white central image of Carl Horner's legendary Johnson portrait image emanates near perfect contrast and crystal-clear focus with Johnson's youthful image serving as a strong reminder of his transition from a simple farm boy to our National Pastime's pinnacle hurler. Encompassed by the popular gold-bordered oval and flamboyant background gold designs, the immortal pose is well-positioned (w/only a modest partiality towards the right edge) between gold hued borders that, atypically, have managed to elude the standard serious surface chipping. Even corner wear depicts only slight traces of wear along the utmost tips, both surfaces are relatively clean, and the verso reveals the "Ramly Turkish Cigarette" advertisement and no glaring flaws. It should be noted that while a previous PSA EX 5 example fetched $40K some five years earlier, we cannot even begin to estimate its true value in the current card market that is realizing extraordinary pricing points for baseball's premier immortals. Simply stated, mid-grade T204 Walter Johnson are considerably scarce, justifying why you should ride this magnificent "Big Train" heirloom directly into the heart of your prized collection!

MIN BID $7,500
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