Lot # 238: 1953 Topps #220 Satchel Paige SGC 9 MINT – “POP 1”; The Sole & Highest Graded SGC Example w/Not a Single 10 on the PSA “Pop” Chart!

Category: 1950-1959

Starting Bid: $7,500.00

Bids: 12 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Summer 2022 Auction",
which ran from 8/18/2022 12:00 PM to
9/10/2022 7:00 PM




(LOT 238)
1953 Topps #220 Satchel Paige SGC 9 MINT - "POP 1"; The Sole & Highest Graded SGC Example w/Not a Single 10 on the PSA "Pop" Chart!

This miraculous SGC 9 MINT 1953 Topps #220 Satchel Paige offering just happens to be the SOLE and HIGHEST GRADED example on the SGC census report with not a single "10 GEM MINT" specimen existing in the hobby on any population report! Indeed, at the time this was written, PSA and SGC had encapsulated over 5,650 '53 Topps Paige subjects, with none of them fortunate enough to merit the hallowed "10" assessment. This museum worthy masterpiece just may reside as the closet possible candidate for the "10 GEM MINT" grade via its virtually immaculate technical attributes that are consistent with its original factory issued state.

Sparkling to say the least, we have never engaged a finer looking #220 Satchel Paige gem, starting with his classic portrait image that emanates an array of brilliant hues and un-improvable crystal-clear clarity. The near-perfect centering is a quality excruciatingly tough to find on any '53 Topps subject, let alone a crisp high-grade copy such as this revered offering, and the blazing sharp corner tips, impeccable surfaces and dazzling white borders are additional attributes supporting the "Mint" grade. Even the lower red border has eluded the standard edge chipping typically plaguing this issue, the final superlative for one of Paige's finest preserved cards. By 1953, the 47-year-old Satchel Paige would be pitching in his final full MLB season, the year this card was issued by Topps. The St. Louis Browns right-hander would win only win three games his final campaign, with Paige ending his MLB career with 28 victories and a legacy that will surely "echo for eternity."

Hall of Famer Satchel Paige arguably resides as the most celebrated Negro Leagues player in their illustrious history, even outdistancing the revered Josh Gibson in popularity. Born Leroy Robert Page on July 7, 1906, Page changed the spelling of his name to "Paige" in the mid 1920s. His friends tagged him with the iconic "Satchel" nickname because of an early job whereby he was paid for each carried suitcase and ingeniously rigged a pole to carry additional suitcases at the Mobile train station. His four-decade professional pitching stint commenced in 1926 with the Chattanooga White Sox of the Negro Southern League, ending some 40 years later with the Peninsula Grays of the Carolina League at the age of 60! After finally reaching the majors in 1948 with the Cleveland Indians, he became the oldest MLB rookie ever at the age of 42, and his professional career would certainly not end following those 6 seasons with the Indians and St. Louis Browns.

He continued to barnstorm and pitch professionally until he was called up by the Kansas City Athletics in 1965 at the incredible age of 59, pitching three scoreless innings in his final MLB appearance. His uncanny success was attributed to a vast assortment of pitches, tantalizing arm angles, and speeds. Regarding the latter, Joe DiMaggio was quoted as saying "Paige was the fastest and best pitcher I ever faced", after hitting against him in a 1935 six-game tour that included one of baseball's foremost hurlers, Dizzy Dean. That said, synonymous with the Yankee Clipper's "best of the rest" assessment of the great Satchel Paige comes along his SGC 9 MINT '53 Topps marvel that likewise stands tall as one of the pinnacle Paige "9s" in our illustrious hobby!

MIN BID $7,500

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