(LOT 20)
1911 M131 Baltimore News Newsboy Series Ty Cobb SGC 1.5 FR – Extremely Rare & One of Only Four Professionally Graded Examples!
ELUSIVE COBB!!!... Here is one you don't see very often! Presented here is one of the immortal Tyrus Raymond Cobb's rarest cards, a miraculous SGC 1.5 FR 1911 Baltimore News marvel residing as one of only four professionally graded examples. Indeed, SGC has encapsulated only four of these scarcities, with PSA's Pop Chart listing none! In 1911, the Baltimore News issued a 30-subject set strikingly similar to the E94 George Close Candy issue. All the players and checklist numbers were exactly the same, with the first 35 boys completing the set offered a $1 prize. The difference in this ultra-rare regional issue versus the E94 candy cards is that all Baltimore News players reveal a blue background, with the back of the cards portraying a Baltimore News Newsboy Series caption.

To place the rarity of these cards in perspective versus their E94 peers, the combined PSA and SGC M131 counts for all 30 subjects is a mere 88 examples, or 4%, versus the significantly higher 1,975 E94 Close Candy examples (at the time this was written). Regarding the Ty Cobb M131 subject itself, the paltry four specimens likewise represent a fractional 4% of the 95 Cobb E94 George Close Candy graded copies, substantiating the significant paucity level of the Baltimore News Cobb issue. Going into the 1911 campaign (the year this card was issued), the immortal Cobb had already won four successive AL batting titles and was in the midst of replacing the great Honus Wagner as our National Pastime's supreme player. Cobb continued his unprecedented batting dominance by pacing the Junior Circuit once again in 1911 with an unfathomable .419 batting average, the highest of his exalted 24-year career.

That remarkable 1911 campaign would see the majestic Georgia Peach also lead the American League in nearly every other major offensive category including hits (248), runs (148), doubles (47). triples (27), RBIs (127), stolen bases (83), and the critical OPS figure (1.086). Cobb would continue ransacking overmatched pitchers to the tune of nine successive batting titles, 12 in a 13-year span, only bested by Tris Speaker in 1916. The classic fielding pose of the legendary Tyrus is the same image utilized on his revered E93 subject, and similar to its E94 Close Candy brethren, the illustration presents itself in a more superimposed state than Cobb's E93. Accounting for the assessment are rounded corners, several stray wrinkles (primarily near several of the corners), surface snow, border soiling, and a few surface abrasions, one of which has removed the "T" in "TY" along the lower border. Most significantly, none of these flaws have compromised the critical central image, with the verso's Baltimore News Newsboy Series 30-subject checklist completely intact.

It's no secret among baseball historians that the esteemed Georgia Peach stands tall as one of our National Pastime's greatest all-time players, and arguably the finest of them all. Cobb's remarkable five-tool skill sets justify this notion, with his record-setting .366 batting average, 4,189 safeties, 897 stolen bases, 2,245 runs scored, 392 outfield assists (second only to Tris Speaker), and unparalleled fiery competitiveness all combining to place him as one of baseball's five 1936 HOF charter members. While certainly not a pack-fresh offering, its sheer existence and right to own a copy far surpass the grade and aforementioned blemishes. Ultra-condition sensitive to say the least, of the four known M131 Cobb's, the highest graded copy is an SGC 2 that sold for a whopping $63K in April 2022. To the best of our knowledge, no public sale has been documented since that sale, so we will let the sophisticated collector ultimately decide the true worth of this museum-worthy Georgia Peach Baltimore Newsboy rarity!

MIN BID $7,500
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