(LOT 56)
1951 Bowman #1 Whitey Ford Rookie PSA 8 NM-MT
FORD ROOKIE!!! Edward Charles Ford grew up a Yankees fan and idolized Joe DiMaggio, like so many other youngsters. When Whitey Ford first attended the New York Yankees tryout camp in 1946, he was a first baseman. Legendary Yankees scout Paul Krichell, who signed the likes of Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri and Phil Rizzuto, had Ford throw some warm-up pitches, urging the 18-year-old lefthander to convert to the mound. In his senior year, pitching for the 36-0 Thirty-fourth Avenue Boys, Ford went 18-0 and then pitched a 1-0 shutout, striking out 18, in the New York Journal-American championship game to win the Lou Gehrig trophy as the tournament MVP.

After signing with New York in 1947, minor league manager Lefty Gomez labeled him "Whitey" because he had trouble remembering new players names, and it stuck. When he was ultimately called up in 1950, he was now a teammate of his idol, Joltin' Joe. Whitey went 9-1 in his rookie campaign. From 1953 to 1965, Ford won 12 games or more each season, led the league three times in wins and captured the 1961 Cy Young Award. Dubbed "The Chairman of the Board" by catcher Elston Howard, Ford's HOF accomplishments include a New York Yankees record 236 victories, a scintillating 2.75 ERA, an incredible .690 winning percentage, a record 10 World Series victories and 33 consecutive scoreless innings, with the latter breaking Babe Ruth's all-time mark. He won six World Series titles with New York.

Along with the immortal Mantle and Mays, one of the 1951 Bowman's three iconic rookie cards is the set's #1 subject, Whitey Ford, with this brilliant PSA 8 subject only bested by a meager six examples! It has somehow managed to elude the typical wear associated with #1 subjects due to their position atop of so many '51 Bowman baseball card stacks, ultimately rendering them susceptible to rubber band marks, sunlight, staining, etc. This spectacular keepsake boasts a hoard of pack-fresh superlatives, including an extremely bright lithographic Ford image, excellent centering with only a mild partiality towards the upper edge, right-angled corners, the back having eluded any unsightly gum stains, and an extremely clean surfaces. Most Ford rookies are plagued by severely skewed illustrations, and both the excellent image positioning and sparkling Ford portrait illuminate this issue, placing this cherished rookie subject as one of his finest visually pleasing examples!

MIN BID $3,000
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