(LOT 11)
1909 T204 Ramly Walter Johnson PSA 5 EX
MAGNIFICENT BIG TRAIN RAMLY!!! Finding an extremely well-centered PSA 5 EX 1909 T204 Ramly Walter Johnson is an excruciating task, substantiated by only four other examples joining this Big Train offering on the PSA Pop Chart. Furthermore, a mere nine specimens have managed to achieve a superior grade, a grand testament to the ultra-condition sensitivity of any T204 Ramly subject. A 1936 Charter Hall of Famer, Walter Johnson reigns supreme as our National Pastime's greatest all-time pitcher, tantamount to this sensational keepsake that has stubbornly defied time. The hobby's most iconic cards continue to realize lofty price tags every day, and one of those renowned keepsakes is the highly coveted 1909 T204 Ramly Walter Johnson, which is one of his inaugural MLB conventional-sized cards. Along with his 1909 T206 150 Subjects issue, the 1909 Ramly Walter Johnson resides as his conventional-sized rookie.

While the extremely rare Johnson 1908 Rose Postcard (only four known copies) certainly precedes his Ramly issue by a single year, many hobby purists still negate the concept of postcards sufficing as true baseball cards. For some inexplicable reason, the ornate and stylish 1909 T204 Ramly set excludes many of the incomparable turn of the century Cooperstown inductees, forgoing such legends as Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Cy Young and Napoleon Lajoie. 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 aforementioned elite players were omitted from its distribution. Loaded with common players from the Deadball Era, fortunately, one of those aspiring young players just happened to develop into the finest hurler who ever toed an MLB pitching rubber, Washington's strapping side-armed flame thrower Walter Johnson.

Owning any pre-WWI cardboard artifact of the Big Train is every vintage collector's goal, let alone Johnson's most sought-after card in spellbinding condition. 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 baseball's consummate professional and was idolized by thousands of aspiring young ballplayers. Consistent with Johnson's supreme status as baseball's greatest pitcher are the magnificent aesthetics of this resounding world-class card. A breathtaking black and white central illustration of Carl Horner's legendary Johnson portrait image atypically 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 America's pinnacle hurler.

Encompassed by the popular gold-bordered oval and flamboyant background gold designs, the iconic pose is atypically positioned virtually dead-on 50/50 between four bold gold borders that have managed to elude notable surface chipping. Both of these extremely rare superlatives are rarely seen on any Ramly subject, with most examples exhibiting skewed images as well as severe gold border chipping. A majority of the limited border wear/chipping is restricted to the corners, with standard corner wear preventing a higher assessment. No notable creases are apparent, and if a faint wrinkle exists, it is barely visible to the naked eye. Finding a mid-grade T204 Johnson subject is no easy task, with a previous PSA 5 fetching $66K less than a year ago in August 2023. Most incredibly, a PSA 8 Johnson recently sold for a record-setting $377K in Memory Lane's February 2023 auction, a momentous statement regarding this museum-worthy masterpiece's world-class stature and unlimited investment potential!

MIN BID $10,000
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