(LOT 306)
1911-14 D304 General Baking Co. Ty Cobb PSA 4 VG-EX - POP 1; Highest Graded Cobb General Baking Co. Ad Back on the Combined PSA & SGC Pop Charts!
POP1; HIGHEST GRADED TYRUS!!! For all of the abundant Georgia Peach cardboard treasures, one of the most coveted and valuable issues continues to be his magnificent D304 bread card depicting the iconic batting stance of the immortal Cobb. First issued in 1911, this awe-inspiring PSA 4 VG-EX D304 Tyrus marvel boasts the ultra-elusive General Baking Co. ad back, one of five possible bread advertisements issued by various Buffalo based bakeries to promote their bread products. Much scarcer than the more common Brunners or Butter Krust Bread ad backs, this POP 1 keepsake is the SOLE and HIGHEST GRADED Cobb General Baking Co. example on the combined PSA and SGC census reports, with only 16 total specimens listed in any grade!

Equally impressive is that its closest competition are two PSA 2 and two SGC 1.5, with this PSA 4 far outdistancing those inferior assessments. Tantamount to Cobb's arguable stature as baseball's finest Deadball Era player is this undisputed best of the rest General Baking Co. memento. 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 baseball's supreme player. Cobb continued his unprecedented batting prowess by pacing the Junior Circuit once again in 1911 with an unfathomable .419 batting average, the highest of his exalted 24-year career.

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. We cannot imagine a more formidable card of the iconic Cobb than one portraying his legendary batting pose that is strikingly similar to his hallowed Cracker Jack subject. You can almost feel Cobb's unequivocal intensity radiating from his classic hands-apart stance as he prepares to stroke another one of his 4,189 safeties, ultimately leading to a still-record .366 batting average. The mustard brown background serves as a virtually perfect setting for the lithographic Cobb illustration, emanating a sparkling array of gray-colored tints.

Atypically, the image reveals near-perfect centering (most D304 Cobb examples reflect skewed images), with notable flaws being what appears to be some light surface scratches between Cobb and the barrel of his period-style lumber, a light diagonal wrinkle situated in the lower right quadrant, even corner wear, aggressive toning/soiling along the lower right and lower left edges, and a diminutive surface scuff along the lower border on the "ER" in AMER. The final complement is the verso's rather scarce "GENERAL BAKING COMPANY" advertisement, noting that these cards will be wrapped in Star, French and Little General loaves of bread until October 1st. Its world-class stature is justified by a PSA 4.5 Cobb exhibiting a more common Brunners Bread ad back fetching $59K approximately one year ago, with this well-centered PSA 4 rarity boasting a more obscure General Baking Co. advertisement. A bona fide POP1 masterpiece, its irrefutable highest graded status is synonymous with the Georgia Peach's rightful standing as one of our National Pastime's greatest all-time players!

MIN BID $10,000
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