Lot # 29: “Unique for the Grade” & the Finest 1933 R337 Eclipse Import #402 Babe Ruth PSA 7 NM – “Pop 1” & the Highest Graded Example for ALL 24 SUBJECTS on the Combined PSA & SGC “Pop” Charts!

Category: 1921-1939

Starting Bid: $7,500.00

Bids: 14 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall Rarities Auction 2021",
which ran from 9/25/2021 12:00 PM to
10/9/2021 7:00 PM




(LOT 29)
"Unique for the Grade" & the Finest 1933 R337 Eclipse Import #402 Babe Ruth PSA 7 NM – "Pop 1" & the Highest Graded Example for ALL 24 SUBJECTS on the Combined PSA & SGC "Pop" Charts!

Memory Lane is ultra-proud to present one of the most miraculous Babe Ruth vintage cards on the planet; an extraordinary PSA Near-Mint 7 1933 Eclipse Import that stands as the SOLE and HIGHEST GRADED example for ALL 24 subjects on any professional grading services "Pop" charts! Indeed, not only is this "gem" the finest Babe Ruth 1933 Eclipse (by a full three grades on PSA's population report & two full grades vs. SGC's encapsulated Ruths), but it incredibly exists as the only Eclipse Import subject to ever receive a "NM 7" assessment. Simply stated, population disparity like this virtually never surfaces, with this card's unprecedented and supreme stature synonymous to the great Secretariat thoroughbred race horse blowing away the field by an unparalleled 31 lengths in the 1973 Belmont Stakes. It appeared that renowned June 9, 1973 day at Belmont Park as if Secretariat's opponents were racing on a different track, and likewise, this PSA 7 '33 Eclipse Babe Ruth has obliterated all of its substandard peers, leaving all of the remaining 400 encapsulated subjects in the dust! Ironically, by 1933, Babe Ruth had equally bested all of his baseball peers, now regarded as our National Pastime's greatest all-time player via his colossal round-trippers/batting feats as well as his sensational exploits as a southpaw twirler for the Boston Red Sox.

The "Babe" was well on his way to 714 lifetime round-trippers, having just swept the Cubs in the 1932 World Series that was highlighted by his immortalized "Called Shot" home run in Game 3 at Wrigley Field. Fans were exhilarated with Babe Ruth's resounding feats, and even in lieu of the great depression, manufacturers, such as the legendary Goudey Gum, U.S. Caramel and Uncle Jacks companies, started placing cards in bubble gum wax packs. Along with the illustrious Goudey Gum cards issued in 1933, other rogue companies released cards in an effort to challenge Goudey's market supremacy, with one of those card sets being the eclectic 1933 Eclipse Import R337 issue. Distributed in strips of eight-card panels, the complete baseball series was numbered 401 - 424 with three unnumbered players (Jimmie Foxx, Roy Johnson and Pie Traynor). Considering that no players were issued with numbers 403, 413 and 414, the hobby assumption is that the three unnumbered players were intended to receive the aforementioned missing checklist numbers. Colorful cartoon-like caricatures grace the front with black printed brief player "bios" reflected on the reverse side.

Seldom surfacing in the hobby, most subjects in circulation carry low grades due to the strips being poorly cut. Substantiating their ultra-condition sensitivity is the combined PSA & SGC census reports indicating of the 400 encapsulated examples, a mere 53 or 13% reflect technical assessments higher than a "VG 3". Furthermore, only 18 specimens (a fractional 4.5%) have managed to achieve mid-grade or better assessments. The following chart provides a detailed account of the PSA and SGC grades for Babe Ruth and the remaining 23 subjects, allowing you to clearly digest the momentous significance of this PSA 7 Ruth offering: The chart reiterates the fact that the offered PSA 7 Eclipse stands "heads & heals" above its closest SGC 5 Ruth peer, as well as residing as the sole and highest graded '33 Eclipse Import for ALL 24 subjects. Its Near-Mint 7 assessment is unprecedented for the R337 set, and one look at the card substantiates the near-impossible grade. Ruth's cartoon-like caricature pose is the same image affixed to his iconic 1933 Uncle Jacks issue, showing virtually zero ill effects over the past 88 years. A brilliant array of green, red, blue, yellow and red hues literally depicts a "3-D like" aura, and the timeless pose also portrays crystal clear clarity and near-perfect contrast.

Relatively well-centered (for this issue), the illustration does somewhat favor the lower left edges, and the four right-angled corners reveal minimal wear. No noticeable surface blemishes are evident, and the final exclamation point is the verso's bold/vivid jet-black verbiage affixed to a clean surface. Somehow … someway … this card has defied all the odds to retain a majority of its original factory issued qualities. Remarkable to say the least, it has stubbornly withstood "father-time" to stand tall as the pinnacle '33 Eclipse Import example for all of the 24 known players. Simply stated, the hobby might never again come across another Near-Mint 7 R337 subject, and how appropriate that the only unfathomable "7" represents the incomparable "Sultan of Swat" who resides as the undisputed "best of the rest" ballplayer to ever grace a baseball diamond. With regard to its pricing evaluation, this PSA 7 has never been offered to the general public at its current assessment. Therefore, we will defer to the sophisticated collector to ultimately determine its true worth, keeping in mind that it is a Babe Ruth cardboard heirloom from his majestic playing days standing heads and heels above its far inferior peers!

MIN BID $7,500
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