(LOT 10)
"Rare for the Grade" 1934 Goudey #62 Hank Greenberg Rookie Card PSA 9 Mint – "POP 3" Only One PSA Example Graded Higher!
MINT GREENBERG ROOKIE!!! In 1933, the Detroit Tigers would unveil their powerful first baseman slugger "Hammerin' Hank" Greenberg to the baseball community, and the powerful right-handed hitter would waste no time in placing his indelible mark on our National Pastime's glorious history. In only 449 official "at-bats", Greenberg would blast 12 dingers, knock in 85 runs and post a superb .301 batting average, a sure sign of even better things to come. While the prestigious Boston-based Goudey Gum Company omitted him from their landmark 1933 set, they jumped at the opportunity of including this rookie sensation in their likewise ultra-popular 1934 repeat gathering. Dubbing Greenberg as subject #62, and ironically following immortal first sacker Lou Gehrig in the set, this legendary Greenberg issue would forever stand tall as his true rookie card, with no rogue and/or regional issues challenging the 1934 Goudey #62 subject for that majestic title. One of the most coveted rookie cards in the hobby, Memory Lane is ultra-proud to present one of the finest examples imaginable, a miraculous PSA 9 MINT example that along with two other copies, has only been bested by a single PSA 10 specimen.

Indeed, this "Mint" marvel has stubbornly defied "father-time" over the past 88 years to retain a majority of its original pristine state, and we simply cannot recall the last time a PSA 9 example has sold at public auction. In fact, virtually all of the hobby's card pricing databases reflect zero sales for a PSA 9 Greenberg rookie card (e.g., Vintagecardprices.com), a telltale sign of the utmost rarity for this world-class offering. Born of Jewish orthodox decent as Hyman Greenberg on January 1, 1911, Hank would play his inaugural MLB game on September 14, 1930, failing to get a hit in his only official plate appearance. The next several years, he would jump around in the Tigers minor league farm system before rejoining Detroit for the 1933 campaign and embarking on one of the finest MLB careers of any first baseman. After his rookie campaign, Greenberg would post sensational offensive figures for the 1934 season, the year his inaugural Goudey subject would be issued to the American public. Greenberg's prolific numbers included 26 round-tripper, 139 runs batted in, a .339 batting average and a 1.005 OPS, with the powerful slugger now considered one of the three most prodigious hitters in baseball along with Foxx and Gehrig. Playing only ten full seasons in the Major Leagues (he lost almost a full four years in the army during WWII from 1941 thru 1944), while Greenberg's lifetime statistics aren't record-setting, they were surely productive.

Winner of two MVP awards, he averaged nearly 34 homers and a staggering 120+ RBIs per season (including 183 and 170 figures), with 1938 being his greatest year when he chased Babe Ruth's legendary 60 home run mark, finishing at 58 dingers. He would end his incredible career after the 1947 campaign, tallying 331 home runs and posting sensational .313 batting average and 1.017 O.P.S. marks, while leading the American League in homers and R.B.I.s on four separate occasions. One of the humblest big leaguers the game has ever known, "Hammerin' Hank" would earn several other nicknames including "Hankus Pankus" and the "Hebrew Hammer". Regarding the latter, it would be his Jewish decent that brought out Greenberg's finest qualities, with the unjust anti-Semitic bigotry at that tenuous time truly testing his integrity and courage. Throughout his career, Greenberg shrugged off this unacceptable prejudice in a classy manner, going about his business in a blue-collar style while spearheading the Detroit Tigers to two world championships in 1935 and 1940 via his quiet yet unequivocal leadership. Regarding this offering's breathtaking aesthetics, the Greenberg leisurely pose is absolutely enthralling, with his pinstriped Tigers uniform, period-style cap and good-natured grin revealing the finest imaginable rich hues.

Projecting the timeless image in an almost 3D-like manner is the seemingly flawless cool mint green background, and the iconic illustration exhibits near-perfect centering with only the slightest hint of favoritism towards the right edge. Immaculate to say the least, additional attributes supporting the near-impossible "9 Mint" assessment include snow white borders, virtually perfect right-angled corners, an imposing "Lou Gehrig Says..." caption within the lower blue text box, no glaring surface flaws, a blistering sharp perimeter, and super clean verso portraying vivid/bold green verbiage. As previously stated, we cannot even trace the last time a PSA 9 Greenberg Goudey rookie sold in a public auction, and even if you can unearth a bygone sale from an outdated past, its obsolete pricing point would be rendered irrelevant given the current market. The hobby has defined a hallowed stature for some of the most coveted rookie cards from any year, let alone a "Mint" example issued some 88 years ago. It is no secret that the scarcest rookie cards for baseball's vintage players are currently realizing unlimited pricing points, and considering this legendary Greenberg inaugural card has not surfaced for quite some time, we will defer to you, the sophisticated collector, to ultimately determine its true worth!

MIN BID $10,000
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