(LOT 10)
"One of a Kind" 1967 Topps Signed Tom Seaver Rookie Card w/a Miraculous PSA 9 MINT CARD GRADE & PSA 9 Mint AUTO GRADE!
It was the legendary Mark Twain who was once quoted: "the two most important days of our lives are the day we were born with the second being a clear understanding of why we were born? With regard to the immortal George Thomas Seaver, significant day number one was his November 17, 1944 birth date. Regarding his life's true destiny, "Tom Terrific's" major purpose on this planet was to captivate an adoring Nation via his unparalleled skill set for throwing a baseball to a catcher with uncanny speed and control. Dubbed 'The Franchise", Seaver truly stands as one of the top-ten pitchers of all-time, and with that in mind, Memory Lane is proud to offer one of the most miraculous cardboard heirlooms we have ever had the honor of handling. This SIGNED Tom Seaver 1967 Rookie Card not only reveals a stellar PSA 9 fine blue sharpie autograph assessment, but in unfathomable fashion, reflects a PSA 9 MINT CARD GRADE! Say what? Is that possible? Indeed, this is no fantasy because synonymous to a Seaver high-riding 100 mph un-hittable fastball, this extraordinary offering is absolutely UNIQUE to the hobby!

Of the mere 26 PSA encapsulated scripted Tom Seaver 1967 rookie cards, its closest competitor is a PSA 7, and we haven't seen any other scripted pre-1970 Hall of Fame rookie card sporting a "9 MINT" assessment or higher. Other than the three existing PSA 10 un-signed Seaver rookie cards (w/one of those 'Pop 3" Seaver 10's selling for a staggering $344K in 2021), no "Tom Terrific" cardboard issue could possibly offer the coupled desirability and value of this "one of a kind" marvel. Its unlimited investment potential is justified by the fact that un-signed PSA 9 MINT Seaver '67 Topps rookies are now fetching up to $25K, and we don't need to elaborate as to the exponential-like values currently being realized for high grade scripted rookie cards. The modern market is realizing seven-figure+ price tags for the likes of Brady, James, Trout, etc., with one LeBron James "Pop 1 for the grade" rookie fetching a staggering $5.2 million. Even a mid-grade PSA 5 EX scripted 1986 Fleer Jordan recently sold for $71K, further substantiating the infinite-like value for this "Pop 1" Tom Seaver 1967 rookie gem. Additionally, due to Seaver's extremely sad passing several years ago on August 31, 2020 at the age of 75, this museum worthy offering will never share its pinnacle "Pop 1" status with a single other signed Seaver rookie specimen, with its "unique" standing forever cemented in stone.

The celebrated stature of Seaver's iconic inaugural 1967 Topps subject is certainly tied to "Tom Terrific's' aforementioned immortal standing as one of our National Pastime's greatest all-time hurlers. Tom would be drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1966, but due to Atlanta signing Seaver to a $50,000 bonus after two USC NCAA exhibition games had been played in early 1966, commissioner William Eckert ruled the contract void. Since Seaver had already signed a professional contract, NCAA baseball also ruled Seaver could not continue playing NCAA Division 1 baseball with the Trojans. With Tom now caught between a "rock and a hard place", Eckert decided that any club who was willing to match Atlanta's $50,000 offer could sign Seaver, with the Phillies, Indians and Mets all jumping in the atypical sweepstakes that ultimately saw Eckert select the N.Y. Mets name out of a hat! After a fine 12-12 campaign with the Jacksonville Suns in 1966, Sever would be promoted to the 'Big-Leagues" in 1967. His immediate success prompted the Topps Chewing Gum Company to incorporate Seaver as their #581 subject along with long-forgotten Bill Denehy in the scarcer "high-numbered" final series. Seaver's true 1967 rookie card was officially born, now residing as one of the hobby's most iconic post-WWII inaugural HOF issues.

Seaver would post 16 wins in his first campaign to the tune of a stellar 2.76 E.R.A. Soon to be dubbed "The Franchise", Tom Seaver was an unquestionable "winner", and only two years later his 25 wins and first of three Cy Young awards would turn the Mets from laughable losers to World Series winners when the 'Miracle Mets" bested Baltimore in the 1969 Fall Classic. The Hall of Fame right-handed twirler would end his remarkable 20-year career with 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts and a miraculous 2.86 lifetime E.R.A., standing alongside the iconic Walter Johnson as one of only two pitchers who ever compiled 300+ wins, 3,000+ strikeouts and a sub-3.00 E.R.A. Some of Tom's worldly feats include striking out a record 10 consecutive batters (19 in all) on April 22, 1970 against San Diego (tied by two pitchers in 2021), and he is still the only pitcher in baseball history to fan 200 or more batters in nine consecutive seasons. He tossed 61 shutouts, 231 complete games twenty-seven 3-hitters, ten 2-hitters, five one-hitters, and a no-hitter against St. Louis in his first season with Cincinnati. Unfathomable to say the least, Seaver yielded two earned runs or less in nearly 250 of his 311 lifetime wins, further justifying why many historians consider him as the arguable greatest post-WWII pitcher.

It therefore comes as little surprise that synonymous with Seaver's foremost standing among baseball's greatest all-time pitchers, this "unique for the grade" scripted Seaver inaugural subject likewise resides as one of the hobby's most significant autographed rookie cards from any era. Its PSA 9 MINT card assessment is more than justified by sparkling hues, an atypical near-perfectly centered image, pinpoint corners, razor sharp edges, not a single glaring flaw, immaculate-like surfaces and of course, the eye-popping PSA 9 MINT fine blue sharpie signature that certainly appears to have merited a "10" grade. Regardless, it is the heart-stopping aesthetics and PSA 9 MINT card grade that "steal the show", irrefutably placing this "one of a kind" hallowed offering as one of the most momentous inaugural Hall of Fame issues for any of the major sports. A collectors dream and cardboard anomaly to say the least, this offering suffices as one of those cards that shouldn't exist, anxiously awaiting a new home in one of the foremost autograph gatherings on the planet. Similar to Tom Seaver's all-time "king of the hill" standing, this peerless offering likewise rests at the summit of the illustrious PSA "Pop" Chart, and as a testament to the legendary George Thomas Seaver, we would like to summarize his spectacular career and elite stature by stating: "For those who knew him – no words were necessary; for those who didn't, - no words will ever be adequate!"

MIN BID $15,000