(LOT 253)
1956 Topps #79 Sandy Koufax White Back PSA 9 MINT
2ND-YEAR KOUFAX 9!!! Among the Pantheon of baseball's gods like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Cy Young, Rogers Hornsby and a Brooklyn Dodgers hurler Sandy Koufax. There are so few players in history that put together a string of seasons quite like Koufax or the other immortals listed. Using Baseball-Reference.com, the immortals' statistics are emboldened throughout their reference page as the league leaders in multiple categories over multiple years. From 1962-1966, his last five years in the Majors, Koufax led the National League three times in wins and shutouts, five times in ERA, four times in strikeouts, and twice in complete games and winning percentage. The whole second half of his page is in BOLD. From 1962 to 1966, he posted 111 wins of his 165 career victories, had an ERA of 1.95 and threw four no-hitters including one perfect game. He won three National League Cy Young Awards and the 1963 NL MVP after completing the pitching Triple Crown (25 W/1.88 ERA/306 Ks) and leading the Dodgers to a World Series victory over the New York Yankees.
It's hard to think of a more dominant figure during his tenure in the big leagues than Sandy Koufax, and he only pitched for 12 seasons. He didn't even hit his stride until his 7th year with the Dodgers. So, it's not difficult to imagine that Koufax relics are among the most sought-after. We are excited to offer this 1956 Topps #79 Sandy Koufax White Back second-year card graded 9 MINT by PSA. This is one of the highest graded examples of Sandy from 1956 and there remains only ONE 10 GEM MINT according to PSA's Pop report. This striking card presents pinpoint centering, razor-sharp corners and borders and crisp clean color of the lefty in-action and his portrait. Save for the lightest dot on the "S" of Sanford, the reverse is flawless as well. This high-grade masterpiece is worthy of the best of collections and worthy of the Hall of Fame status fittingly bestowed upon Koufax as well.
MIN BID $3,500