(LOT 12)
1933 Sport Kings #2 Babe Ruth PSA 8 NM-MT - Only 3 PSA Examples Graded Higher!
PACK-FRESH RUTH!!! The most illustrious subject of the 1933 Sport Kings compilation is the immortal George Herman "Babe" Ruth, with this extremely high-grade 1933 Goudey Sports King Babe Ruth listed as one of the top 250 Sportscards in our illustrious hobby. Reflecting a remarkable PSA 8 NM-MT assessment, only 3.7% of the nearly 600 PSA encapsulated copies have achieved this lofty grade, with a paltry three examples graded higher! Immensely underrated for the longest time regarding ultimate value, its prestigious standing has finally inspired collectors to truly understand its true worth, as substantiated by two PSA 8 examples selling for a lucrative $210K and $193K several years ago. Considering Babe Ruth cards are currently at the height of their popularity, we can only assume these past pricing points might suffice as wholesale figures in the near future. Long overshadowed by the four Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey baseball set subjects, the Sport Kings Bambino card is finally receiving its well-deserved recognition, and we can only assume that this spiraling uptick will continue for all of Ruth's most illustrious mainstream cardboard issues. In fact, the roughly 600 PSA encapsulated Ruth Sport Kings examples represent only 11% of the approximate 5,250+ PSA-graded Goudey's at the time this was written, with each of the four Goudey Ruths revealing 1,000–1,500 encapsulated specimens on PSA's illustrious Pop Chart.

The popularity of the 1933 Sport Kings 48-card set continues to grow at an alarming rate, spearheaded by the #2 subject, George Herman Ruth. Piggybacking off of the likewise coveted 1932 U.S. Caramel multi-sport gathering, the Boston based Goudey Gum manufacturer chose to utilize an elaborate array of robust hues for their prized Sport Kings images, as opposed to the U.S. Caramel's standard red background. It's this concept that gravitates the most sophisticated collectors towards this world-class set, with the Babe Ruth subject obviously paving the way. Issued the year after the Colossus of Swat turned the baseball world upside down with his historic "Called Shot" homerun in game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs, it makes perfect sense that the Goudey Gum Co. would utilize Ruth's hallowed image on one of their three baseball subjects. It comes as little surprise that any Bambino cardboard heirloom issued during his playing days is highly coveted by virtually all vintage collectors, especially when it resides in a sanctified PSA 8 holder. The Babe exemplifies everything that our National Pastime represents at an incomparable level, with Ruth's popularity and immortality increasing profoundly.

His Beantown pitching feats, coupled with his uncontested batting achievements, have earned him the undisputed title of baseball's greatest all-time player. Indeed, it is an unfathomable concept that Ruth would have been a Hall of Fame pitcher had he not abandoned the pitching rubber to pursue his destiny as the game's finest slugger. Regarding this offering's breathtaking aesthetics, the near impeccable resolution and sparkling hues of the classic bust Ruth image are seemingly faultless, with the Babe portraying one of his often-seen good-natured grins. Highlights are a breathtaking olive-green background, virtually flawless as its original pristine state, with only a diminutive factory-issued surface anomaly situated above his left shoulder which is commonly seen on most Babe Ruth 1933 Sport Kings subjects. Atypical for this issue is the near-perfect centering that is extremely close to the seemingly impossible 50/50 positioning, blinding white borders, blistering sharp corner tips and near-immaculate surfaces. The final exclamation point is the verso's bold green text, and most would agree that this PSA 8 cardboard blazer borders on meriting a half-grade bump via its pack-fresh qualities and spellbinding aesthetics.

Ruth's myriad of pitching exploits, remarkable batting achievements, majestic homers that revolutionized baseball, and his overall persona substantiate why baseball will never see the likes of him again: an irreplaceable icon with an unparalleled combination of sheer playing excellence and vitality that will echo for eternity. The current sports card market is experiencing a substantial pricing surge for its immortal players, and most would agree that no sports personality possibly surpasses the prestige of the incomparable Colossus of Swat. It's no coincidence that the Goudey Gum Company issued a Babe Ruth card as one of baseball's three representatives, along with Cobb and Hubbell, within their renowned 1933 Sport Kings issue, with the magnificent eye appeal of this museum-worthy masterpiece being the consummate testament to Ruth's cream of the crop stature. While we can only begin to speculate as to the prospective value of the Sport Kings Ruth, considering the seven-figure plus prices being realized for modern sports stars, hobbyists can only assume that the future pricing points for this miraculous PSA 8 Ruth marvel know no bounds. The clever economic concept of today's retail is tomorrow's wholesale certainly applies to this unfathomable offering that has stubbornly defied time over the past 90 years, with its pristine attributes conjuring up the notion that this world-class keepsake has just been pulled from a 1933 Sport Kings wax pack!

MIN BID $40,000
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