(LOT 139)
1941 Play Ball #71 Joe DiMaggio PSA 8 NM-MT
1941 DIMAGGIO!!! The legendary song lyrics "Joltin' Joe" DiMaggio, we want you on our side" were written by Alan Courtney and Ben Homer and brought to life by the renowned Les Brown Orchestra. It was originally released during the legendary 1941 season when the Yankee Clipper turned the baseball world upside down via his record-setting 56-game hitting streak. A superhero with icon status, Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941 continues to be one of our national pastime's most unbreakable records, with Joltin' Joe's legacy as one of our national pastime's greatest all-time ballplayers etched in stone. Coincidentally, this breathtaking Joe DiMaggio 1941 Play Ball card was also issued during that momentous 1941 campaign, likewise depicting Hall of Fame qualities worthy of an eternal place in Cooperstown, New York. Graded an earth-shattering PSA 8 NM-MT, one look at this museum-worthy masterpiece makes you ponder the qualities required to achieve a MINT 9 grade.

To date, of the nearly 950 PSA encapsulated examples, only a meager six specimens have managed to achieve a higher assessment, with a mere twenty-nine, or 3%, residing at this hallowed 8 plateau! Furthermore, this card proudly resides as one of PSA's Top 250 Sportscards, standing right alongside some of the finest Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, Wagner and Mantle cards. The classic DiMaggio batting swing image is brilliant to say the least, set against a rich violet and two-tone green background as Joe D completes his mighty swing via an image originally struck by the illustrious photographer George Burke. DiMaggio's immortal 1936 R312 rookie card image was also taken from that same photo shoot, with the '41 Play Ball illustration only a shutter or two off from the rookie card photo.

Most significantly, this hallowed illustration atypically reveals fine centering between four relatively clean borders, with the sanctified illustration only slightly favoring the upper right edges. The razor-sharp perimeter includes four pin-point corners, with this pack-fresh blazer certainly appearing as if it has just been pulled from a 1941 Play Ball Gum Co. wax pack. The final superlative for this cardboard treasure is an immaculate verso that exhibits fine print registration affixed to a super-clean off-white background. This miraculous offering resides as one of the pinnacle Joe DiMaggio 1941 Play Ball cards extant, and while the current grade is sufficient for even the most meticulous enthusiasts, its awe-inspiring aesthetics are arguably consistent with most 9 MINT examples. To reiterate, we cannot overemphasize the significance of DiMaggio's solidified place not only in baseball history but as the true embodiment of a national hero.

The celebrated 1941 campaign is a year that will forever be embedded in the hearts and minds of avid baseball fans, for it was this season that DiMaggio remarkably recorded at least a single safety in 56 consecutive games, as well as Ted Williams achieving a .406 batting average. Joltin' Joe and the Kid were the talk of a captivated nation, and this PSA 8 DiMaggio '41 Play Ball offering portraying the Yankee icon in a classic full-body swinging pose is the perfect testament to that record-breaking season. Its exalted stature was truly substantiated when a PSA Gem Mint 10 specimen sold for a staggering $750,000 price tag in the winter of 2020, with another PSA 8 example fetching $93,000 earlier this year. This justifies why now is the perfect time to step up to the plate and capture one of the Yankee Clipper's best preserved cardboard masterpieces before its spiraling value reaches an unattainable level!

MIN BID $15,000
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