(LOT 78)
1954 Topps #201 Al Kaline PSA 8 NM-MT
ROOKIE TIGER!!! If you had a chance to pick the brain of Ted Williams about hitting, wouldn't you take that chance? Even Al Kaline knew that. As a rookie in 1953 facing the Red Sox for the first time, Kaline met Williams, who gave the 18-year-old Tiger some tips and offseason workout routines to help improve his batting. Kaline adhered to those tips and suggestions throughout his career. A couple years later, Kaline again went back to the well, this time at the 1956 All-Star Game, when Ted Williams confirmed Tigers manager Bucky Harris' assessment of Al reaching for pitches, prolonging his slump. So, without Williams' advice, who knows if Kaline would have been an 18X All-Star, or earned entry into Cooperstown. Offered here is a 1954 Topps #201 Al Kaline Rookie graded 8 NM-MT by PSA. This strikingly colorful first-year card of Mr. Tiger displays flawless surfaces and blood-drawingly sharp corners and edging. If not for the minor OC on the face, this is surely a 9 MINT or GEM MINT issue.

MIN BID $1,500
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