This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/15/2017
Nearly a century after its introduction, the 1922 W575-2 collection is still a bit of a mystery, even to baseball card historians. Though considered a hand-cut "strip card" in most baseball catalogs and publications, with that designation printed on the PSA flip, a recently discovered collection that included an original W575-2 wrapper proves conclusively that the series was distributed just like other mainstream collections and not actually a strip card. Mile High Card Company was fortunate to display that set, with the original wrapper, at our table at the National Sports Card Convention. Produced by the Kromo Gravue Photo Company of Detroit Michigan, this "autograph on shoulder" series, a 40-card issue that features some of baseball's greatest icons, is led by the legendary Babe Ruth in what is considered to be one of the most scarce issues ever produced of "The Bambino." In 1922, Ruth was already the premier slugger in the game, having recorded consecutive 50+ home run seasons since transitioning from world-class pitcher a few seasons earlier. But Babe's four consecutive home run titles leading up to the '22 campaign was just a taste of what was to come. Ruth took the home run crown 8 more times over his 22 year career while scoring a batting title in 1924. The featured card is graded PSA 5 and is the only specimen to achieve an EX grade from PSA, surpassed by just one other specimen that is merely a single grade higher. In fact, less than 300 cards from the entire W575-2 series have reached PSA headquarters (11 of which are Ruth cards) and just one example (George Sisler) has reached the level of PSA 7, a testament to exactly what an amazing prize this card is. Near perfectly centered with squared endpoints that are clearly superior to anything you'd expect of a card in "mid-grade" and a blank back that is bright and clean save for a few dots of stray print. The image of Ruth, admiring his handiwork post-swing with a full house of stadium fans in the backdrop, is remarkably sharp for what is considered to be a crudely produced series. It's very easy to gravitate toward the quartet of Ruth cards in the Goudey series or even the tougher U. S. Caramel and Sports King issues, but the truly advanced collector appreciates this incredible opportunity to add a world-class piece to their collection that is seldom seen and virtually impossible at this grade level.