This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/12/2021
For most of the first half of the 20th century, baseball fans in the Bronx viewed every new season as either a World Championship or a disappointment. The Yankees were so good for so long that it was simply expected that they'd win the American League pennant and probably take the World Series. Then along came Mickey Mantle, and non-pinstripers around the league rolled their eyes at the prospect of the new "Ruth/Gehrig/DiMaggio" leading the Bombers to even more titles for yet another generation. But just as "The Commerce Comet" was settling in, another rookie was taking over the centerfield position in a different part of New York; the incomparable Willie Mays. And maybe it's due to Mantle's rookie card getting so much limelight in the 1951 Bowman set, but we still think the Willie Mays rookie card from the same set is one of the most undervalued post-war issues. Mays is the prototypical player that comes to mind when the term "5 tool player" is mentioned. "The Say Hey Kid" could hit for power and average, throw and play defense as well as anyone who ever played the game, and was a great base runner. He was better than Mantle. His place in baseball history is firmly secured in the hearts and minds of baseball historians and fans alike. Presented here is the 1951 Bowman Mays rookie card in a very desirable PSA 6.5 EX/MT+. Only the centering, shaded slightly toward the horizontal southeast, prevents the card from adding that half-grade that, in our opinion, it still deserves given the rest of the card's NM or better attributes. The image of Mays is one of the best we've seen on any example, with immaculate registration and clean, bold color placement. The slate gray reverse is clean and ably conveys Willie's rise through the minors in its bio. A very important eye-pleasing card in a very respectable grade.