This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/15/2020
Other than the legendary 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, there might not be a more significant issue in the company's history of making baseball cards than the 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie card and the featured example is one of the finest specimens on record. With so many great home run hitters, from Foxx to Williams to Mantle to Mays, it would've seemed unlikely that Henry Aaron would be the one to finally pass The Babe's all-time home-run record. Each was so hopeful of supplanting Ruth, but personal issues ended Foxx's career prematurely, military service shortened the careers of Mays and Williams, and injuries slowed down Mantle. But Aaron was a different story altogether. Though Aaron won the first of two National League batting titles in just his third full major-league season, his 66 home runs over that span hardly made him a legitimate contender to take down Babe Ruth's illustrious home run crown, which he had worn since 1921 when he passed Roger Conner by smacking round-tripper #162. Babe Ruth topped the 50 home run mark four times and hit a record-setting 60 dingers in 1927; Aaron never reached the 50-homer mark. This was certainly not a recipe for becoming the all-time home run king, but what "Hammerin Hank" mastered over his career was a steady diet of 30+ home run seasons that lasted well into his late 30s, reaching the mark in 15 of the 17 seasons from 1957-1973. And Aaron came along just when the Topps Chewing Gum Company needed him most. Having mounted a formidable challenge to the firmly-established Bowman Gum Company for the two previous years, Bowman struck at the heart of Topps by taking away their greatest asset; Mickey Mantle. By signing Mantle to an exclusive rights contract, Bowman forced Topps to produce a collection without "The Commerce Comet", who instead created two different Ted Williams cards to bookend the set. But as luck would have it, Topps had the rights not only Hank Aaron but rookies Ernie Banks and Al Kaline as well. What could have been a crushing blow for the fledging company instead became one of the most magnificent and import collections ever produced (would really have been nice to have a Mantle in there though). Bowman had Mantle, but Topps had the most significant card of the year! The featured card is fresh to the hobby and recently submitted to PSA, and most collectors agree that while grading parameters on paper have remained the same, the grading process has become considerably more stringent in practice. So it takes a really elite specimen like the one featured here to nab the almost impossible grade of PSA 9 MINT, a mark surpassed by just two others. The deep, pristine field of orange that surrounds the up and coming 20-year old star is virtually perfect while the supporting blue, red and yellow pigments project with similarly intense brightness, calling to attention the pure whiteness of the untainted borders. The centering is virtually dead-on accurate and the edges and endpoints match or exceed the qualifications for the MINT grade. The reverse offers deep color with minimal traces of unavoidable chipping along the green edges. Stored away for virtually its entire existence, this museum-quality card has emerged after over 65 years to achieve a PSA 9 grade and will find a new home in a world-class collection!