This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/15/2017
With the exception of Mickey Mantle and maybe one or two others, there aren't any post-war subjects that excite advanced card collectors more than Sanford Koufax. A $25,000 "bonus baby" plucked directly from the University of Cincinnati to join the Dodgers at age 19, Koufax actually experienced two careers over his abbreviated 12-year tenure; the one you learn with (36-40 4.10 ERA from 1955-60) and the one you dominate with (129-47 2.19 ERA from 1961-1966). Presented is one of the finest 1957 Topps cards of Sandy Koufax known to exist, a stunning PSA 9 example that is matched by only 9 others with none graded higher. The intimate image shows a gleeful 21 year-old brandishing a smile that would soon become just as famous as his over-the-top, four-seam fastball, a pitch that was said to move at least two to three times before rising out of the batter's reach as it crossed the plate. Willie Mays once remarked that he "knew every pitch [Sandy] was going to throw and still couldn't hit him." The corners are undeniably MINT and certainly make a strong case for GEM MINT while the centering is within a degree or two of perfection on all four sides. The registration is so precise that we you easily perceive the individual hairs of Sandy's characteristic bushy eyebrows as well as his five o'clock shadow of a thin goatee. The colors on both the front and surfaces are pack-fresh with no sign of fading over the 60 years that have passed. While this issue is infamously plagued by both stray print as well as "snow," the offered example shows no real concern with either. Characteristic of the '57 issue, it does show some microscopic flecks of blue and red throughout, most of which can be found on every single example produced, but none of which can even be noticed when held at arm's length. This is a true masterpiece that is likely unrivaled by any of the other examples that share its elite grade level.