This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/1/2022
Along with Bowman, the Leaf Gum Company decided to step into the baseball card market as the first national post-war issue and most celebrated collection since Babe Ruth appeared (four times) in the 1933 Goudey series. In an effort to enhance their chances of success, Leaf included "tribute" cards of Ruth and Honus Wagner, but in hindsight, it wasn't necessary. The set contains a bumper crop of important rookie cards, but the debut of Jackie Robinson outpaces them all. Unlike other key rookie cards (Musial, Spahn, Rizzuto, etc.), Jackie Robinson does not appear on a Bowman card in the inaugural series, leaving only Leaf as the producer of arguably the most significant baseball trading card ever produced. The 1947 Rookie of the Year, Robinson lead the league in stolen bases while facing constant harassment and threats as the first black player to wear a major league uniform. Dodgers owner Branch Rickey hand-selected Robinson to be the pioneer that would break the long-standing color barrier, citing his college education, exceptional athleticism, and miliary background as important traits that would help him cope with the societal backlash he would inevitably encounter. It certainly didn't hurt Rickey's cause that Robinson batted a robust .349 with 40 stolen bases in his only minor league season with the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers' AAA affiliate. The featured card is graded PSA 6, high for 1948 Leaf standards and their tendency to succumb to a laundry list of quality control problems. This example is considerably shifted toward the left edge, pretty much the standard for the issue, but offers an incredible combination of glowing yellow backdrop that is largely free from significant stray print and the bold blue of Jackie's Dodgers cap. The perimeter is the real draw here, a high-end EX/MT compilation that is rarely matched in quality by many of its contemporaries. A truly exceptional card of one of Jackie Robinson, game changer!