Some rookie cards of Hall of Famers became highly sought-after just years into the player's career. The debut card of Sandy Koufax was not one of them. Signed on as a "bonus baby" by the Brooklyn Dodgers, Koufax was required to bypass the minor leagues and remain on the big league roster for a minimum of two seasons. While the teen showed a lively arm, his lack of control made it evident that the young phenom was not ready for big league baseball. After 6 full seasons, Koufax appeared to be a bust, posting a 36-40 record with a 4.10 ERA. It was six words from catcher Norm Sherry during a 1961 spring training game that changed the trajectory of Koufax's career from bust to legend; "Don't try to throw so hard." The next six years looked dramatically different for Sandy; a 129-47 record, 2.19 ERA, 35 shutouts, three National League wins titles, five ERA titles, four strikeout titles, three Cy Young Awards, four no-hitters, one perfect game, and one NL MVP Award. Forced to retire due to injury, Sandy Koufax had perhaps the most dominant six-year span of any hurler in baseball history! His 1955 Topps card is one of the most coveted pastboards in all of the hobby and stands as the most submitted card to PSA from the series, easily besting even the debut card of the legendary Roberto Clemente with over 50% more grading requests. However, high-grade examples are extremely elusive, primarily due to common centering shifts and invasive stray print that descends upon the various shades of yellow on the surface. The featured piece is a museum-quality investment, one of only 25 to grade PSA 9 MINT with just three graded higher out of over 11,300 submissions. First off, to say the centering is accurate for the issue is an understatement, as the framing is within a degree or two in any direction from total perfection. Additionally, the radiant yellow backdrop yields nothing more than a few scant flecks of stray print, an inevitable conclusion but amazingly limited and has no bearing on the overall presence of the regal piece. Each corner proudly displays MINT quality, at a minimum, as a case can be made for GEM MINT status at more than one endpoint. The two artist images that introduce the iconic southpaw hurler are delivered with stunning clarity and bold pigmentation, providing a sense of foreshadowing that the man, though barely of age to vote, would one day be one of the game's greatest heroes. Finally, the reverse equally upholds the standards of the rarely distributed assessment, offering a mildly toned canvas with unusually bright green and red pigmentation to supplement the black print and the statistics box that merely offers "NOT IN ORGANIZED BASEBALL" as his career resume. This is a truly remarkable example that will provide a centerpiece for any world-class collection!