This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/2/2022
One of the true injustices of the post-war baseball card era comes from the 1963 Topps series, where baseball's all-time hits leader is relegated to sharing his debut Topps appearance with three other "prospects." To be fair, Hall of Famers Willie Stargell and Tony Oliva also share their respective rookie cards with three other players, so it's not a slight of "Charlie Hustle" per se but more of an unfortunate situation for all three. But the Rose rookie card stands as one of the most significant debut cards of the decade. Rose showed plenty of promise in the minors by batting a combined .317 over three minor league seasons but didn't flash the type of power that would necessitate a solo appearance as a "can't miss" generational player. But 24 seasons of consistently hovering around the .300 mark, with 3 National League batting titles, turned card #537 of the 1963 Topps set into one of the most coveted rookie cards ever produced. Pete Rose led the National League in hits 7 times, and broke the 200-hit barrier 10 times, the last of which was when he was 38 years old. As consistently excellent as he was year after year in the regular season, Rose turned up the heat in the playoffs and owns a career .321 average over 67 post-season contests. The featured example has earned the grade of PSA 9, no small accomplishment given the centering, stray print, and chipping issues that befall most Rose rookie cards. The centering, while not perfect, easily falls within the specifications for the MINT level while the corners and edges sidestep the usual chipping and deliver at an almost flawless level. The colorful surface is bold and without unsightly stray print while the reverse is bold, bright, and clean. Only one has been graded higher at PSA.