News
Rare 1914 card of Babe Ruth mentor Jack Dunn, more Ruth cards highlight REA auction
Few baseball managers and team owners have had more of a long-lasting historical impact on the game than a little-known pitcher and manager from the earliest days of professional baseball.
A major league pitcher and infielder at the turn of the 20th century, John Joseph “Jack” Dunn later became the manager and owner of the minor league Baltimore Orioles.
As a former player, Dunn had a knack for scouting, signing and developing his own players, including the greatest player in the history of the game — Babe Ruth.
Ruth, of course, transformed the game with his home run power and Ruthian blasts after being traded from the Red Sox to the Yankees, which he led to seven World Series championships. Part of the inaugural class of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, Ruth is now one of the icons of the sports collectibles hobby, with his cards and memorabilia often drawing top dollar.
And it was Jack Dunn who brought Ruth into the game with the minor league Orioles. Ironically, he also famously sold Ruth for $10,000 when his Orioles were losing money in 1914, a decision he often admitted was his biggest regret.
Dunn’s career as a manager was memorialized with a rare 1914 Baltimore News trading card, a copy of which is now up for bid in the Fall Auction at Robert Edward Auctions.
The auction, which runs through Dec. 3, also features several Babe Ruth cards, including the 1914 rookie that is making headlines with an estimated value of $10 million or more.
Other Babe cards and Ruth-related collectibles in the auction include:
• An exceptionally rare 1921 Frederick Foto Babe Ruth card (SGC GOOD 30), one of only six known to exist.
• 1933 R319 Goudey #149 Babe Ruth (PSA NM-MT 8).
• 1933 Uncle Jacks Candy “Babe” Ruth (SGC FAIR 20).
• 1920 Babe Ruth Type 1 Original Paul Thompson photo from his first season in New York.
• 1921 Babe Ruth Original News Service Type 1 photo (PSA/DNA).
• A 1914 Baltimore News SGC-graded Collection (13) with Babe Ruth Museum Provenance.
The auction also features several iconic Mickey Mantle cards, including: a 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle (PSA NM 7); 1951 Bowman #253 Mickey Mantle Rookie (PSA NM 7); and a 1955 Bowman #202 Mickey Mantle (PSA MINT 9).
Other key cards and memorabilia in the auction include:
• 1933 R319 Goudey #106 Nap Lajoie (SGC NM 7).
• 1997-1998 Skybox Metal Universe Championship Precious Metal Gems Basketball #23 Michael Jordan #14/50 (BGS NM-MT+ 8.5).
• 1966-1967 Oscar Robertson Cincinnati Royals game-used home uniform (MEARS A10).
• 1971-73 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Milwaukee Bucks game-used home jersey (MEARS A9) presented to Kareem at his jersey retirement ceremony and photo-matched to an Abdul-Jabbar collection.
• 1967 Reggie Jackson Kansas City Athletics signed, game-used rookie road jersey (MEARS A9), his first major league jersey from a Barry Halper Collection.
• 2013 Tom Brady New England Patriots game-used road Jersey photo-matched to four games.
• 1910-11 M116 Sporting Life Honus Wagner Pastel Background (SGC EX 5).
• 1979-1980 Topps Hockey #18 Wayne Gretzky Rookie (PSA MINT 9).
• 1977 Crack Futbol Campeonato Disc Soccer #11 Diego Maradona Rookie (PSA EX-MT 6).
