Ty-Cobb
Babe Ruth, rare vintage baseball cards power $7.1 million Memory Lane auction
Three 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth cards combined to sell for nearly $700,000 in the Winter Rarities Auction at Memory Lane Inc.
Memory Lane’s first auction of 2025 topped $7.1 million in sales with several rare, vintage baseball cards topping six figures.
The trio of Goudey Ruth cards, all graded PSA 8, was led by a #149 (red background) card that sold for $316,736.
The auction was also highlighted by a 1915 Cracker Jack #103 Joe Jackson card (PSA 7) that sold for $173, 794, a record for the grade. The card was part of a Cracker Jack set break that resulted in over $850,000 in sales.
Also See: Top auction sales of 2024
Three 1952 Topps cards, including Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays, also attracted six figures, led by an Eddie Mathews high-number card that sold for $123,484. All three cards were graded PSA 8.
Ruth cards dominated the auction with a rare circa 1920 advertising card promoting a tour featuring Ruth and Carl Mays (SGC 3) led to a bidding war and a final price of $95,860. A PSA 5 copy of Ruth’s 1921 E253 Oxford Confectionery card sold for $52,102, while a 1932 U.S. Caramel (PSA 6.5) went for $48,508. A Lou Gehrig card (PSA 7) from the same set went for $30,463.
Other vintage gems included a collection of Bazooka baseball cards, including a rare high-grade copy of the 1959 Mickey Mantle (PSA 6) that netted $33,586. A complete box with Mantle on the back (PSA 1) went for $18,575, while four PSA 10 Bazooka Mantles (1961, 1964, 1965 and 1966) combined to attract $50,000.
Other Mantle cards sold in the auction included: a 1953 Topps #82 (PSA 7) for $29,012; a 1956 Topps #135 Gray Back (PSA 8.5) for $38,879; and a 1966 O-Pee-Chee #50 Mantle (SGC 9) for $16,886.
Additional Post-War cards that brought top prices included a 1957 Topps Willie Mays (PSA 9) for $58,961 and a 1957 Topps Whitey Ford (PSA 100 for $56,153.
Also See: Top 40 online card sales of 2024
Baseball wasn’t the only sport where high-grade cards attracted big dollars. A 1965-66 Topps Phil Esposito rookie card (PSA 10) soared to $72,455.
High-grade football cards that set records included: a 1964 Topps #90 Bobby Bell rookie (PSA 10) for $31,558; a 1964 Philadelphia #91 Merlin Olsen rookie (PSA 10) for $19,018; and a 1973 Topps #77 Art Shell rookie (PSA 10) for $20,432.
Top sports memorabilia items in the auction included a rare 1910s Ty Cobb Tobacco tin that sold for $30,463.
Other unique memorabilia included a Mantle single-signed American League Baseball with a rare “No. 6” inscription that referenced his first uniform number (PSA/DNA 10) for $20,934; a handwritten letter from his 1951 rookie season to his future wife for $20,934; and a rare high-grade circa 1910-15 Joe Jackson 14" H&B Louisville Slugger decal bat for $16,121.
Memory Lane is now accepting consignments for its Spring Rarities catalog auction.
