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Rare 1916 card of Baseball Hall of Famer highlights REA auction
While baseball legend Babe Ruth started his career as a dominant pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in 1916, little-known Hall of Famer George Sisler was mastering the game as one of baseball’s greatest hitters.
Known as “Gorgeous George,” Sisler won two batting titles from 1915-30 and won the 1922 AL MVP for the St. Louis Browns. Sisler batted .407 in 1920 with 257 hits, the major league record until new Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki had 262 hits in 2004. He was even better in 1922, batting .420, the third-highest batting average after 1900.
A career .340 hitter, Sisler collected more than 200 hits six times and batted over .300 13 times. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939.
While Sisler is not as well-known as the Babe and Yankee teammate Lou Gehrig, his baseball cards are considered rare and valuable among vintage collectors.
A copy of his 1916 M101-4 Green Joyce #164 George Sisler rookie card (SGC VG/EX+ 4.5) is up for bid in the February Auction at REA. The card is the highest graded example featuring the rare Green Joyce advertising back.
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The auction, which runs through Feb. 23, features more than 2,500 items dating back to the mid-19th century, including a PSA NM-MT+ 8.5 example of Mickey Mantle’s 1960 Topps card.
“We’re very excited about the variety across this event because there are a range of high-grade classics but plenty of unique collectibles and elusive complete sets that tap into the interests of so many different collectors,” REA President Brian Dwyer said.
The auction also includes several dozen complete sets across different sports, most notably a 1986-1987 Fleer Basketball PSA NM-MT 8 complete set that includes the iconic Michael Jordan rookie. It also includes a complete set of the rare 1972-1973 Icee Bear Basketball series ranked #8 on the PSA Set Registry with a 9.14 GPA. The set is highlighted by Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West.
Even more rare is a complete SGC-graded set of 1953 Glendale Meats that includes the elusive Art Houtteman card.
Other key items in REA’s February Auction include:
• 1979-1980 O-Pee-Chee Hockey #18 Wayne Gretzky Rookie (SGC NM/MT 88).
• 1916 M101-4 Sporting News #38 Ty Cobb (SGC VG+ 3.5).
• 1889 N172 Old Judge Buck Ewing and Mascot (SGC VG/EX+ 4.5). One of several examples in the auction from the pioneering N172 series, this card features one of the most unusual and memorable images to ever appear on a baseball card: New York Hall of Famer Buck Ewing and the team's mascot, Willie Breslin (Ewing & Mascot, N.Y.'s pose).
• Ty Cobb Original Oil Painting by Ron Stark. Painted and signed by noted sports artist Ron Stark.
• 1909-1911 E90-1 American Caramel Ty Cobb (SGC VG 3).
• 1915 T214 Victory Tobacco Mickey Doolan (SGC Poor 1). The only example ever graded by PSA or SGC, this obscure set was issued exclusively in the Louisiana area and is one of the few sets that feature players from the Federal League, in addition to players from the National and American Leagues.
• 1953 Bowman Color #32 Stan Musial (SGC MINT 9). One of only four examples graded SGC 9, with none higher.
• 1957 Topps #95 Mickey Mantle (SGC NM/MT 8).
• 1964 Rawlings Glove Box Mickey Mantle (PSA Good+ 2.5). With Rawlings distributing these cards on the sides of each glove box, most examples grade only “Authentic” because of irregular edges due to the hand-cut nature of the issue.
