Rare Babe Ruth memorabilia, high-grade vintage cards highlight $11.7M Memory Lane auctions

When it comes to memorabilia of such baseball legends as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and other early 20^th century stars, it’s not just trading cards that command big dollars.

Postcards, posters, schedules and even hand-written checks of such baseball immortals are also big sellers.

Memory Lane Inc. provided a host of examples in its last two auctions, which featured total sales of more than $11.7 million during a three-week span.

Memory Lane’s $6.8 million Winter Rarities Auction was highlighted by such rare gems as a rookie-era Babe Ruth postcard featuring an image of the young Bambino at the Red Sox Spring Training camp in Hot Springs, Ark. One of only two known examples of the photo postcard produced from the original glass negative opened at $50,000 and sold for $160,736.

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Memory Lane’s Premier Winter Auction, which consisted of only classic vintage sports cards, totaled nearly $5 million in sales. The top seller was a 1909 T204 Ramly Walter Johnson card, which sold for $376,736, shattering the old record of $252,000 for the same card in August 2021. The card is one of only two copies graded PSA 8.

The Winter Rarities Auction featured several other rare, unique Babe Ruth items, including a 1920 card designed to promote Ruth’s 1920 movie “Headin’ Home.” Graded PSA 2, the card, one of the first to feature Ruth as a Yankee, sold for $84,998.

A recently discovered barnstorming tour advertising card featuring Ruth sold for $61,909, while an ultra-rare 1924 Knight Motors Inc. Detroit Tigers pocket schedule featuring Ruth and Ty Cobb sold for $31,986.

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Other unique memorabilia featured a dual-signed Ruth check that sold for $11,297; a photo postcard of Ruth with a PSA/DNA 8 signature for $13,348; and a 1939 Ruth-signed government postcard for $8,488.

Another appealing display item was a 1950s Mickey Mantle and Stan Musial Wonder Bread advertising sign, which sold for nearly $13,000.

Among vintage tobacco cards, a high-grade set of 1911 T3 Turkey Red cabinet cards was broken up and sold, with a PSA 6 Ty Cobb netting $105,306. Other record sales from the set included: a Christy Mathewson (checklist back) card (PSA 6) for $86,947; a Mordecai Brown (PSA 6) for $50,431; Nap Lajoie (PSA 5.5) for $46,062; Cy Young (PSA 6) for $42,854; Eddie Collins (PSA 5) for $25,331; Harry McIntyre (PSA 5) for $31,555; Harry Krause (PSA 6) for $20,432; and a Walter Johnson (PSA 5) for $20,048.

Another record-setting set was a 1915 Cracker Jack set, highlighted by a Grover Cleveland Alexander card (PSA 8), which sold for a record $55,498.

Among other pre-War cards, a rare 1923-24 Billiken Oscar Charleston (PSA 2) sold for nearly $50,000, while a 1910 E90-2 American Caramel Co. Honus Wagner hit $43,998. Other cards selling for five figures included 1932 US Caramel cards of Rogers Hornsby ($43,930), Lefty Grove ($33,193) and Jimmie Foxx ($17,543), as well as 1933 and ’34 cards of Foxx ($39,000+) and Lou Gehrig ($29,724).

And, of course, Mickey Mantle cards factored heavily in the auction, with a PSA 4 copy of his popular 1952 Topps card selling for $106,669. A group of autographed Mantle cards also sold well, with 1953 Bowman, 1954 Bowman and 1961 Topps cards all selling for $18,226 each.

A high-grade 1953 Topps set also attracted high bids, with a PSA 9 “Bud” Podbielan card selling for $65,605; a PSA 9 Yogi Berra card going for $54,707; and a PSA 9 Phil Rizzuto for $31,986.

The Premier Winter Auction featured 14 cards that sold for more than $110,000, topped by a 1952 Bowman Mickey Mantle (PSA 9) for $220,736.

Other top cards in the auction included:

• A 1957 Topps Mickey Mantle card (PSA 9) for $160,736.

• A T206 Green Portrait Ty Cobb (PSA 7) for a record $147,484.

• 1975 Topps George Brett (PSA 10) for $147,484.

• 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson (PSA 10) for $135,484.

• 1958 Topps Willie Mays card for $133,906.

• 1954 Topps Jackie Robinson (PSA 9) for $114,098.

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• 1955 Bowman Willie Mays (PSA 9) for a record $113,908.

• 1962 Topps Willie Mays (PSA 9) for $110,018.

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• 1952 Topps Jackie Robinson (PSA 8) $108,664

• 1960 and 1962 Topps Hank Aaron cards, both for $103,318.

• 1973 Topps Hank Aaron card (PSA 10) for $58,961.

• 1971 Topps Roberto Clemente (PSA 9) for $61,782.

• 1958 Topps Roberto Clemente (PSA 9) for $58,639.

• 1976 Topps Nolan Ryan (PSA 10) for $42,864.