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Rare, high-end 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth card could sell for millions in big moment for Fanatics Collect
When Fanatics Collect launched its online marketplace in July, it hoped to challenge top auction houses and marketplaces like Heritage Auctions, Goldin and eBay among the top sellers of sports cards in the hobby.
It’s first big high-end card to hit the auction market is making a big splash as one of the finest vintage cards to come to market since the record-breaking sale of the $12.6 million 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card (SGC 9.4) at Heritage in 2022.
Up for bid at Fanatics Collect is the highest graded version of the iconic 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #149. The “Red Ruth” card is graded PSA 8.5, with none graded higher and only two others carrying the same grade. The card carries a higher grade than the 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth card (PSA 8) currently displayed in the Smithsonian Museum.
The card, which Fanatics estimates could sell from $1.5 to $3 million, is one of Ruth’s most coveted cards and the first 1933 Goudey Ruth Red to come to auction since 2010. The auction opened Nov. 7 and runs through Nov. 21.
“The significance of the card is something that all of is in the business are so incredibly excited about it,” said Chris Lamontagne, president of Fanatics Live and Fanatics Collect. “When you mention Babe Ruth to anybody, there is that kind of transcendence of what Babe Ruth meant to baseball and I think it also means to collecting as well.”
Lamontagne says the origin of the card from Goudey, the first baseball card company to place sticks of gums in its packs, along with the grade and provenance makes it a “once in a generation” card available at auction.
“Just the beauty of it, it really is a piece of artwork. On so many different levels, we kind of stand back and marvel at a card like this,” he said.
The owner of the card, who wishes to remain anonymous, is only the second owner. It was bought from a family whose grandfather owned it for decades, along with a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 (“Yellow Ruth”). A Yankees fan, the current owner bought the card privately and had it graded by PSA. It had been stored in the Fanatics Collect vault in Tigard, Ore. ever since.
“You don’t typically see cards like this at auction,” Lamontagne said. “Typically, these are cards that move behind private deals and private sales. Once the collector signified that this was a card that was going to come up for auction, internally, across the halls of Fanatics, we got very, very excited about what this potentially means just for the space as a whole right now.”
The card will be displayed at the MLB flagship store in New York City on Nov. 14 and in Times Square on Nov. 19. There are also plans for it to be showcased on the Las Vegas Strip.
“This is just too special a moment for us to just put this on our website and get the right buyers in the room,” Lamontagne said. “We wanted to share it with collectors and also people who may be new to the hobby. A big thing for Fanatics as a whole is how do we bring more collectors in to the hobby, so we picked up the phone and spoke to MLB and they are really excited to be able to partner with us on this.
“We want a lot of people to see this. … We think it’s a really good card for people who are new to the hobby to be able to see that something like this is for sale.”
The card was transported from the Fanatics vault in Oregon to NYC by security firm Malca-Amit, which provides security for luxury goods like high-end jewelry. An armed detail, complete with a handcuffed briefcase, helped transport the card.
Lamontagne calls the condition and grade of the card “super rare.” The current owner is a high-end collector who has been in the hobby for more than 25 years.
“I think it speaks to why this is such an incredible moment,” he said. “This was with a family collection for a long time, and then once it was graded, it has been owned by the person who is consigning the card now.
“Given the quality of this card and how it has been looked after, it is kind of remarkable. Somebody has taken incredibly good care of this card and for them to be able to see it come to auction in this quality is pretty awesome.”
It also a big moment for Fanatics as it auctions off what could be one of the most valuable cards in the hobby.
“We have had a relationship with this consigner, but they were able to understand what we are trying to do as a business, which is continue to push the envelope and continually innovate and bring new things to the market, whether it is the best cards … or the vault or bringing more buyers to this space,” Lamontagne said. “Hopefully it is the beginning of many more moments like this. It is definitely not going to be the end.”
The card also carries Fanatics’ “Eye Appeal” designation for top vintage cards valued at $250 or more. According to Fanatics, experts around the hobby who have viewed the card believe it could have received a higher grade had it been graded by PSA a decade ago.
That makes it difficult for Fanatics to predict what the card might sell for, thus the wide range of estimates.
“I really think we are a little bit in unchartered territory here,” Lamontagne said. “So we are kind of resisting the urge [to make a prediction] … but what we will say is, given the provenance of the card and what we think happens here, we think it just could be real moment for whoever that collector is.”
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