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Rare Shohei Ohtani 50/50 card, 1916 Babe Ruth Rookie highlight Heritage Winter auction
When Shohei Ohtani hit his 50th home run last year to become the first member of baseball’s 50/50 club, Topps sold 653,737 copies of a Topps NOW card to commemorate the moment.
Among the record print run in the eight-year history of the Topps NOW program was a Gold parallel signed and inscribed by Ohtani.
Canadian collector Alex Housego ordered two 20-pack bundles of the card on the off chance that he might get one of the numbered parallels or maybe an autographed copy. Instead, one of the bundles contained a redemption card for a Topps NOW Autograph Card Gold Parallel. In December, Housego flew to Texas to pick up the card, which features Ohtani’s signature and his inscription “50/50 CLUB 9/19/24.”
“It was “better than I imagined,” Housego said through Heritage Auctions, which has the card up for bid in its Heritage’s February 22-23 Winter Platinum Night Sports Catalog Auction.
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Housego then went to PSA’s Santa Ana, Calif. headquarters, where the card was graded a perfect 10. It is the lone Gold Topps NOW card signed and inscribed by Ohtani after his 50th home run and 50th stolen base.
Ironically, the auction also features a rare, iconic card from baseball’s greatest slugger and two-way player.
Babe Ruth’s 1916 M101-4 Sporting News Babe Ruth Blank Back rookie card is one of just two graded PSA 7, with none graded higher on the PSA Pop Report.
Experts at Heritage believe the 1916 Ruth Rookie belongs in the same category as the iconic 1909-1911 T206 Honus Wagner, the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, and the 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan. Heritage Executive Vice President Joe Orlando once wrote that the Ruth rookie card deserves its place “on any trading card version of Mount Rushmore.”
“It’s Babe Ruth, a name that speaks for itself,” he said.
The auction also features other iconic vintage baseball cards, including: a 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente rookie card graded PSA Mint 9, and Mickey Mantle’s 1951 Bowman rookie card graded SGC Mint 9.
The event also features several classic game-worn jerseys, including one of Roger Maris’ 1961 home uniforms from his record-breaking home run season, including pants and stirrups. The uniform has been photo-matched to multiple games during that historic season when he hit a then-major league record 61 homers to capture his second consecutive AL MVP Award.
Also highlighted is the 53rd home run ball from the 1961 season; a pair of Maris’ cleats worn during the season, and a facsimile of the 1960 American League Most Valuable Player Award awarded to actor Barry Pepper as Roger Maris in Billy Crystal’s acclaimed movie *61 about that season.
Other game-worn jerseys include: Mickey Mantle’s Yankees pinstripes photo-matched to the 1957 season, when he edged out Ted Williams to become a back-to-back AL MVP; Stan Musial’s game-worn, signed St. Louis Cardinals jersey from his rookie season in 1942; Tom Brady’s game-worn and signed New England Patriots “Color Rush” jersey photo-matched to the Oct. 22, 2017 Thursday Night Football game; a 1948-51 Minneapolis Lakers warm-up uniform signed by George Mikan; and a 1967-68 jersey photo-matched to Pete Maravich’s first season as an LSU Tiger.
The Winter Platinum Night Sports Catalog Auction runs through Feb. 22-23.
