"The Horror... the Horror..."  Baseball Card Attrocities Page

Nowbatting19.net presents the baseball card attrocities page!

"The Horror... the Horror..." On this page we are going to feature some atrocities committed on cardboard. Some of these cards could have been quite valuable (& some still are!) later on. But back in the day, cards were not "worth" money like some are today. I get it, these cards were handled, traded, pasted, pinned, taped, flipped, ripped, defaced, shot with a bb gun, you name it. Who could have imagined back then that these small pieces of cardboard with a baseball player pictured on it would someday be worth MILLIONS of dollars? NO one! With that being said, it is pretty normal to see honest wear from handling. Vintage cards are usually found with some corner or edge wear, or even a crease or two. If the card had excessive wear, like corner "rounding," surface wear etc., that doesn't neccesarily mean the card was abused. It could very likely have been a much beloved card, like a Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, or Ted Williams. Most of the cards here were not beloved, but were intentionally maimed by the perpatrator. And the fact that many are top stars or Hall of Famers, makes it even more horrific. 

"The Count of Flatbush"

It looks like a kid was not enamored with the fastball chucking, but very wild Sandy Koufax. Maybe he was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, or maybe he was a rival New York Giants fan. Or even a Yankees fan! So, this kid defaced this 1956 Topps Sanford "Sandy" Koufax bubble gum card with what looks like maybe a goutier. How this card survived 67 years is anybody's guess. You would have thought someone would have had the decency to bury it. What disrespect. Today the 1956 Topps 79 Sandy Koufax in a PSA 7 is valued at upwards of $1260. 

"Elvis takes BP"

Yeesh, this one hurts. At this point is his legendary career, Mickey Mantle was an established baseball star, having been in the big leagues since 1951. In fact, by 1966 Mantle was in the twilight of his career. So whoever added the mulletchops to this card did not really care who was on the card- it was victim of the wrong place, wrong time, & very, very, wrong owner. The 1966 Topps 50 Mickey Mantle, graded PSA NM-MT 8, recently sold for $3,750 (eBay 2/20/23). In 1966, that could have got you a brand new Pontiac GTO Convertible, with $668 to spare!

"Little Big Man"

The above 1957 Topps 77 Bill Russell is his rookie card. Russell went on to win more Championship Rings with the Celtics than he had fingers (11)! Yet at some point, someone decided to trim off the white borders from the card, instantly taking thousands of dollars along with it. Because the 1957 Topps 77 Bill Russell PSA 7 (also pictured) sold in auction for $48,000 (Heritage Auctions 1/28/22). Mama Mia!

"4-in-1 minus 1 equals 3"

Commonly called 1935 Goudey "4-in-1," these cards featured 4 players from the same team. The backs featured a puzzle piece. This is another example of a trimmed card, but the intention was to cut the 4 players into tiny "single" cards. Being that the "mini" Ruth is BABE RUTH the card still would have some value today, though that would be determined by whatever someone was willing to pay for it. Of course it would a pittance compared to this high grade 1935 Goudey 4-1 Ruth, McManus, Brandt, Maranville PSA NM-MT 8 (none graded higher). It sold for $13,145 in a 2015 auction (Heritage Auction 5/14/2015). That was 8 years ago, so I am sure if it comes up for sale again it will be even more. A lot more. Keep in mind this is the least expensive of the Goudey Babe Ruth cards. It is not as popular as the 1933 Goudey Ruth cards (there are 4 different Ruth cards in the set), however it is Babe Ruth's last mainstream gum card. The small image on this card is actually an image of one of the '33 Goudey Ruth card (note he is wearing Yankees pinstripes) but he was was traded to the Boston Braves for his final season (1934). Babe Ruth card are extremely popular (& expensive) today, even in low grades. Whoever cut up this 1935 4-in-1 card likely meant no ill intent. It's suprising that 3 of the 4 players "survived" at all. 

For a "modern" card, this 1986 Fleer 57 Michael Jordan ROOKIE card is in pretty bad shape.  It isn't abused, just not well looked after. It's a shame because the PSA GEM MINT 10 example (also pictured) sold for $130,102 (eBay auction 3/3/23). Chances are this card was pulled from a recent unopened pack, because there are not many PSA GEM MINT 10 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan cards out there. The card would have  to have been relatively untouched,  & even out of a pack cards most cards are not GEM MINT. Centering & print defects from the factory are also a factor.  But rest assured, even the poor example will fetch a lot more than what a pack of 1986 Fleer Basketball cards sold for new ( $0.50 a pack). Even in low grades, modern classics like the Jordan & 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie cards can bring prices that might leave you shaking your head. Regardless of condition, this Jordan rookie card is probably the most sought after card from the 1980's. And you really couldn't have picked a better picture to use either! This is one of the All-Time great cards from any sport!

More baseball card "HORRORS" coming soon!

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