Early Ruth Cards
 

It seems like fewer and fewer early Ruth cards are being offered in recent high profile auctions and on the web. I know that the 1914 Baltimore News, the 1915 real photo team postcard and the 1916 M 101 have been "on fire" for the past year. It seems like people are just holding on to these examples even if they were lucky enough to have paid a fraction of what the cards might bring in today's market. Even the "more modern" rare Ruth stuff is bringing a premium.

Ethan

Early, and mostly all, Ruth cards have been going up. I wish I would have picked up a few more years ago....These are from '21.

That quarter is not from 1921.

After bidding on a few Goudey Ruths lately I think the whole Ruth (true vintage) market is quite hot. I did a quick count on my site and it looks like I have 58 different, period, Ruths. I guess I have him covered so far....Always room for more though....

http://luckeycards.com/pe253x2.jpg

Speaking of early Ruths: I am waiting patiently for a certain board member to sell me a certain early Ruth.

You know who you are, buddy! One day I'm gonna get the call it's for sale ;)

Early Ruth Cards
 

I'd love to see some early Ruth cards that folks have. Seems like many are becoming "untouchable" for even the advanced collector.

Ethan

Ruth
 

My only Ruth.....had many but all sold when I got this one

Not really an early Ruth but one I have wanted to replace since I bought one from a Gar Miller mimeograph sheet. It came in with an unexpected wrinkle through his face and I eventually sold it.....These have also gone up quite a bit....

http://luckeycards.com/pr319ruth.jpeg

Wolf that is pretty amazing centering for that card. Must feel great. Enjoy!

Leon,
Was this Ruth a crossover from SGC? I had a SGC50 at one time and this one looks like it.

I won it last night in the Mile High auction. I don't know anything about it except the centering for this card reminds me of '52 Mantles. Try to find one, in any grade, centered nicely. I personally like this pose the best of the 4 in the set.

Nice card Leon! All Ruth card are on fire. The Goudey's have had quite a run up in price. The #144 Ruth is my favorite of the four poses. The art deco feel is tremendous. Although it's a double print, it's a tough card to find with nice eye appeal. Well done.

My one and only Ruth.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps5c586a99.jpg


I would love to add an early Ruth to the collection at some point.

Leon,

I was thinking the same thing; your new addition has very rare centering and robust borders to boot.

And Dean's is also a special copy for the rare centering. The only thing perhaps rarer is seeing both top notch specimens in the same thread back to back like that!

I will take those two cards over an OC 8 all day every day.

Centering is the least of my problems with my early Ruth. I felt pretty fortunate to pick my Red Sox Ruth up when I did. I sure wish I would have picked up a M104/5 when I probably could have made it happen.

One of my 10 favorite cards...

http://www.net54baseball.com/attachm...1&d=1397250521

So I understand "early" for Ruth cards really aren't the ones I personally posted. So what do we think is "early" for a Ruth card? Does it have to be in the teens? Maybe before 1925'ish? I should add, thanks for the kind words on the pick up, guys. I have been looking for a short while for a nice one....but not too high grade.

http://luckeycards.com/phunc1921pathefreresruth.jpg

to me early is pre 22...where there are still cards found with ruth in a Red Sox uni.

To me early is pre-1925, before Gehrig joined. Here's a miscut card that I think still has great eye appeal.

Early Ruth Cards
 

I think I would agree with pre-1925 post. When I first started this thread, I guess I was amazed that more people hadn't been willing to put their Ruth cards up in some of the major Spring auctions in an effort to cash in. It seems to me like the Babe Ruth "craze" has taken a firm hold on the cardboard side of the hobby and people are in "holding" mode. I enjoy seeing any Ruth cards, so I'd encourage people to show their Ruth cards regardless of the year.....for me, as a Red Sox fan, I enjoy seeing his early stuff the most.

I picked up one of the 1915 real photo Red Sox team postcards this year...one of I believe six or so that have been graded. It cost me a lot, but hey, this is the year to celebrate a man who is better known worldwide than some political leaders.

1915 Real Photo PC's
 

These never get old to me....

Pete, those have been trading hands-- when they do-- at increasingly dizzying levels, from what I hear. Pretty awesome pieces.

Great cards Gary...Pete...Leon I love some of your obscure ruth cards...58...that's all?

Here are a few of mine.

Pete,

You're kidding with that M101-6! No effing way dude. That is INSANE CARDBOARD.

Now sell it to me. Trade it to me. Let's talk!

Seriously though that's serious.

Wonder why his is listed as a center fielder on the M101-6?

whatever Matty...you've got enough nice cards!!!!:p

Those are great cards, Daryl, Pete C. and Pete U. Awesome M101-6!

Yaknow that's a great point about that M101-6 inaccuracy. I mean, it really makes the card undesirable IMO. Seriously, who wants a card that says Ruth is playing CF? It even says Yankees on it but he's not in that uniform. For these aforementioned reasons, I think you should really let it go-- these inaccuracies on one card just form a blight on your whole collection. I will take this albatross off your hands. And in return you can buy me a steak at The National.

You're welcome.

well...Ruth did play CF for boston...this is supposedly the first ruth issue depicting him as a yankee...maybe someone was guessing where he'd play?

be that as it may...this card quite possibly may be the only ruth card depicting him as a center fielder...in a Red Sox uni...as a yankee...id say due to the "magna carta" nature of these clues...in addition to the low pop should catapult this card into 7 figure nirvana!:p

Ruth started his Yankee career as a centerfielder-- he played the first 6 games of the season there. He likely played the bulk of the Spring Training games at that position as well. This may provide some insight as to when Mendelsohn released the card, as by the end of April CF was not the Babe's primary position.

BTW, the m101-6 Red Sox version of Ruth captions him as a pitcher, and by 1919 he was more of an everyday outfielder. In fact the same might be said for 1918, which hints that the Ruth BOS was released in late 1917 when the set was first offered.

Early Ruth Cards
 

Beautiful c. 1915 postcards Pete! You know I'd love to have the "hands on hips" but could never afford it now. Some of those are 1 of 1 correct? I love that you have such early cardboard images of him. What would b cool is if another postcard was discovered with a 1914 or 1915 postmark. But for now, not knowing the exact year and having 1 of 1 should feel pretty nice. I think another member has the only other "set pitching pose" PC that I am aware of. I made him an offer a while ago, but he too is holding. Some of these items don't seem to have a price tag.

Ethan

i think most of these items have a price tag...it just has to be more bloomingdales than marshalls.

c.1915 Ruth RPPCs
 

Thanks guys, and beautiful cardboard as well. Ethan, the "hands on hips" & "on bench" are one of ones, the other is a one of two, with the other grade a SGC 50. From the research I've done they are from 1915. Very seldom does SGC give a specific year. A postmark on the back won't even commit them to put a date on there. The only thing you can count on with a postmark is it will be a SGC 10. Really unique pieces.

Here are mine - the rinkeydink I just picked up from a board member. Thanks again gary.

http://n.b5z.net/zirw/1397329097062/...i/scan0058.jpg
http://n.b5z.net/zirw/1397329130063/...i/scan0059.jpg
http://n.b5z.net/zirw/1397329053062/...i/scan0054.jpg
http://n.b5z.net/zirw/1397329190064/...i/scan0057.jpg

I was happy to add this to my collection 5 years ago.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...6/E121Ruth.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...beRuthPSA1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...NCBabeRuth.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...beRuthPSAA.jpg

Great cards guys.
I always like to see more Ruth cards, early or later, as long as they are before he passed away. I don't have as much affinity for commemorative types but I know a lot of collectors do. Not sure if this one (shown before too) is early or late as there is no definitive year for it (or definitive set for that matter).

http://luckeycards.com/pexhibituncruth.jpg

The Collins-McCarthy is a great card in any condition, Mike, and many, many times tougher than the M-101 rookie! You'll enjoy seeing the value rise consistently in the years to come.

Best regards,

Larry

seeing as ruth's career spanned 1914-1935...which amounts to 22 seasons...it would make logical sense to view ruths career as a good story...which has a beginning...a middle and an end. I'd divide ruth's career into 3rds...the early years...or the beginning...1915-1921/2...the middle years 1921/22-1928...and the end...1928-1935.

On a different note those 2nd year ruth cards are tough...they never come up anymore...but I'm sure they are out there somewhere!

My earliest..... I've got some serious cardboard envy in this thread!

Thought this one should get in the thread also. Possibly my favorite Ruth I own. The Image(s) are amazing!

i wish i'd have picked up some ruth strips when they were really cheap!!!!

Yes. The early strips are also becoming top dollar collectables!!

Harringtons

Nobody else here has a '23 Lections Ruth (a card which also symbolizes the year the House that Ruth built came into being, and the Yankees very first World Championship), or '31-32 Exhibit Babe (described as the rarest Exhibit Ruth in the Standard Catalog) from the movie stars set??? I can see I'm going to have to get a good scanner--will do so as soon as possible!

Thanks for sharing some wonderful cards, guys--IMHO, look for the Babe to keep going up in $$$. They're going into private collections for the most part, not to speculators or dealers, and many will disappear for years or even decades, which vastly and consistently reduces the available supply. It is the available supply at any given moment, rather than the total in existence, which looms largest among scarce to rare cards in the demand over supply equation, insofar as value is concerned.

May your collecting shine brightly in your lives,

Larry

Been awhile . . .
 

edit

Spot on. Ruths, high-end Mantles, CJs of Cobb, Shoeless, Matty horizontal, it seems all the blue-chip stuff with eye appeal is vanishing into collections. And guys with the bankroll to acquire these items will, more often than not, have lengthy horizons when it comes to ever selling. There's pop reports and then there's effective available supply. When I get my hands on a real beauty, for example, the odds of it hitting market in decades, if ever, are infinitesimal.

Here's one. Not really an early Ruth but my rarest for sure:

1921 Frederick Foto
 

Although I believe the Frederick Fotos were most likely issued over a number of years, I would consider this an early Ruth card. (Not my card.)


Patrick

Early
 

Now that wouldn't be ME Matt and the card wouldn't be a PCL Ruth...would it??? LOL....patience is a virtue!

JoeT

Just picked this one up yesterday as an upgrade. Always loved this pose. I know its been shown before on the thread but still one of my favorites.

Regionally issued Ruth
 

Here's a super rare one.

Great thread, here are a couple more-

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...24exruth30.jpghttp://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...fferback50.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...25exruth40.jpghttp://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...it-Ruth-40.jpg

A scarce one...

http://luckeycards.com/peunc1933cabriggsruth.jpg

Thanks, Erick and Scot--was beginning to feel lonely re the '31-32 Exhibit. Mine is an Ex. I love portraits, and think, as I'm sure you both do, this is a great one. It's one of the prizes of my collection!

And anytime you want to rid yourself of that '23-24 Exhibit, Scott, I'd be more than willing to at least see if I could handle the freight bill! I drool every time you post it!

Collectingly yours,

Larry

1921 was also the Babe's best year, Brad, with, going by memory, 44 doubles, 16 triples, and 59 HR's, yielding a record 119 extra-base hits, together with 170+ RBI (?) and a .378 average, easily exceeding the 1927 60 homer year. Also the first year the Yankees won the pennant (although they subsequently lost to the Giants in the World Series). These instants from the player's life, preserved for decades, centuries, milleniums (?), connect me to the player and take me back to the time!

Best regards,

Larry

headin home
 

<a href="http://s8.photobucket.com/user/zouraspm/media/hhf.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/zouraspm/hhf.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo hhf.jpg"/></a><a href="http://s8.photobucket.com/user/zouraspm/media/hhb.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/zouraspm/hhb.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo hhb.jpg"/></a>

Early Ruth Cards
 

What year is the "heading home" Ruth card from? Hadn't seen it before...

Early Babe Ruth Cards
 

Ethan,

The Babe Ruth Headin Home cards are from 1920. Eight different cards were issued to promote the Babe's first movie titled "Headin Home". They are extremely scarce and valuable.

Joe T.

I guess that explains why I haven't seen them before! Wonder if anyone has ever completed the set of eight? Very cool cards.

Ethan

It appears that REA was not convinced of the exact year that the Ruth RPPC's were produced:

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/.../2011/472.html

Early Ruth
 

My postcard graded by SGC as a 1.5 reads 1915. One of six graded examples I believe.

Ethan

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/calvindog/4034625385/" title="1921 W551 Ruth/Cobb Panel by calvindog65, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2460/4034625385_79c28f0805_z.jpg?zz=1" width="640" height="392" alt="1921 W551 Ruth/Cobb Panel"></a>

Ruth RPPC's
 

Correct Phil. These Ruth RPPC postcards could be any year between 1915 and 1917.

Joe T.

All of this early Ruth card talk is making me want to get back in cards(limiting to Ruth). I will certainly be making a run at the next 1915 postcard or 1916 rookie that comes up for auction. Fun thread.

Early Ruth Cards
 

My understanding is that both SGC and PSA are now grading the "American League Champions" real photo team postcard as 1915 as opposed to c. 1915.

That doesn't make them 1915. From everything I have seen there is no way to pinpoint the year so, to me, any person or company labeling them as 1915 is labeling them incorrectly. It happens all of the time. Buy the card not the flip....

edited to add, if a postcard is used then I go by the postmark for dating (usually).......so if it has a 1915 postmark, good enough for me!!

I guess my question now is would these c1915 postcards have changed hands at prices exceeding $20K-$25K if they were labeled by SGC as 1915-17 as they were described by REA in their 2011 auction? It should be noted that SGC is not incorrect in their labeling as c1915 means around that year and is not a definitive date.

Early Ruth Cards
 

Here is my copy.

Early Ruth Cards
 

This is an interesting write up and card "from back in the day" suggesting that the postcard was postmarked and sent at the end of the 1915 season.

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/.../2007/227.html

Regardless, it's a very cool card of my favorite team (with Ruth) from way back in the day.

Ethan

Not a card, but still a nice photo
 

Those on a budget like myself, this is the next big thing. I was so happy to get this :D
1915 Ruth pitching in a Red Sox uniform

[IMG]http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...ps964e009e.jpg[/IMG]


Also, i have to show my other Shonen Ruth postcard:
[IMG]http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...ps417a41e2.jpg[/IMG]

Jeff, thanks for showing that panel again. Awsome!

C.1915 rppc
 

Old Cardboard has the side image RPPC as its 1915 Ruth rookie PC, and said it's possibly the first image printed of Ruth on cardboard. A member of the Hot Springs Historical Society some time ago told me the society made reproduced framed PC sets from the original 1915 PC's I have, and gave them out to 6 retiring SABR members as gifts upon their retirement. The original RPPC photos were taken from Majestic Field in Hot Springs Arkansas, where the inception of their training camp started in 1886. Two are 1 of 1's and the other a 1 of 2. Even if these were from '16 or '17 which I'm confident they are not, just look at the Collins McCarthy or Boston Store Ruth's and their prices. SGC/PSA will just not put an exact year down on them. I have a handful of RPPC's and they never put the date down unless it's listed on the front of the card. I believe their value will only increase in the years to come given their rarity. Just my opinion.

Early Ruth's
 

Pete,

Any early Ruth Boston Red Sox cards, photos, memorabilia, etc. have unlimited investment potential. While the EXACT year of those RPPC's may never be determined, the fact that they originated during Ruth's early years with Boston coupled with their extreme rarity is sufficient enough. They are incredible cardboard collectibles with infinite value growth!

Joe T.

c.1915 RPPC's
 

Joe,
Thanks for your input on them. You would know as much as anyone on these as you do most everything else in the hobby. Just happy to have some early Ruth in the collection! Happy Easter
Pete

Early Ruth Cards
 

Joe:

What about the 1915 Red Sox "American League Champions" RPPC of the team with Ruth? Seems like both SGC and PSA are now grading these as 1915 rather than c. 1915.

Ethan

Ruth PCs
 

Ethan, if there is a date listed on the front of the PC, I can't see why SGC/PSA wouldn't list the year in the title. If they hadn't before, they probably should since the piece states the year. It's where there isn't one listed on the front, or if there is one listed on the back from a postmark where there's some ambiguity. Like Joe said, and we're probably splitting hairs, the period and rarity are sufficient enough.

Check this out Babe!!
 

Shown before (haven't they all been?) but this is the only one of these I have seen. There are most likely others out there yet to be found....

http://luckeycards.com/ptunc1930stob...thandcobb2.jpg

Early Ruth Cards
 

Very cool early Ruth / Cobb Leon. Beautiful stuff being shown on this thread!

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...mes%20Home.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...20Snookums.jpg

Early Ruth Cards
 

Seems like early Ruth cards are not the only early Ruth pieces that are on fire these days. Jaw dropping what some of the other early Ruth memorabilia is bringing in recent auctions.