1921 Shotwell Babe Ruth on News

[Sean]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

1929 Babe Ruth rookie card? It's not from 1929, it wouldn't be his rookie, and where did he get the story that Shotwell made a single proof and that's it? Don't facts count any more?

Deleted

[CW]

From the article:

He bought the card for on sale for 80% off, paying just $2. The store employee said he couldn't tell if it was worth anything because he couldn't identify the company name on the back of the card.

"We couldn't find it anywhere. Six, seven, eight days of searching the card, we were running into the same thing this old man was running into," Ball said.

So he dug even deeper and started googling the history of the Shotwell logo.

The more this guy talks about the card, the more holes appear in his story (I realize we all know it's a fake). So I just did a quick Google search of "shotwell babe ruth" and the first 2 hits told me all I need to know about the card. The first 2 links led me to the PSA CardFacts pages for the Ruth card and the Shotwell set.

"The 1921 Shotwell baseball set appears to be one of the scarcest in existence with only three cards known to exist - Babe Ruth, Babe Doll Jacobson and George Dauss."

It seems strange that both the card shop owner and the new owner spent 6, 7, practically 8 DAYS searching and couldn't find anything about the company name.

Also, if the card is indeed "one of a kind", how do you explain the PSA 1.5 that already exists?

I guess it's good entertainment.

€hu¢k W0£f

[drcy]

Originally Posted by CW

From the article:

He bought the card for on sale for 80% off, paying just $2. The store employee said he couldn't tell if it was worth anything because he couldn't identify the company name on the back of the card.

"We couldn't find it anywhere. Six, seven, eight days of searching the card, we were running into the same thing this old man was running into," Ball said.

So he dug even deeper and started googling the history of the Shotwell logo.

The more this guy talks about the card, the more holes appear in his story (I realize we all know it's a fake). So I just did a quick Google search of "shotwell babe ruth" and the first 2 hits told me all I need to know about the card. The first 2 links led me to the PSA CardFacts pages for the Ruth card and the Shotwell set.

"The 1921 Shotwell baseball set appears to be one of the scarcest in existence with only three cards known to exist - Babe Ruth, Babe Doll Jacobson and George Dauss."

It seems strange that both the card shop owner and the new owner spent 6, 7, practically 8 DAYS searching and couldn't find anything about the company name.

Also, if the card is indeed "one of a kind", how do you explain the PSA 1.5 that already exists?

I guess it's good entertainment.

€hu¢k W0£f

We know it's all BS, the owner knows it's all BS. The only one in the dark is the local television station.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Who can't even be bothered to do a basic google search

[GregZakwin]

Originally Posted by CW

From the article:


The more this guy talks about the card, the more holes appear in his story (I realize we all know it's a fake).

€hu¢k W0£f

He called the shop I was working at (at the time) and said his grandmother left him the card. This was before the news outlets picked it up. So, yes, the man is full of a lot of it.

[kateighty]

Just saw the recent Babe thread and thought I'd bump. Anyone have any updates on this goof? I haven't read anything about it in a few weeks, thought I'd check up, and found this:
https://abc30.com/society/visalia-co...ction/5300382/

Don't even get me started.

[kateighty]

Also found this article https://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/it-...a4e293c64.html and took note of the graded cards in the picture:

The two PSA graded cards in his picture:
#23266801 Ruth Bulgaria Sport Photo - Three out of four PSA Auction Prices realized are PWCC. Sold TWICE in 2019 (3/12/19 and 5/8/19). Four sales overall since 2017.
#42799168 - W551 Walter Johnson - eBay sale 3/14/19

Interesting to say the least.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

My letter to Mr. Wilcox,

David,


Well at least you acknowledged the fact that many of us in the hobby know the Ruth is a photographic reprint (counterfeit) of the known existing copy. You can see the crease in the lower left reproduced on the copy.

I hope the image used on the top of the article isn't his collection as it is chock full of counterfeits, like the T206 Wagner, and cheap examples of big names, like the Bulgaria Sport Ruth. Not exactly the epic cards one would expect from the collection he claims he has. That's without even addressing the autographs.

Oh, and did you ever wonder about 200 million cards? Do you know the kind of space that would occupy? If they were all ungraded and not in holders, packed the most efficient way possible they would weigh approximately 600 tons, and occupy 18,000 cubic feet, or a 2,250 square foot warehouse 8 feet high, with literally every inch fully packed, no aisles, not even shelves, just 5000 count boxes floor to ceiling every square inch.

There is a huge scandal in card collecting right now that has very little to do with this clown, but it's "journalism" like the articles and TV coverage that he's garnered with a counterfeit card that in part help create the atmosphere where the abuses we are seeing can occur.


Scott Russell

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by kateighty

Also found this article https://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/it-...a4e293c64.html and took note of the graded cards in the picture:

The two PSA graded cards in his picture:
#23266801 Ruth Bulgaria Sport Photo - Three out of four PSA Auction Prices realized are PWCC. Sold TWICE in 2019 (3/12/19 and 5/8/19). Four sales overall since 2017.
#42799168 - W551 Walter Johnson - eBay sale 3/14/19

Interesting to say the least.

It is precisely this kind of journalistic garbage that gives sustenance to the "Fake News" movement. Shame on any publication that publishes it.

[barrysloate]

Absolute garbage. This hobby is starting to wear me down.

[ruth_rookie]

Originally Posted by kateighty

Also found this article https://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/it-...a4e293c64.html and took note of the graded cards in the picture:

The two PSA graded cards in his picture:
#23266801 Ruth Bulgaria Sport Photo - Three out of four PSA Auction Prices realized are PWCC. Sold TWICE in 2019 (3/12/19 and 5/8/19). Four sales overall since 2017.
#42799168 - W551 Walter Johnson - eBay sale 3/14/19

Interesting to say the least.

Thanks for the updates on this story, Scott and Kat. I’m very interested to see the outcome of this guy’s shenanigans. Laughable how he throws in a fake T206 Wagner with the ever-so-rare ‘71 Killebrew. And I can’t even put into words how gorgeous that autographed Cobb ball is. Doesn’t look anything like the PSA/DNA Cobb check I have on the wall of my man cave. Please keep us posted on any new developments.

Better yet, if anyone knows this guy please reach out to him and ask him to become a 54 member. I’d love to hear the story unfold straight from the horse’s mouth.

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by ruth_rookie

Better yet, if anyone knows this guy please reach out to him and ask him to become a 54 member. I’d love to hear the story unfold straight from the horse’s mouth.

Or from another orifice of the horse.

[kateighty]

Thanks for the props Jason.

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by kateighty

Just saw the recent Babe thread and thought I'd bump. Anyone have any updates on this goof? I haven't read anything about it in a few weeks, thought I'd check up, and found this:
https://abc30.com/society/visalia-co...ction/5300382/

Don't even get me started.

In this story they show (at 1:57) a raw T206 Wagner in a beat-up toploader that Ball said he was going to take to Heritage. It's only on screen for a couple of seconds, but it looks obviously fake. It's just mentioned in passing, like it's no big deal. The other allegedly high-end cards he shows the reporter, including a 33 Goudey Ruth, are also raw, except for a couple like an Exhibit Mantle. Is this clown serious? I assume Heritage laughed him out of the building if he really did go there, but of course there won't be a story about that.

[trdcrdkid]

This article mentions that Ball has a publicist (unsurprisingly) and reveals his apparent game plan for making money off the card without getting it graded:

http://www.thesungazette.com/article...ankee-stadium/

"Ball’s card authentication and subsequent auction house jockeying has only cemented his plans to what he is actually going to do with it. Between finding the card and verifying its value, Ball knows he wants to retain its rights, but he also wants the fans of baseball lore to enjoy it.

Coming from upstate New York, Ball grew up a Yankees fan. So finding one of the rarest cards in baseball history is only fitting for the Visalia resident. More fitting though, is mounting the card next to Yankee Stadium’s statue of Babe Ruth.

“At least that is where it’s supposed to be,” Ball said. “That’s one of my fondest desires. I look forward to taking it up there with my wife and kids, mounting it next to the statue, and giving that statue a big hug.”

For now, Ball is allowing his publicist and the Yankees to decide his compensation and when they’ll be able to get the card to its rightful place to be regarded."

[barrysloate]

Heritage Auctions will be very interested in having him leave the premises as quickly as possible.