Sometimes a tiny chunk of a Ruth card is more than just a tiny chunk of a Ruth card

[brianp-beme]

Markus99's post about his Holland Goose Goslin card, and his comment that he is still searching for its missing corner, has finally spurred me to create this curious thread.

I have this genuine tiny corner of a W516 Ruth card. I have seen the rest of it posted on this site before, and even saved a copy of it for my files (as seen below) with the expectation that I would eventually post a thread about it.

I do not plan on reaching out to the current owner of the more substantial portion (I know who it is), but if fate so ordains that this collector happens to see this thread and is interested, the big chunk owner can contact me and tiny chunk can be reunited. Otherwise tiny Babe chunk stays in my collection as a curiosity.

I do not consider that I own a W516 Ruth because I have this little corner of a card...even I have ownership standards!

Brian

[NiceDocter]

Wow looks like somebody just HAD to pull that card off a scrapbook and almost got the whole thing! Looks like a good candidate for soaking and reunification …. making this not a Zombie but rather like a John Bobbitt if I remember the name correctly. Pretty cool….

[Casey2296]

Damn Brian, looks like you started the NFT craze before it was cool.

[mrreality68]

It could be considered a fractional share. So you might own a percentage

[jingram058]

I used to say when I was stationed at Naval Air Station Key West that you never knew what you would see parked on the tarmac and who would need DD-175-1 (the "dash one") flight weather briefings when they depated...USAF B-1Bs, WW2 era B-17s and B-24 Liberators from the various restoration groups, B-52s, Korean-era F-86s and Vietnam-era F-4 Phantoms and A-4 Skyhawks (used to simulate potential enemy aircraft), modern day F/A-18 Hornets, British Nimrods, Japanese JMSDF Kawanishi Flying Boats (air/sea rescue), US Navy and NOAA P-3 Orions, USAF E-3 AWACS Sentrys and US Navy E-2 Hawkeyes, USAF Reserve WC-130Js (hurricane hunters), USAF C-5 Galaxies, KC-10 Extender aerial refuelers, what have you. Even a captured or defector Russian MiG-31. Key West was and still is a major hub for inbound/outbound military aircraft going/coming to Caribbean, Central/South America, Europe, and everywhere else and for squadron workups prior to going on deployment with aircraft carrier battlegroups (air combat maneuvering airspace for training).

This thread just goes to show that net54 is like that; you never know what you will see. A most curious (and interesting) thread indeed.

[KCRfan1]

Brian,

You could always have the rest of the card " restored ". Might be less expensive than purchasing the complete card.

Thoughts on the value of your share of the card?

[conor912]

How much of a card do you need to own to have them slab it Auth?

[brianp-beme]

I believe as it stands, my fractional ownership of this W516 card is 1.2%. So in my book, possession is 1.2% of the law. Actually this will be free to the other owner, who likely only currently owns approximately 83% of a full sized card, mostly due to its missing bottom right section.

I considered having my tiny chunk restored, but the place that looked at it mentioned they would only be able to restore the whole card as if it only had a red background, with no image of the Babe present. I thought it not wise to proceed.

And the one company I inquired about grading it said they couldn't slab my chunk as 'Authentic', but instead could print the crossbar of an 'A' on the label to accurately reflect the corner's puniness in relation to the card's original size. I figured that a '-' on the label might hurt its value, with some in the collecting community likely construing the "-" as indicating that the card is a 'minus', so currently my corner chunk remains peacefully at rest and able to breathe under its own power.

Brian

[Vintagedeputy]

If I owned either piece, I couldn’t live with myself if they weren’t reunited.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Vintagedeputy

If I owned either piece, I couldn’t live with myself if they weren’t reunited.

I actually do plan on reaching out to the big chunk owner in a couple of days if he doesn't contact me by then...just thought it would be cooler if he stumbled across this thread himself. It is always possible he is not interested in the tiny chunk, as the big chunk is slabbed, and no good way to reunite with demolishing the slab.

Here is the front and back of the card pre-slabbing, and with a scan of the tiny chunk portion for all to compare.

Brian

[JollyElm]

In season 2 of this show, the owner of the sliced off lower right portion of the Ruth card will be revealed.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

In season 2 of this show, the owner of the sliced off lower right portion of the Ruth card will be revealed.

Unfortunately the network (I believe it is called Net54) cancelled the show after the first season due to low viewership. The whereabouts of the lower right chunk will probably end up an unsolved mystery that will haunt us dedicated followers of this saga until our last breaths.

Brian

[JollyElm]

Yeah, the Net54work brass are putting all of their resources into developing a new collecting/dating program called 'Glove Island,' where serious baseball card collectors and gorgeous bikini babes are partying together and intermingling on a picturesque South Pacific atoll. The host (a barista from an L.A. coffee house that a producer thought was 'hot') will then tempt a collector by offering him a choice of either taking the girl home, or leaving the island alone for good with what could be a valuable graded pre-war card. (The number on the label will be hidden and only revealed to the collector during the plane ride home.) A tough choice for anyone.

The tagline is: "Will He Make the Catch??"

(Of course, the early reviews have been mainly negative. One bitter reviewer stating, "I don't know what was made of more plastic, the broad or the slab.")

[Leon]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

Markus99's post about his Holland Goose Goslin card, and his comment that he is still searching for its missing corner, has finally spurred me to create this curious thread.

I have this genuine tiny corner of a W516 Ruth card. I have seen the rest of it posted on this site before, and even saved a copy of it for my files (as seen below) with the expectation that I would eventually post a thread about it.

I do not plan on reaching out to the current owner of the more substantial portion (I know who it is), but if fate so ordains that this collector happens to see this thread and is interested, the big chunk owner can contact me and tiny chunk can be reunited. Otherwise tiny Babe chunk stays in my collection as a curiosity.

I do not consider that I own a W516 Ruth because I have this little corner of a card...even I have ownership standards!

Brian

It might grade a 1 out of 100?
Or, if selling, it could be described as "a nice way to collect an affordable Ruth!"
.

[BabyRuth]

The owner of the big chunk W516-1 Ruth is now revealed. Brian's unbelievable detective work has paid off and the owner has been identified!!! I guess it's fitting that BabyRuth owns the Babe Ruth in question. It's pretty cool that sometimes people know more about your cards, than you do.

[jayshum]

I love a happy ending.

[BabyRuth]

Reunited - and it feels so good!!! Special shout out to Brian for making this happen!!!

[brianp-beme]

Glad it arrived safely Jim. Just in case, I did insure it for 3000 dollars. Kidding! I like how you have visually reunited the two parts. I am not much of a graded card collector, and my preference if I were forced to choose would be SGC, not PSA. However in this case PSA is far superior due to the clear background, making that corner both stand out and blend in with the rest of the card.

Indeed...a happy ending!

Brian

[Prof]

Neat thread. Nice to see the card together again.

How did you originally get the corner piece?

[brianp-beme]

I purchased the card many years ago and it was adhered at its top to the scrapbook paper, but only about 1/2" upper left corner area was still attached. When I tried separating it, the heavily creased corner tip stayed on the scrapbook paper. I sold the big portion raw on Ebay about 10 years ago (which eventually made its way to Jim), and I still had the tiny part just hanging around for all those years when I saw Jim post the card on here, and I thought, hey, I believe I have that corner!

Brian

[benge610]

I loved this thread.
Thank you fellas!
Ben

"I love baseball history backstory; especially when it involves cards."

[Prof]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

I purchased the card many years ago and it was adhered at its top to the scrapbook paper, but only about 1/2" upper left corner area was still attached. When I tried separating it, the heavily creased corner tip stayed on the scrapbook paper. I sold the big portion raw on Ebay about 10 years ago (which eventually made its way to Jim), and I still had the tiny part just hanging around for all those years when I saw Jim post the card on here, and I thought, hey, I believe I have that corner!

Brian

Oh, cool. Thanks for sharing.

The only thing that would've made the story more interesting is if, for some reason, you had picked up the corner in some deal as just a corner of a card years ago.

[StraightRaceCards]

One of the best stories of the year!

I would have enjoyed to see the corner go up for auction though! Own 1/30th of a Ruth!

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by LarsHoneyToast

One of the best stories of the year!

I would have enjoyed to see the corner go up for auction though! Own 1/30th of a Ruth!

I am glad that it was reunited with its big brother, but your idea would have been a fun experiment to gauge just how hot is the current Babe Ruth market.

Brian

[BabyRuth]

A whole new take on fractional ownership!!!

[Bridwell]

Bravo! Well done, guys. A happy ending!

[BabyRuth]

I'm hopeful Brian can find the missing piece for this card next!!!!

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by BabyRuth

I'm hopeful Brian can find the missing piece for this card next!!!!

And it begins!!!