CO Company Auctioning Babe Ruth Rookie Card; Current Bids Top $1M

CASTLE ROCK, CO — A historic Babe Ruth rookie baseball card could sell for over $3 million, the Castle Rock-based company offering the card in a public auction predicts.

The 1916 card, which depicts Babe Ruth as a 21-year-old pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, is certified genuine and graded by Professional Sports Authenticator as "Near Mint PSA 7," based on a grading scale of 1 to 10, officials said.

It was last sold for $600,000 in October 2017, and has privately changed hands since then, officials said. Its current owner wishes to remain anonymous.

"The 105-year-old card is in near mint condition and one the finest known of the surviving, iconic Ruth cards issued by The Sporting News magazine in 1916," Brian Drent, president of Mile High Card Company, said. "This was Ruth's first Major League baseball card of his legendary career when he later would be known as the 'Sultan of Swat' and played outfield for the New York Yankees."

Drent said the card has excellent centering and lacks the "print line" defects that have been seen in other remaining Babe Ruth 1916 Sporting News cards.

A public auction will be open until Nov. 11. Online bids have already topped $1 million, and Drent said the current state of the sports memorabilia market makes him think a $3 million winning bid is within reach.

"The market for high-grade, famous sports memorabilia has soared," Drent said. "We estimate the winning bid will be $3 million or more, so it appears the Bambino is about to set yet another baseball-related record with the world’s most valuable Ruth rookie card sold at auction."

The current record price for a 1916 Babe Ruth rookie card from Sporting News is $1,452,000, set this past summer for a card that was given a slightly lower PSA 6 ranking.

Find more information or bid on the card here.