Discovering an $813k Babe Ruth Card at a Yard Sale - What It’s Like to Bring $1M Cards to Auction
Imagine discovering a stack of cards at a yard sale worth millions dollars. Sounds like a dream, right? It wasn’t for one collector, Jeff. The cards may not have been purchased at the yard sale, but the connection that uncovered them certainly did.
Robert Edward Auctions’ Fall Catalog Auction just ended on Sunday. The auction continued hundreds of extremely unique and rare pre-war collectibles, ‘grails’, and once-in-a-lifetime collectibles. Included in the auction were examples of the 1916 M101-4/5 Morehouse Baking cards. An article over at REA or The New York Times does a great job of describing the set and how they came to auction, so I won’t rehash that here. I wanted to dig more into the experience of what it was like to discover these cards.
The short version, Jeff connected with “John” whose family had owned the cards for decades. The two struck up a friendship and started down the path to make them available to collectors, and in the process capturing interest of collectors across the country.
Among other examples in the action was card #151, ‘Babe Ruth P-Boston Red Sox’. Playing days Ruth cards are rare, Red Sox Ruth cards are very rare, but the Morehouse Baking card… well there are now 2 that we know exist, both in this collection, and only one has ever been available for sale. That’s why a card produced by a bakery that was intended to be traded in for a jump rope or bat/ball set just sold for nearly a million dollars. There was also the Shoeless Joe Jackson card, Casey Stengel, and a whole assortment of other Hall of Famers.
The author was lucky enough to sit down with Jeff to ask a few questions about the experience. For purposes of length and readability this interview is paraphrased in places with approval.
Wow, so great to chat with you - thanks for taking the time, Jeff! As we get going can you tell me a bit about yourself and how you've experienced the Hobby over the years?
I’m excited to be here as well. I’m always happy to talk about these cards or vintage in general.
My hobby experience has been pretty typical. I collected as a kid in the Boston area in the 70s and was a huge Red Sox fan. The 75 World Series really got me into the hobby. I lost sight of the hobby for a while, but then in the mid-80s I rediscovered my love of cards in college by going to card shows. I got married and was in and out of the hobby in my 20-30s.
Then about 15 years ago I really got into vintage cards. A bit later I decided to make a run at a HOF collection by collecting a playing-days card from every player inducted into the HOF. I wasn’t sure if it would be achievable but wanted to give it a go as this convergence of a baseball history and cardboard fan. I’d read ‘The Glory of Their Times’ and loved the player’s stories.
Some of my favorite conversations are connecting with people who discover vintage cards that have been passed down. So much so that I’ve started a business to help them through the process of understanding what they have and selling them if that’s what they desire (Www.jeffgrossvintagebaseball.com).
Awesome story and sounds pretty familiar. So, what’s your favorite PC piece.
Just one? I guess it’s the 1948 Leaf Ted Williams.Ted was my dad’sfavorite ballplayer & that set is so beautiful – I think it looks almost like an Andy Warhol painting. My 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth is a close second. I also love the N28 Allen & Ginter Mike King Kelly card. It’s such a classic issue and I love telling people about his off-season vaudeville work on stage.
(Authors note) We spent the next 10 minutes talking about our favorite cards and love of vintage.
Ok, back to the topic… You connected with the seller at a yard sale, correct? Do you regularly visit garage sales?
No no. I’m not a yard sale guy. I was helping my Wife sell off some things from her childhood home. I used to go to some flea markets as a kid, but it wasn’t a regular thing.
It was a pretty typical day when “John” rode up on his bike. He was talking to my wife and mentioned baseball cards, that’s when my ears perked up. Things took off from there. It was purely serendipitous.
Tell me about when you first saw them. What was the day like? What were you expecting?
The day was exciting, but it really was the days leading up to it when John sent the spreadsheets of the collection. My jaw dropped. I saw the names included and knew it was going to be a significant find. Then I saw the tab called ‘Morehouse Baking’ and that’s really when my curiosity and excitement took off.
The icing on the cake was then when John ‘found a few more in the office’. It turned out to be the Ruth cards. I knew I was in the middle of a significant hobby find, but the more I learned it was also obvious that this was significant Red Sox, Boston, and Ruth history too.
When I was at his house that first time starting to look over the cards, it was a really unique experience. He had this old (wildly outdated) price guide. The cards were all well-protected, but in DIY protectors. No penny sleeves or toploaders in sight. One of the better parts of the afternoon was when John’s wife came to chat for a moment and stated, “let me know if I can retire early.”
The best part about this experience has been that this has turned into a genuinely great friendship.
When did John know he had something REALLY significant?
About 30 seconds after I did! It was very important to me that I was transparent. I wanted him to be able to make an informed decision with what to do about his cards.
I reached out to people on FB to get some advice. I’d dealt with valuable cards before, but this was another ballgame. While most were helpful, I will confess that some dealers gave me really questionable advice that I chose to NOT follow.
When you decided to sell, what was your approach?
One of my first stops was the National Sports Collectors Convention. I wanted to do my due diligence. I have a background in business development, so I’m very familiar putting together a proper business transaction.
Before I went I had narrowed down my options to 3 auction houses. I knew I wanted to go meet with all of them and have a conversation. My first conversation was with REA. I had such a great experience in that first conversation. Brian Dwyer (President of REA) introduced himself and we had a great conversation. His team looked at the examples that I’d brought and agreed that they were authentic and represented a significant hobby discovery. He expressed significant interest in helping sell them, but in a no-pressure way. It was a really nice conversation.
I met with the other 2 auction houses that I was considering as well that weekend. I had a great experience with all of them and they all had advantages.
I went home after the weekend and sat down with John to discuss options. It was pretty clear after a short conversation that REA met our needs best.
Once we let Brian know we wanted to move forward he flew out personally to sign the contract and take possession of the cards. We then all drove out to the building which was the same location of the former Morehouse Baking factory to take some pictures where kids would have turned in the cards over 100 years go. It was such a unique & awesome experience.
The hardest part for me was keeping this once-in-a-lifetime hobby story a secret for so long. Because of the significance we knew that we made plans for major media coverage. In addition to local and hobby media, the New York Times/Athletic published an article about the discovery which really escalated additional & significant media coverage
Did you keep any for yourself?
Sure did! I kept a Ray Schalk, Zack Wheat, and a Grover Alexander.
Anything else you’d like to share? Any advice for folks who may find themselves in the same boat?
Before I had my conversations with the auction houses I asked some questions on hobby forums. The general advice seemed to be ‘go with the people who will give you the best financial terms’ (the lowest seller fees). While the financial terms matter a lot, I would suggest that there are several other important factors that really should be considered. For example, how will the AH promote the items, what is their track record and reputation in meeting their agreements and how would they be to work with throughout the consignment process. The economics of the deal may be important factors, but my advice is that it’s not solely about the dollars.
Patrick is a lifelong sportscards and collectables fan. He's passionate about the Mets and Eagles (yes, really), pre-war tobacco and caramel cards, and writing. You can follow his often neglected account at @pg.sportscards