1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle Rookie #253 SGC NM 7. - From The Rounders Collection...

Description

1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle Rookie #253 SGC NM 7. - From The Rounders Collection During the 1950s and '60s, no baseball player's name shined brighter or resonated more with fans across the country than Mickey Mantle's. As the starting center fielder for the New York Yankees, Mantle was known for delivering colossal home runs when the Bronx Bombers needed them most. In his 18 seasons in pinstripes, "The Mick," hitting from either side of the plate, blasted a total of 536 round-trippers and knocked in 1,509 runs. To make things interesting, and to keep opposing pitchers guessing, he also stole 153 bases during his Hall of Fame career. But perhaps most important of all, Mantle was the player who led the Yankees to 12 AL pennants and seven World Series titles during his time in New York.

Offered is Mickey's always sought-after 1951 Bowman rookie card. Although not as revered as his 1952 Topps #311, which still seems to grab most of the hobby headlines when one sells, the '51 Bowman #253 is, in fact, his true rookie card and therefore remains on the minds and wish lists of astute hobbyists everywhere. As the card back so bluntly reads ("Mickey is the Yankee rookie of whom so much is expected in 1951"), Mantle more than lived up to expectations. The horizontally designed Bowman card front captures a heroic, colorized image of Mantle striking a batter's pose during Spring Training. This specific example of the sought-after RC is found in Near Mint condition with outstanding color, good centering, four solid corners and a flawless, stain-free reverse. Graded SGC NM 7. Of the 950 examples found in the SGC Pop Report, this is one of 21 cards graded NEAR MINT with 29 rated higher.

More Information: The Rounders Collection

It began, as many baseball card collections do, with a boy in the 1950s buying packs of cards with friends. But while others flicked their cards against walls and attached them to their bicycle spokes, he winced at the damage. Cards were treasures meant to be preserved in the same pristine condition as when a pack was first opened.

Fast forward three decades to the 1980s and an alarming phone call from his mom -- "I’m cleaning out your old stuff from your room, including all these baseball cards." That call reignited a dormant passion, transforming a boyhood pastime into a lifelong pursuit.

This journey continued in the decades since, evolving through flea markets across the Carolinas and Virginia, Southern card shows with Marco Rol, and eventually to the digital frontier under the handle ‘Rounders2.’ Leveraging skills honed as a textile industry executive, he used his keen eye and astute attention to detail to assess tiny blemishes and ensure perfect color registration. As the grading industry emerged, he proactively pursued grading specifications with experts to deeply understand what qualities defined each grade. His precision-driven passion made him a fixture in the card-collecting community.

The result is a carefully curated, world-class collection demonstrating a love of the game's history and a deep appreciation for some of the most creative and beautiful cards. This overall collection and the sets within it were pieced together card by card, traded, and upgraded over the last forty years. His pursuit of perfection and talent for identifying cards that grade well and appreciate in value make this a one-of-a-kind collection, including high grade Hobby classics like 1933 Goudey Gehrig & Ruth, a T206 collection comprised of many stunning, high grade and low pop examples from the expansive and beloved tobacco card set, a 1964 Topps Standup collection that is the #2 Current Finest (and #3 All-Time Finest) on the PSA Registry and an extensive collection of baseball card wax packs from the 1950's through the 70's featuring packs from every year between 1953 and 1979.