1955 Topps Sandy Koufax Rookie #123 PSA NM-MT+ 8.5....

Description

A southpaw star is born...

1955 Topps Sandy Koufax Rookie #123 PSA NM-MT+ 8.5. "There are two times in my life the hair on my arms has stood up," reported famed Dodgers scout Al Campanis. "The first time I saw the Sistine Chapel, and the first time I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball." That experience came as Campanis assumed a hitter's stance in the Ebbets Field batter's box in December 1954 to see if the hype had been true. Koufax had reportedly broken the thumb of the Pittsburgh Pirates' batting coach Sam Narron at a Forbes Field tryout, where former Dodgers and current Pirates general manager Branch Rickey declared Koufax' left to be "the greatest arm I've ever seen."

Though Campanis had served a brief tour of duty as a Major League player, the stunning velocity of the youngster's heater nearly buckled his knees. The Dodgers offered him a contract on the spot, with a hefty signing bonus that Koufax would use to fund his education in case baseball didn't pan out. Instead, what would follow was a brief but unequivocal age of dominance that made a hero of Koufax not just to the legions of Jewish sports fans eager for a new champion, but to a brave new frontier of Major League fans that awaited the Dodgers' relocation to Los Angeles.

Three Cy Young Trophies and World Championship rings later, the number 123 card of the beloved 1955 Topps Baseball issue stands as one of the two key entries, joining the noble Roberto Clemente among the post-war trading card hobby's most essential components. One of just fifteen examples to earn PSA NM-MT+ 8.5 status, this example has been bested only twenty-five times in history, placing it firmly in the top one percent of nearly six thousand submissions to date.

More information about Sandy Koufax Sports Player.

View Certification and Population Details from PSA