1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth Rookie SGC VG 3 -- Only One Superior in Any Population!...

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Sold on Oct 24, 2025 for:

$4,026,000.00 Bid Source: Internet bidder

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The Babe's first baseball card--rarer than the T206 Wagner!

1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth Rookie SGC VG 3 -- Only One Superior in Any Population! While the modern collecting hobby and the dispassionate mathematics of a world record $12.93 million auction result may contend that the Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant Dual Logoman card sold by Heritage just weeks ago is the most significant trading card in existence, you'll undoubtedly find that the elder statesmen of the industry are more likely to cast their vote for the spectacular relic on offer here. Like the New York Yankees and the subject himself, this 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth rookie card was born two hundred miles down the coast from the Big Apple, released to keep baseball fans apprised of the schedule of a different incarnation of the Baltimore Orioles, an International League franchise that served as the second-to-last stop for the teenaged Bambino prior to his ascension to the Bigs.

It is believed that seventeen different subjects originally existed for the 1914 Baltimore News issue, but only eleven of that original roster are known to exist. Certainly it goes without saying that Ruth is the key card by a monumental margin, with this being one of only ten Ruth specimens appearing in the census of any grading service. Of that tiny population, only a single example has ever graded higher than the subject card, and it has been well over a decade since that sole superior example appeared at auction. This is only the second appearance of any Baltimore News Ruth at auction in the past ten years.

Is there a rarer rookie card for any athlete of even remotely similar acclaim? Imagine, if you will, what the market for a PSA Gem Mint 10 example of the 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie would be if 319 of the existing 329 at that grade simply vanished.

As if the original creators had some sort of premonition of the future significance and value of this card, they went big in the design, dwarfing the relatively modest dimensions of the tobacco and caramel cards that dominated the era. The 1914 Baltimore News issue is formatted more along the lines of a playing card than a trading card at 2 5/8 by 3 5/8 inches, although we'd acknowledge that this choice was likely pragmatic rather than premonitory, that extra real estate being necessary for the extensive scheduling text on verso. Of course, it's the obverse that makes this one of the trading card hobby's most exquisite treasures, a teenaged legend on the rise pictured in red and white duotone with text at his feet reading, "Ruth, Pitcher, International League Balto." Wide red borders frame the central image.

A condition report seems almost superfluous when considering the staggering rarity of the card, and the fact that only a single representation outshines the subject, but we will note that some scattered creasing is apparent, most of it in the upper right quadrant and all of it remaining clear from Ruth's figure. Like the vast majority of its trading card contemporaries, corner rounding is also apparent here, however we will again emphasize that the positives of the card simply overwhelm any and all negatives of this outrageous regional rarity.

We should also mention that this particular specimen is the most famous of the tiny population due to its years of residence in a display case at The Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, just a short walk from the home ballpark of the current Baltimore Orioles.

As the earliest and most endangered of all "standard issue" Ruth cards, the significance and desirability of this 1914 Baltimore News rookie will be apparent to any collector at the requisite depth of hobby immersion to make a play for ownership. We expect a fierce bidding battle amidst the top players in the field, and a result which will further elevate an already red-hot trading card market. Graded SGC VG 3.