This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/15/2023
The sport of baseball has a long and storied history of triumph, tragedy, and persistence in the face of sweeping societal changes and economic crises. One of baseball's prime subjects, for all his fame and infamy, could be the most suitable candidate for a "What If?" series, leaving one to wonder what "Shoeless" Joe Jackson could have been in the annuls of history had he not received a lifetime ban for allegedly having a role in the 1919 "Black Sox" conspiracy. Would he have accomplished a 3,000-hit career? Almost assuredly. Would he have thrived in Boston had the trade of Jackson and cash for Babe Ruth gone through? We can only imagine Jackson knocking extra-base hits off the Fenway wall, Ruth bombing round-trippers in Chicago, and the New York Yankees never building their dynasty. But as fate would have it, Shoeless Joe would become known for answering the question "It ain't true, is it, Joe?", a story that remains a well-known part of baseball lore. Jackson never won a batting title (Ty Cobb had that pretty much locked up from year to year), but his .356 lifetime batting average over 13 seasons stands as #3 all-time behind Cobb and Hornsby. The offered issue could very well be the most important of Jackson's small library of sports cards, and if Babe Ruth didn't make his pasteboard debut, perhaps the most important card in the M101-4 Sporting News series as well. Exceptionally well-centered left to right with the top to bottom centering slightly favoring the bottom edge, while the sharpness of the image is precisely focused and the surface features a covering of gloss that the series is so well known for. Flipping over to the blank reverse, the canvas shows no evidence of liability outside the normal and inevitable stray print dot here and there. Finally, the corners show mild wear that easily fits within the NM classification, making the final assessment a thoughtful if not slightly conservative conclusion. Of the 21 graded by PSA with a blank back, the offered treasure is one of only 2 at the PSA 7 level with none graded higher, making it an extremely elite cornerstone to any advanced collection.