This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/7/2009
Conservatively graded PSA 8 NM/MT, the presented 1941 Play Ball example of the "Splendid Splinter" offers a pleasing mix of minimally NM/MT to NM/MT+ and even MINT features for a final evaluation that just doesn't seem to do this beauty any justice. NM/MT to NM/MT+ corners join NM/MT+ to MINT edges around a tremendously clean surface for the opined grade that favors the right border to a degree just outside the tolerance for higher consideration. A mere 9 superior examples have surfaced at PSA, all in the MINT 9 column, and they very rarely come to market. Until they do, and until the first 8.5 surfaces, any collector interested in acquiring this iconic "Ted" (and who isn't?) will have to settle for a PSA 8, and of those that exist, we simply can't imagine that very many possess a comparable cleanliness and overall eye-pleasing, high-end appeal as the offered specimen. As SMR Editor in Chief, Joe Orlando, writes in the PSA publication, The Top 200 Sports Cards, "one condition problem that is unique to the 1941 Play Balls is the variance of color quality. Some Williams examples are found with a bright look while others have a very washed out appearance." Clearly, this is one of the former; the registration is as bold and rich as the day Play Ball packs first offered countless fans their very first glimpses of "The Kid" in sensational color. Of course, by the end of the summer, this already popular card would take on even more significance. In 1941, Ted Williams posted the last .400 or better average on record. In true heroic form, he actually finished the season at .406, memorably going into the last day, a double-header, at .3996, which would've rounded up had he decided to sit. But he didn't, because a hero doesn't sit himself in favor of numbers, a batting champ doesn't ever cower; he rises to the occasion, and he belts six more hits for his .400 season, and no one ever does it again.