This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/15/2020
Though showing promise as a long ball hitter in the minors, Roger Maris was never considered to be a rising force in the same class as Mantle, Mays, Banks or Kaline. And once he got his chance in the bigs, his pedestrian performance and .249 average over three seasons got him shipped from Cleveland to Kansas City, but after KC gave up on him and shipped him to the Yankees in the winter of 1959, Maris put on a home run clinic that brought back to back American League MVP awards and erased a long-standing home run record by baseball legend Babe Ruth. The featured card of Maris is graded PSA 9 and without a single specimen at the GEM MINT level out of almost 5,000 PSA submissions, it represents one of the absolute finest examples in existence. The centering is not perfect, just a touch toward the lower right but hardly a disqualifier for PSA's top grade, while three of the corners can stake a claim for GEM MINT status. The orange pigment surrounding Maris is bold and consistent, pushing the image of the Cleveland Indians outfielder to the forefront. The reverse is every bit as flawless, a spotless canvas covered with fresh red and black printing that appears as if the card just came directly out of the pack. A wonderfully elite specimen that has no superior.