This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/10/2010
One of the crowning jewels from the fan-favorite 1957 Topps baseball issue is without question the first cardboard appearance by New York Yankees' rookie second baseman, Bobby Richardson, who, according to Casey Stengel, was "the best .260 hitter ever to play the game." Bobby played his entire 12-season career with the Bombers, with whom he won 3 World Series, 5 Gold Glove Awards, and 7 All-Star appearances. He also holds the distinction of being the only player to ever win a World Series MVP for the losing team. In the 1960 Fall Classic, with his 11 hits and 12 RBI, Bobby shined even brighter than the Bucs' Bill Mazeroski, who famously won the series for Pittsburgh with a dramatic Game 7 Series-ending walk-off home run. That series, in Game 3, Bobby also set a record for the most RBI in a single World Series game; his 6 RBI performance has since only been tied by Hideki Matsui in the 2009 Series. Not surprisingly, the featured PSA MINT 9 example of Richardson's iconic rookie card is one of just 8 total copies to climb the gilded grading ladder at PSA to the pinnacle position, as none have ever graded higher from over 830 submissions. Notorious for both excessive print snow and poor registration, this masterpiece example shows a tremendously rich and sharply focused image of the young Yankee immortal against a shimmering backdrop of the Bronx gloaming with less snow than was probably forecast for Yankee Stadium that distant summer day. Perfectly centered with an impressive MINT+ perimeter at all points but the reverse lower edge, which shows some fine paper shreds from the cutting process. A truly breathtaking borderline GEM that may just be the single finest example in the entire hobby! Just look at that image!