High-Grade 1933 Goudey Group Up for Grabs
A pair of high grade Babe Ruth cards and about 20 other high end or rare examples from a stash of 1933 Goudeys have made their way to Heritage Auctions’ Fall Sports Collectibles catalog.
According to the company, it’s a group that was consigned by the descendants of a Goudey employee who brought them home from the factory decades ago. All of the cards were recently authenticated and graded by SGC.
The group includes a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth (#144) graded SGC 8 that has a current high bid of $120,000 and a #149 Ruth graded 7 that is also expected to sell for a six-figure price.
Many of the cards rank among the best Goudey cards ever graded by SGC.
In addition to the two high-grade Ruth cards, other Hall of Famers are part of the collection. Offered in separate listings are Pie Traynor (SGC 8), Dizzy Dean (SGC 7.5), Bill Dickey (SGC 8), Carl Hubbell (SGC 7) and Lefty Grove (SGC 7).
There’s also a 1933 Goudey Nap Lajoie rated 3 by SGC has already exceeded the low end pre-sale estimate.
The Lajoie card was sent to frustrated Goudey customers who wrote the company to ask why they couldn’t find card #106 in the 1933 set. Goudey hadn’t produced a card with that number but created the Lajoie in 1934 and mailed copies to those customers who had written to inquire.
Eighteen of the 20 cards in the collection are from the 1933 Goudey set with two from the 1933 Goudey Sport Kings issue.
Bidding continues for another week with the entire auction closing over three nights, Nov. 18-20.
