Hold onto your baseball caps, folks, because Willie Mays has done it again! The 1951 Bowman Willie Mays rookie card recently made jaws drop in the sports memorabilia world by selling for an astonishing $390,935 at Robert Edward Auctions’ Summer Catalog Auction. This sale shattered previous records and sent shockwaves through the collecting community—it’s safe to say that Mays hit this one out of the park!
This particular card, the highest-graded example seen at auction in over 15 years, drew quite the crowd of eager bidders. With eleven fierce competitors in the mix, the stakes were high, but only one lucky bidder emerged victorious, walking away with this prized cardboard gem. The rarity of this card, with no PSA 10 Mays rookie cards in existence and only eight in a PSA 9 grade, contributed to the frenzy that surrounded it.
To put the staggering sale price into perspective, a PSA 8 version of the same Willie Mays card fetched $207,400 just the week before at Goldin Auctions. Clearly, Mays’ rookie cards are hotter commodities than a scorching summer day at the ballpark!
In an admirable move, the proceeds from the sale of this historic card will be used to fund a college scholarship endowment. Not only did this card make history with its record-breaking sale, but it’s also contributing to shaping the future by supporting education. Talk about a win-win situation for everyone involved!
The Summer Catalog Auction itself was a smashing success, pulling in over $13.3 million from a whopping 82,000 bids across nearly 3,200 lots. Thirteen items soared past the six-figure mark, with highlights including a 1933 Goudey Nap Lajoie PSA 4.5 card that set a new record by selling for $162,000—the highest ever for that grade.
Other standout sales included an autographed 1949 Bowman Roy Campanella rookie card (PSA 3) with a PSA 9 signature grade, fetching $132,000, and a 1986-87 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card (PSA 7 with a 7 autograph rating) that brought in $120,000.
Not to be outdone, a 1936-1937 Dizzy Dean St. Louis Cardinals game-used road jersey scored a remarkable $114,000, setting a new record for Dizzy Dean memorabilia.
A quick rundown of some additional impressive sales from the auction includes a 1933 Babe Ruth card, a 1915 Boston Red Sox team postcard featuring a rookie Babe Ruth, a Rickey Henderson rookie card, and a Wayne Gretzky rookie card, among others. These sales further solidified the auction’s status as a resounding success.
Brian Dwyer, President of REA, expressed his gratitude to both the consignors who entrusted their items to the auction house and the bidders who helped make this event another record-breaking success. If you missed out on this exhilarating auction, fear not—the September Encore Auction is just around the corner, running from September 12-22. Make sure to mark your calendars, as the excitement is far from over!
