“Say Hey Kid” Rookie Card Soars

Memory Lane, Inc.
April 13, 2007
1951 Bowman #305 Willie Mays Rookie Card PSA 9
Starting Bid: $10,000
Price Fetched: $79,500

Another example of how condition, rarity and historic importance come together to part a baseball card collector from his money. Because baseball cards were printed in such quantities, it’s condition, condition, condition that makes all the difference. Here’s how Memory Lane describes this rookie gem: “The color on this card is bright and rich. The tough horizontal centering is near perfect. The narrow borders are clean and white, and overall the card is full of brightness and high gloss.” Bowmans from 1951 and 1952 are particularly prized for their bold graphic design. This example shows why.

I love the green farmhouse-looking structure peeking out from the behind the canvas backdrop. Not only does it tie in visually with the green on the inside of his cap brim. But perhaps it was a deliberate evocation of the heartland, a canny marketing move when you consider that this was only four years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball and black players—even future Hall of Famers like Mays—were still subject to widespread discrimination. Mays won Rookie of the Year honors in 1951 and helped lead his team, the New York Giants, to the World Series that year.

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