1939 R334 Play Ball #92 Ted Williams Rookie PSA EX+ 5.5 - Extremely Rare "Free Sample" Back!

Sold For:

$9,000

Year:

1939

Auction:

2017 Fall

Lot #:

788

Category:

Prewar Baseball - 1930s and 1940s Cards

Graded EX+ 5.5 by PSA. Very attractive high-grade example of Hall of Famer Ted Williams' rookie card from the 1939 Play Ball set, with the rare Free Sample” stamp on the reverse. To date, PSA has only graded seven examples (at any grade) of this rare variation compared to 934 of Williams' regular-issue card. The 1939 Play Ball Ted Williams rookie has always been recognized as one of vintage-card collecting's great classics. This is a very strong example with a crystal-clear image featuring the "Splendid Splinter" in his familiar swing-thru pose. Crisp and clean, with outstanding centering and four strong corners (more wear on the upper right). In 1939, Gum, Inc. was all set to produce and distribute baseball cards. To introduce its new product, the very first baseball card set issued by Gum, Inc., a small quantity of low-number cards (#1-115) were overprinted with advertising for the set, and distributed as “Free Samples” (as noted on reverse) to help generate interest and excitement in the new offering. The red advertising message is printed horizontally directly over the standard text of the reverse, and reads in full: "FREE SAMPLE CARD. GET YOUR PICTURES OF LEADING BASEBALL PLAYERS. THREE PICTURE CARDS PACKED IN EACH PACKAGE OF "PLAY BALL AMERICA" BUBBLE GUM. AT YOUR CANDY STORE 1 CENT." In every other way, these advertising cards were identical to the production cards issued in packs. These were promotional cards provided to retailers strictly for the purpose of giving away. We don’t see many of these rare advertising cards in the hobby today, let alone the rookie card of Ted Williams, but it must have been very exciting for youngsters to be given a free sample of this new issue in 1939. The back of this example is perfectly clean, which is especially important to this card, as the clean back allows the red advertising overprint to be bright and legible. An outstanding example and worthy addition to any Ted Williams, Hall of Fame rookie, or vintage baseball-card advertising collection. Opening Bid $2,500. Estimate (open).