2008 Panini Donruss Celebrity Cuts Century Material Combo Prime #53 Lou Gehrig 3/10 - Game-Used 1939 Baseball Centennial Patch!

Sold For:

$1,320

Year:

2008

Auction:

2020 Fall

Lot #:

1714

Category:

Postwar Baseball - 1970s to Present Cards

Offered is a 2008 Panini Donruss Celebrity Cuts Century Material Combo Prime of legendary New York Yankees Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig. This game-used card is rather extraordinary as it features part of the 1939 Baseball Centennial patch that the "Iron Horse" wore on his sleeve during his final season in baseball. 1939 is remembered for the finale of Gehrig's streak of 2,130 consecutive games played as well as his famous "Luckiest Man" speech, given on Independence Day, 1939. Gehrig's farewell to baseball speech is arguably the most notable retirement speech a professional athlete has ever given. Just weeks after being diagnosed with ALS, the mysterious disease that was robbing him of his playing ability, an emotional Gehrig addressed the world in between games of a double-header at Yankee Stadium. Stating, in part, "For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." It has been documented that in 2003 Panini purchased a 1939 Lou Gehrig game-worn road jersey and subsequently cut the flannel to insert swatches into its Celebrity Cuts Prime products. This particular example features two windows displaying pieces of the red, white, and blue 1939 Baseball Centennial patch, and part of the base path logo is clearly visible through the left window. The card also bears a limitation number of "03/10" on the reverse. While the card is encapsulated as Authentic by Beckett, in our opinion, it grades Mint overall. This card would make a worthy addition to any modern card, Lou Gehrig, or New York Yankees collection. Please note that the photograph of Gehrig is shown only to reference the patch on his uniform sleeve and does not accompany this lot. Reserve $500. Estimate (open).