1940 R335 Play Ball PSA-Graded Near-Complete Set (185/240) Including Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Joe Jackson

Sold For:

$8,700

Year:

1940

Auction:

2020 Spring

Lot #:

844

Category:

Prewar Baseball - 1930s and 1940s Cards

Presented is a rarely offered and extremely consistent near-complete set of the classic 1940 Play Ball set issued by Gum, Inc. consisting of 185 different cards (out of 240 in a complete set). 1940 Play Ball has always been a difficult set, and the rarity of complete or even near-complete sets has been underappreciated. Missing only fifty-five cards for completion; including #129 Harris, 168 Wagner, 223 Jennings, 224 Traynor, 226 Hooper, 227 Haines, 232 Goslin, 236 Bottomley, 237 Keeler, and 238 Lazzeri. PSA Grading Composite: NM 7 (9 cards): #19 (MC), 82 (OC), 88 Ott, 97, 108, 128, 133 Foxx, 139, and 167 Frisch. EX-MT+ 6.5 (7 cards): #91, 92, 119 Alexander, 134 Cronin, 139, 166, and 169. EX-MT 6 (54 cards): #12, 31, 35, 37, 38 Doerr, 39, 40 Greenberg, 43, 45, 46 Averill, 48, 49, 52, 55, 56, 58, 60, 64, 78, 80, 83, 86, 87 Hubbell, 89 (OC), 90, 95, 96, 99, 101, 102 Klein, 115, 117, 118 Hoyt (MC), 124 Combs, 125, 126, 131, 135, 140, 141 Stengel, 149, 152, 153 McKechnie, 156, 164, 170 Speaker, 171 Heilmann, 174 Evers, 175 Mathewson, 177 Baker, 179 Sisler, 180 Cochrane, 212, and 218. EX+ 5.5 (19 cards): #3, 6 Gomez, 7 Dickey, 20, 22, 57, 59, 66, 72, 77, 79, 103, 143, 151, 155, 162, 173 Lajoie, 190, and 208. EX 5 (37 cards): #4, 9, 11, 13, 16, 27 Williams, 41 Gehringer, 44, 47, 51, 54, 65, 67, 68, 70, 104 P. Waner, 105 L. Waner, 109, 111, 112, 114, 116, 121, 130, 138, 145, 146, 147, 154, 163, 165, 172 Bender, 209, 213, 216, 231, and 235 McGraw. VG-EX+ 4.5 (6 cards): #61, 69, 142 Kelly, 182, 186, and 188. VG-EX 4 (21 cards): #2, 5, 14, 15, 21 Ferrell, 23, 25, 33, 36, 62, 71, 85, 93, 94, 100, 106, 107 Vaughn, 120 Johnson (MC), 132 Mack, 205, and 239. VG+ 3.5 (1 card): #73. VG 3 (7 cards): #1 DiMaggio, 8, 10 Ruffing, 18, 26, 30 Berg, and 53. GOOD 2 (6 cards): #17, 24, 32, 113, 222, and 225 "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. FAIR 1.5 (2 cards): #176 Manush and 183. POOR 1 (17 cards): #63, 127, 136, 144, 150, 158 T. Jackson, 161, 178 Carey, 187, 191, 196, 199, 200, 217, 221, 230 Faber, and 234 Chance. This is rare opportunity to acquire an extremely attractive near-complete set of this all-time classic vintage gum-card issue, at a fraction of what a high-grade set would command. The total SMR value for the assigned grades (excluding the five qualified cards and factoring in the half-grades at the lower whole-grade level) is $8,248. Total: 186 cards (185 different plus one duplicate). Reserve $2,500. Estimate $5,000+.