1950-1951 TOLETEROS JOSHUA GIBSON JOSH BASEBALL HOF RC SGC EX 60 NEGRO LEAGUE - BLACK BABE RUTH 800+ HR Start Price USD 23,000.00 Current Price USD 23,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, July 19, 2008 End Time Saturday, July 26, 2008 Location Berkley, MI See more about '1950-1951 TOLETEROS JOSHUA GIBSON JOSH BASEBALL HOF RC' Description Graded EX 60 by SGC with only two graded higher. Magnificent high-grade example of one of the rarest and most highly prized of all postwar cards: the 1950-1951 Toleteros Josh Gibson. This is a card which is so rare its existence has been documented only during the past several years, and its significance as Josh Gibson's only known standard card issue has propelled it in this very short time to being one of the most well known baseball cards in the collecting world. Many collectors concentrate on collecting Hall of Famers. Josh Gibson has always presented a problem for these collectors because for decades he was simply not found to appear in any card sets. The discovery of his inclusion in the 180-card 1950-1951 Toleteros set, the third and final year in which this company issued cards in Puerto Rico during the Puerto Rican winter league season, was momentous. Finally a card issue featured the legendary Josh Gibson, the greatest slugging star of the Negro Leagues. Similar in spirit to the 1940 Play Ball card of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the 1948-1949 Leaf card of Babe Ruth in that this card was not issued during Gibson's playing career, this card is unique and of great significance: there really are no equivalent alternatives. Babe Ruth had hundreds of cards issued of him, dating back to his earliest days as a minor leaguer with Baltimore in 1914, and many different cards were issued of virtually every Hall of Famer of the twentieth century. The nature and economic realities of the Negro Leagues, however, have created several special challenges for card collectors. Of these, no player is of a greater stature than Josh Gibson. Even Satchel Paige can be found in the 1949 Bowman and 1953 Topps sets. While some may think it is almost inconceivable that the most celebrated stars of the Negro Leagues were not honored with trading cards at the peaks of their careers, it must be remembered that it was a different time and world, and the issuing of cards needs an economic incentive and rationale in any era. This incentive simply did not exist to justify the issuing of cards of many Negro Leaguers. This is actually very much in keeping with the harsh economic realities of the Negro Leagues, and the fact that this affects even the greatest Negro League stars such as Josh Gibson speaks volumes about the significance of this card, issued in Puerto Rico in 1950, in tribute to the then-recently deceased legend. Gibson, a huge star in Puerto Rico, played his final season there in 1946. He died of a brain hemorrhage in early 1947 at the age of 35, although it is well documented that Satchel Paige, Ted Page, and all of his teammates were certain that he really died of a broken heart because he was not chosen to be the first black player to break the color barrier in the majors. According to Toleteros card expert Ryan Christoff, approximately twelve examples of the Gibson card are known to exist. The card is graded EX 60 by SGC and in fact appears to be in Near Mint condition with just the lightest hint of corner wear. Most of the few other known examples are in low grade and only two examples have ever been graded higher by SGC or PSA (one Near Mint and one Nr/Mt-Mt). The 2008 Standard Catalog lists the Gibson at a value of $75,000 in Near Mint condition, $37,500 in Excellent condition, and $20,000 in Very Good condition. This is an outstanding high-grade example of this important rarity.  This is an ideal opportunity to acquire one of the finest examples in existence of this famous card.  Recent auction house sales of this card graded: $69,262 - SGC 80 Ex/ Nm 6 - Lelands Auction, June 2005 $42,000 - SGC 60 Ex 5 - Heritage Auctions, October 2007 $24,851 - SGC 50 Vg/ Ex 4 - Mastro Auctions, April 2007 $18,560 - SGC 40 Vg 3 - Robert Edwards Auctions, May 2006 For this auction, I will only accept a cashiers check.  Paypal and personal checks will not be accepted.  Good luck w/ your bid.  Please do not bid if you have no or negative feedback.  Email wcs_3@yahoo.com w/ any questions.          Place a Bid!