Lot # 1093: 1949 Pacific Coast Sports Publishing (American Association) Babe Ruth SGC EX 5

Graded EX 5 by SGC (submitted by REA). Extremely attractive example of a 1949 Pacific Coast Baseball News card featuring the legendary Babe Ruth, issued shortly after his death in 1948 by the Pacific Coast Sports Publishing Co. of Los Angeles, California. The card was available through a mail-order annual subscription form on the interior pages of the "Pacific Coast Baseball News." For years this card had always been referred to as 1948 American Association, but this recent information provided by PSA/DNA photo expert Henry Yee has given the collecting community the precise clarity for this mysterious issue. (We have sold examples in past years that have "Compliments of American Association of Professional Baseball Clubs" printed along the base of the reverse, which likely is how the original reference of "American Association" was identified with this issue.) The card (4 x 5-3/4 inches) features a black-and-white portrait of Ruth in uniform with his career statistics on the reverse. Crisp and clean, both front and back, with light wear on the corners, and a boldly printed reverse. This is a striking example of this often-overlooked card, issued after Ruth's Hall of Fame career.