A rare baseball card found in Danvers, Massachusetts, has sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Last month, Jeff Gross told NBC10 Boston that he met a man at a family estate sale in June who had a 1916 Babe Ruth rookie card that was part of promotion from Morehouse Bakery. The Bambino was still a pitcher for the Red Sox in 1916, predating his awakening as a legendary slugger and notorious trade from Boston to the rival New York Yankees.
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The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the card came from his father. He then enlisted Gross to help sell the rare collectible.
On Sunday, the card sold at auction for about $812,000.
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"To have been in the middle of all that starting with a yard sale is still mind-blowing, honestly," Gross told NBC10 Boston. "Just a fun wrap-up to a six-month journey."
Gross says the man intends to use some of the money to go on vacation with his wife.
The man's father used to collect the Morehouse Bakery cards, and more than 100, including two Ruth rookie cards, were just sitting around in boxes, according to Gross.
"This is Babe Ruth, 1916, rookie pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He wasn't a Yankee yet; he wasn't hitting home runs. [He was] a skinny little kid, left hander," Gross said.
The Ruth rookie card, and the rest of the collection, was a promotion by Morehouse Bakery in Lawrence, a bid to make some dough by selling more bread.
"It's actually what's on the back of these cards that is what really, really adds the value and rarity here, which is that Morehouse Baking advertising back," said PJ Kinsella with Robert Edward Auctions, which handled the Morehouse collection auction. "It is a very exciting find."
This is just the latest fantastic sports memorabilia find in recent months.
Earlier this year, Jason West told NBC10 Boston about his discovery of an unopened 1952 Bowman baseball card pack.
The 1952 pack had fallen through a crack in the floor, behind the stairs to the second floor. The pack was unreachable until the stairs and the home were demolished, leading to the incredible find.
