9. Signed 1948 Bowman Basketball George Mikan #89 (No Red Ink On Front – HOF RC) – PSA/DNA NM-MT 8
Spectacular card of basketball’s first big-name player, at 6’10”, the game’s first big man. Mikan led the Minneapolis Lakers to five championships in six years, the first dynasty in basketball history. Mikan was on the first four NBA All-Star teams and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1959. He was also the first Commissioner of the ABA. Mikan’s rookie card, the 1948 Bowman issue, is one of the high- est-priced and most sought-after cards in the hobby. The key card in the sport’s first mainstream national issue, this was long the most valuable basketball card, the equivalent of the basket- ball hobby’s 1952 Mantle. Even today, it remains one of the top handful of basketball cards, an elite card that routinely realizes prices of six figures in the higher grades. Presented here is a true hobby Holy Grail, an autographed 1948 Mikan signed carefully in bold, blue ballpoint ink. The signa- ture grades an 8 from PSA/DNA, reflecting a couple of light ink skips, but presents far more strongly. The card is a stunner, a sharp and clear image boasting crisp registration and a rich, blue background. Visible but unobtrusive creasing appears to result in minor tearing of the paper at the bottom left, which lies flat in the holder and does not significantly disrupt the aesthet- ics of the card. The card was consigned from the collection of a longtime hobbyist and autograph collector and has been lightly trimmed to reveal sharp corners and edges, with outstanding centering. One of just ten signed examples on the PSA/DNA population report, this is the only signed example of the “no red ink” varia- tion, adding exponential rarity to an already rare and desirable signed card. Autographed 1948 Mikans are tough to come by, the most recent public sale of which that we can find happening three years ago. An exceptional artifact, a signed copy of the elusive rookie card of Hall of Famer George Mikan, one of the most significant basketball cards in the hobby. MINIMUM BID: $5,000
16
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator