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Mississippi Collector Pulls Hall of Fame Baseball Card
Nov 28 2005 10:06AM
 
One of a Kind Card Features Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, and Walter Johnson Signatures
Card Value Estimated at $20,000, Online Auction Set for this Wednesday
DALLAS (November 28, 2005) --- Barry Scott, 26, of Guntown, Mississippi, was hanging out at his local hobby shop before his weekly bowling league game when he decided to open a couple of packs of trading cards. The second pack of 2005 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts cards he opened contained a one-of-a-kind card featuring the signatures of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, and Walter Johnson, four of the five inductees into the inaugural class of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Scott contacted Beckett Media LP, publisher of Beckett Baseball, the leading information source on baseball cards. Scott inquired about facilitating the sale of the card as well as publicizing this "pull" through their industry leading website www.beckett.com. Scott was concerned about the kind of negative attention the recent sale of the Pope John Paul II card received earlier this year when a number of sales fell through.
The card goes up for auction at Beckett's eBay store on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Depending on how the card authenticates and grades, the card could sell well over industry expert's predictions of $20,000.
"When Barry contacted Beckett Media about getting involved our main objective was to promote this one of a kind card and Barry's unique story. We were drawn to the fact that he is just a regular collector who pulled an extraordinary card," said Pepper Hastings, Beckett Baseball editor. Hastings, (pictured below, left) met Scott at Dallas-Ft.Worth International airport Tuesday afternoon, not knowing that Scott had the valuable card stashed under his shirt inside a necklace-like pouch. "We think Barry's chances of executing a successful sale are very strong."
The significance of the card was not lost on Scott who became weak in the knees the moment he saw the Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb signatures. Upon realizing the card also featured Honus Wagner and Walter Johnson signatures Scott put the card in his local bank's safety deposit box while he evaluated his options.
"This is one of the most significant pulls in the history of our industry," said Gregg Kohn, Product Development Manager for Baseball at Upper Deck. "These four players are widely considered to be among the most historically relevant pre-World War II Hall of Famers. They were also among four of the first five players inducted in the inaugural class at the Hall."
Beckett Price Guide editors estimate the initial value of the card at $20,000. According to Scott, a Mississippi collector has already offered him $50,000 for the card. Scott will be arriving in Dallas to have Beckett experts evaluate the card tomorrow and the card will be placed up for auction on Wednesday, November 30. The auction will close on Saturday, December 10.
ABOUT BECKETT MEDIA
Based in Dallas, Beckett Media LP, an Apprise Media company, is the leading publisher of sports and specialty market collectible products in the U.S. Beckett operates Beckett.com (www.beckett.com) and is the premier publisher of monthly sports and entertainment collectibles magazines. Beckett, considered the world's most trusted source in collecting, currently publishes 14 magazines.
If you weren't lucky enough to pull this one of a kind card check out these options at the Beckett Marketplace:
Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb and Walter Johnson items.
For further information contact: Elon Werner, Director of Communications
972.448.9034, ewerner@beckett.com
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