1947-49 Pacific Coast Baseball News Babe Ruth Card
‘It’s In The Details’
| Title | Pacific Coast Baseball News Babe Ruth |
| Year | 1947-49 |
| Size | 3 7/8″ x 5 5/8″″ |
| Images | Black and White |
| Type | Publications |
| Number in Set |
1 |
1947-49 Pacific Coast Baseball News Babe Ruth Overview
This black and white card was offered as a premium from the Pacific Coast Baseball News publication. Specifically, it was distributed by the Pacific Coast Sports Publishing News, possibly a parent or overarching company for that publication.
The card is believed to have been a tribute of sorts. Many collectors hear the word ‘premium’ with this and assume the item is a larger photograph. Instead, this card is roughly the size of a postcard.
There is only one Ruth card but it appears to have been distributed for a few years.
The front of the card has a portrait image of Ruth along with his replica signature. Backs included the print, “George Herman Ruth, a mighty man was he,” along with his hitting, pitching, and World Series stats. The backs also included Ruth’s biographical information and a short writeup of his career highlights.
While the amount of statistics on the back are great, there is also quite a bit missing, too. The card only includes Ruth’s pitching statistics with the Red Sox, not his hitting ones. Similarly, it does not include any of his pitching statistics with the Yankees. It also omits his 1919 season entirely (likely because Ruth flourished as both a hitter and pitcher in that year and it was not clear which to focus on) as well as his stats from his first five World Series appearances (his last five are featured). Finally, the card makes no mention of 1935, his final year spent with the Boston Braves.
These were mailed from the Pacific Coast Sports Publishing Company’s Los Angeles address to recipients. The card generally starts around $150, though, nailing down a specific price is difficult because it is so rarely seen.
Two Types
Two different types of the card are known. They could be tied to the date of issue.
Love of the Game notes that the earlier Type 1 cards included the inscription, “Compliments of AAPBC” while the second type did not.
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