Chambersburg auction to feature rare, vintage baseball cards

(Chambersburg) — The auction of an extensive collection of rare and vintage baseball cards is expected to draw considerable interest from collectors near and far.

The collection features cards almost as old as baseball itself as well as other memorabilia signed by many enshrined at the Hall of Fame.

“We see lots of collections, but it’s rare to see a collector so focused on earlier cards and a collection that’s so extensive and spans the history of baseball,” said Heather Fowler of Gateway Gallery Auction. “That’s what makes this exciting.”

Gateway was hired to auction the cards from the estate of a man who had a lifelong passion for collecting. Fowler said this is the most extensive collection she has ever seen and it was clear that he had a keen eye for collecting.

The earliest cards date to 1887 with two “Old Judge” cards.

One of the highlights of the collection is a complete 1952 Topps set, which includes a card of a young rookie Mickey Mantle. Mantle’s rookie card and the complete set will be auctioned separately, but bidders can bid on both.

A Mantle rookie card has sold for $20,000 on its own, according to a consultant for Gateway.

The collection includes about 175 “tobacco cards” that were included in cigarette and tobacco packs in the early 1900s.

Among the tobacco cards is one of Chambersburg area native Mike Mowrey, a third baseman in the early 1900s who played in the 1916 World Series against Babe Ruth. When Mowery died in 1947, more than 1,000 people gathered to remember him at Henninger Field.

There are some other local connections, including cards of Nellie Fox, the St. Thomas native and Hall of Fame second baseman.

In addition to cards, the collection contains autographed baseballs and bats from some of the biggest names in baseball.

Fowler said it was clear the collector was passionate. He lugged around a massive book to events where he collected hundreds of signatures from baseball players including Whitey Ford, Mike Schmidt and Cal Ripkin Jr.

The first of at least three auctions is scheduled for April 4. Collectors from all over are expected to attend as well as bid online. Due to the high interest for this auction, Gateway is extending the hours of its preview the day before the auction.

Because many baseball card collectors begin at a young age, there is a lot of nostalgia tied to the cards.

“It’s that love and emotion that drives that,” Fowler said. “That’s what’s unique about this collection. There’s love and emotion behind it.”

She said the card collecting community is unique in that older collectors make a great effort to teach the younger generations.

“When younger kids come in, a lot of collectors educate them. Sports cards are such an open community,” she said. “It’s a real community.”

---

This articles comes to us through a partnership between the Public Opinion Online and WITF.