Babe Ruth had a legendary baseball career, and his larger-than-life character created a fascination for him. He was, and remains, bigger than the sport of baseball, continuing to have a contemporary cultural impact today. Unfortunately for most hobbyists, many of his earlier sports cards are beyond their financial reach. The last M101-4 Sporting News Bath Ruth sold for $1.452M, and even a low-grade (PSA 2) 1933 Goudey #53 Babe Ruth is a $13k card. Luckily, Topps and other brands printed quite a few Babe Ruth cards in the post-war hobby collectors are more likely to afford, so here are ten incredible post-war Babe Ruth baseball cards.
1954 Topps Scoop #41 Babe Ruth Sets Record
The 1954 Topps Scoop set has 156 cards covering 1000 years of history, and lucky for us, a card featuring Babe Ruth and his record 60th home run. This card is pretty liquid, with multiple examples coming to market a year, and PSA 4s sell for just over $200.
1960 Fleer #3 Babe Ruth
Fleer didn’t have the rights to active players, so they made this set of 79 featuring the careers of Hall of Fame inductees or other National Pastime heroes. While ultra-high grade examples are pretty expensive, a well-centered PSA 7 is around $100.
1960 Nu-Card Baseball Hi Lites #1 Babe Hits 3 Homers in a Series Game
The oversized Hi-Lites cards look great and present a lot of information. Ruth has three cards in the set, but #1 is my favorite. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come to market that often in graded form, but a seller on eBay has an excellent raw copy for under $50.
1961 Fleer #75 Babe Ruth
Fleer grew their set to 154 cards in 1961 over two series of cards, and I think they did a great job with the design. While a PSA 8 ruth will run well over $500, an eye-appealing PSA 6 is just over $125.
1961 Golden Press #3 Babe Ruth
There are only 33 cards in the 1961 Golden Press set, and they came in a Trading Cards book of Hall of Fame Baseball Stars. Golden Press Babe Ruth cards are common on the market, and a PSA 8 recently sold for just under $200 in January 2022.
1961 Nu-Card Scoops #447 Babe Ruth Hits 60th Home Run
The 1961 Nu-Card set is more popular and available than its 1960 release. It has 80 cards in a similar newspaper headline format, and Babe’s 60th Home Run card in PSA 8 condition is “only” an $80 card.
1962 Topps #139 Babe Ruth Hits 60
In 1962, Topps featured a Babe Ruth subset over cards 135-144 in its 598-card set, but #139 is my favorite. High-grade examples don’t come to market very often, but a nice PSA 7 will run between $150-$200.
1967 Topps Who am I? #12 Babe Ruth
The 1967 Topps Who am I set is a quirky 44-card Topps release that included historical figures and more popular baseball superstars like Ruth, Mantle, Koufax, and Mays. Recently a PSA 8 Ruth sold for $330, but a PSA 5 is likely still under $100 these days.
If you’re looking for a challenge in 1967, try tracking down a 1967 Topps Venezuela #147 Babe Ruth card. PSA has only graded 35 of them.
1973 Topps #1 All-Time Home Run Leaders
I’ve always been a fan of 1973 Topps and multi-player cards, so I had to include the All-Time Home Run Leaders card #1 to this set. Many must agree with me, as it’s a pricey “1st” card in an action-packed set, as a mid-grade PSA 5 recently sold for $249 (though this may be a bit of an outlier as last month a pair of 7s sold for just over $250.
1973 Topps #474 Babe Ruth All-Time RBI Leader
The 660-card 1973 Topps set has gained popularity lately, and one reason is from the great actions shots and the great subsets, one of which is the All-Time Leaders. While Hank Aaron later eclipsed Ruth’s RBI record, this card is still a post-war classic. It’s also more affordable than card #1 in this set, as a PSA 8 is around $100.
Since Ruth’s cards are some of the most sought-after in the entire hobby, it’s easy to get priced out of the market for his playing days’ cards. But, you can find a few gems in the post-war hobby honoring his playing days. Hopefully, this list gave you a few ideas if you’re looking to add a Ruth card to your collection.