Here’s a very cool piece of baseball history: a 1925 Babe Ruth New York Yankees payroll check! Mastro sold it in its raw state in November 2001, but it was later slabbed in a PSA holder and sold via SCP Auctions for $26,701.20 in August 2020.
Here’s how Mastro described it in 2001:
Official New York Yankees payroll check, dated September 1, 1925, is made out to “George H. Ruth” in the amount of $4,598.84. The check has been signed on the front by Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert (9/10) and countersigned by General Manager Ed Barrow (8/10). Ruth has endorsed the check “George H. Ruth” (8/10) in black ink on the reverse. The check exhibits one vertical fold line and normal bank cancellation stamps (neither of which affect the Ruth signature), and is in strong Excellent condition. 1925 was definitely a year for Ruth to forget. He began the season laid up for almost two months with the “belly ache heard ’round the world.” and upon his return began feuding heavily with manager Miller Huggins. On August 29th of that year the entire situation came to a head when Huggins suspended Ruth indefinitely and levied a $5,000 fine on the great slugger. Ruth appealed directly to Colonel Ruppert but was met with little sympathy by the stern owner as he backed up Huggins 100%. On September Ist (the very date this check was issued and cashed by Ruth) he would return to Yankee Stadium in an effort to apologize to Huggins, but to no avail. Ruth would spend the day watching the game from the stands in Ruppert’s private box. A magnificent Ruth payroll check dating from the height of his most tumultuous season in the Bronx. LOA’s from Mike Gutierrez/MastroNet and James Spence/PSA DNA.
And here’s the back of the check, with Ruth’s auto, that Mastro included a photo of in the catalog.
Finally, here are the front and back of the check, now slabbed by PSA, via SCP Auctions.
Here’s an original New York Yankees payroll check signed by Thurman Munson—a tough and highly sought-after autograph from the beloved captain.
Mastro sold the check in April 2006; here’s what they wrote about it:
In 1973, Thurman Munson had already established himself as a New York Yankee mainstay. He enjoyed one of his finest seasons that year by batting .301 and smashing a career-high twenty home runs. This colorful Yankees payroll check measures 3-1/2” x 7-7’16” and presents in overall EX/MT condition. Dated December 14, 1973, it is made payable to Thurman Munson for the amount of $1,740.54. Munson has endorsed the back “Thurman Munson” in blue ballpoint. The signature is clearly readable, projects “10” in strength and is free from any back stampings. A small area of peripheral paper loss on the reverse is removed from Munson’s quality endorsement. The Yankee captain and seven-time All-Star tragically died in 1979 in an airplane crash. A very difficult signature to acquire on an official New York Yankees check. LOA from Steve Grad/PSA DNA and LOA from James Spence Authentication
Minimum Bid $300
REA sold this exact check in the spring of 2010 for $1,998. But more recently, checks like this have been selling for ~$4k.
A few rare cards have managed to trickle into the hobby despite Topps’ intention not to release them. These cards were usually caught and updated or removed from production in the proof phase of the printing process. Topps had to make set modifications because of player rights (like the 1974 Topps Joe Namath card), trades (like the 1977 Topps Reggie Jackson and 1967 Topps Roger Maris cards), or printing errors. However, in the case of the 1980 Topps Yankees Team Card, it was for another reason entirely.
Billy Martin played 11 seasons of Major League Baseball, winning five World Series championships with the Yankees and finishing his career as a .257 hitter with 64 home runs and 333 RBIs.
1952 Topps #175 Billy Martin
But, it was Martin’s behavior as a manager who was often fired amid a scandal that led to the 1980 Topps Yankees Team Card proof.
You see, Martin’s first stint as Yankees Manager (after having already been the manager of the Twins, Tigers, and Rangers) was from 1975-1978. He resigned for health reasons in July of 1978, but he was probably going to be fired for cause if he hadn’t. After a lot more drama (which you can read about on Martin’s Wikipedia page), Steinbrenner brought Martin back as manager in June of 1979 to finish out that year after the Yankees’ slow start under manager Bob Lemon. Martin closed out the 1979 season with a 55-40 record. However, he was fired again in October 1979 for punching out a marshmallow salesman, which you can read about in a Lodi News-Sentinel article from October 31, 1979.
Lodi News-Sentinel Article About the Billy Martin Fight
Unfortunately for Topps, in October of 1979, they were already in the middle of the 1980 set’s production. However, they were probably only in the proofing phase because all of the known examples of the Yankees Team card with Billy Martin on it have blank backs.
1980 Topps Yankees Team Billy Martin Proof – Front
1980 Topps Yankees Team Billy Martin Proof – Reverse
By the time Topps issued the 1980 set, Martin had already been replaced on the card by rookie manager Dick Howser.
1980 Topps #424 Yankees Team with Dick Howser – Front
1980 Topps #424 Yankees Team with Dick Howser – Reverse
Now, there have only been a handful of public sales of Billy Martin’s 1980 Topps Yankees Team card.
In December 2003, Lelands auctioned off an uncut proof sheet with the Billy Martin variation. Bidders didn’t meet the reserve on this auction, but the description said the sheet was stamped “August 1989 Topps Auction NYC” on the back, referring to the famous Guernsey’s auction full of items from the Topps Archives; I’ve included a photo from that catalog showing the 1980 Topps baseball uncut sheets that were up for auction below.
1980 Topps Proof Sheet – Lelands
Guernsey’s Topps Auction – Baseball Production Material
In that same Lelands auction, they sold a lot of 78 1980-1983 Topps Archives uncut sheets for $926, including nine 1980 Topps progressives with the Billy Martin card.
A few years later, Robert Edward Auctions sold what appears to be a different 1980 Topps uncut proof sheet with the unissued Martin card for $406 in the spring of 2005 (you can see a corner is missing on Leland’s sheet but not on this one).
1980 Topps Proof Sheet – REA
Finally, the last public sale of a 1980 Topps Yankees Team card with Billy Martin listed as the manager was from a 2016 REA auction lot of eight 1980-1984 Topps proof cards. The lot included a black-only and blackless progressive proof and sold for $1080.
1980 Topps Yankees Team Billy Martin Proof – Black Only
1980 Topps Yankees Team Billy Martin Proof – Blackless
You can find a few more examples shared on vintage sports card forums. As far as we know, the card only exists as a blank-backed proof and never made it into packs. So, it’s not a variation I would say is needed for a complete set; it’s just an unpublished proof. But that’s not to say the card doesn’t have a great story and isn’t a great card to own. Happy collecting!
PS: Martin went on to manage the Athletics from 1980-1982 and returned to manage the Yankees in 1983, 1985, and 1988.
Scott Kelnhofer wrote an excellent article about World Series programs in the February 1997 issue of Sports Cards Magazine. The article referenced a “Market Report” later in the magazine, which included the following Top Ten list: cool, huh?
Here’s the article and the complete Market Report page. I’ve never been a program collector, so it’s interesting to me that pre and post-1974 issues separate the niche:
Now, let’s see what these programs cost today:
1927 Yankees vs. Pirates: ~$2k
1956 Yankees vs. Dodgers: ~$225
1969 Mets vs. Orioles: ~$200
1955 Dodgers vs. Yankees: ~$200
1973 Athletics vs. Mets: ~$25
1919 Reds vs. White Sox: ~$3k
1978 Yankees vs. Dodgers: ~$20
1975 Reds vs. Red Sox: ~$20
1959 Dodgers vs. White Sox: ~$50
1960 Pirates vs. Yankees: ~$30
My favorite is the 1965 ‘Out of this World’ Series program.
