This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/19/2012
He will always be "Mr. Cub," the most popular player the Cubs ever had. His sunny personality is legend, as is his refrain on a sunny day: "Let's play two!" The first black player on the Cubs, Banks came up as a shortstop, where he won consecutive MVP awards (1958-59), but actually played more games at first base. Like his contemporary, Hank Aaron, Banks didn't look like a typical slugger. He was slim, with powerful thighs, and he held his bat high, wiggling it nervously while waiting for the pitch. The look was deceiving at first, but 512 career homers later, no one questioned Banks' power hitting ability. Born from the condition sensitive 1954 Topps issue, Banks’ rookie card is commonly plagued by any number of production faults. That challenge alone, even before exposure to handling wear, makes finding high-grade examples difficult. The offered specimen has defied seemingly insurmountable odds. Immaculately rendered, with perfect image quality, centering and registration, the card appears untouched by human hands or natural elements. Among the 2,157 copies of Ernie Banks Topps rookie card reviewed by the graders at PSA, this example is one of only two to earn their highest rating of GEM MINT 10.