This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/19/2012
In his rookie year of 1954 Al Kaline hit a modest .276 with four HR and was part of an outfield corps that included Don Lund, Bob Nieman, Bill Tuttle and highly touted Jim Delsing. By 1959 all of these phenom outfielders were gone in favor of Charlie Maxwell, Harvey Kuenn, and Kaline. Kaline's second career homer in 1954 was a grand slam, making him the second youngest ever to have hit one. Over 22 seasons, the quiet, durable Tigers outfielder was a model of consistency who excelled with minimum fanfare. He accumulated 3,007 hits, 399 home runs, a .297 batting average, 10 Gold Gloves and 15 All-Star team selections. Mr. Tiger won the batting title in 1955, hitting .340 at the age of 20. His reputation as a clutch performer was enhanced by his .379 average against St. Louis in the 1968 World Series. This blazing example of Kaline’s 1954 Topps rookie card is simply majestic. The radiant candy apple red background sets off the perfectly registered dual imagery of Kaline. Not a whisper of handling wear can be detected on any edge or surface, even under the intense scrutiny of PSA’s grading process. Of the 1,778 Kaline rookies graded by that firm to date, here we present the one and only GEM MINT 10 example.