Mile High Card Company will offer a complete set of one of the rarest hockey card issues ever created when its Fall Auction opens next week; a complete 1971-72 Bazooka Hockey Panel set with each card in the set ranked as the highest ever graded.
The Bazooka cards were only available for a brief period of time in Canada that season. A complete box featuring Hall of Famer Bobby Orr sold for $16,000 during the 2015 National Sports Collectors Convention.
“Once again, we’ve been privileged to present an auction filled with amazing cards, but the Bazooka hockey set takes it to a new level,” said Brian Drent, the company’s COO and president. “You never see these cards, even as singles, but to be able to offer the entire collection in three-card panel form with almost all of them the best by two or three grades? That blew us away.”
The auction begins on October 24 and concludes on Thursday, November 10.
High profile baseball rookie cards on the block include a 1948 Bowman Stan Musial rookie card graded PSA 9, a 1951 Bowman Willie Mays rookie rated PSA 7, a 1954 Topps Al Kaline (PSA 8), a 1954 Topps rookie card of Henry Aaron (PSA 7.5), a 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax rookie (PSA 8), a 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente rookie (PSA 7) and a 1969 Topps Reggie Jackson rookie (PSA 9).
Key football rookie cards that will be up for grabs include a 1958 Jim Brown (PSA 8) and a 1965 Topps Joe Namath (SGC 92).
More hockey card royalty comes in the form of a 1979-80 Wayne Gretzky rookie from O-Pee-Chee that carries a PSA 8 grade.
Other standout cards include the only T216 People’s Tobacco/Kotton Cigarettes Honus Wagner (throwing) ever graded (PSA Authentic), a 1933 Goudey #92 Lou Gehrig PSA 8, 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle SGC 60, 1958 Topps #150 Mantle PSA 9, 1960 Topps #563
Mantle All Star PSA 10, 1961 Topps #578 Mantle All-Star PSA 10, 1966 Topps #50 Mantle PSA 9, 1969 Topps #190 Willie Mays PSA 10, 1955 Topps All-American #16 Knute Rockne PSA 10 and a 1888 N162 Goodwin Champions Beecher PSA 7, the first football card ever produced.
Several sets ranked highly on PSA’s registry are being offered including a 1951 Topps Baseball Blue Back set that also comes with an unopened pack and is ranked first, a Red Back complete master Set with wrapper that is rated number 2 and a 1955 Topps Double Headers set that’s currently third on the current finest list. It comes with a wax pack and wrapper.
Other sets up for bid include:
- 1991 Topps Desert Shield Complete Set (#4 current finest)
- 1966 Topps Football Complete Set #2 on PSA Set Registry
- 1951 Bowman Near Complete Set (319/324) Nearly All PSA graded with Mantle and Mays
- 1953 Bowman Color Near Complete Set (155/160) All PSA graded
- 1955 Bowman Near Complete Set (305/320) all graded with Mantle
- 1956 Topps Baseball High Grade Near Complete Set (337/342); mostly graded
- 1957 Topps Complete Set Mostly PSA Graded with extras
- 1950 Bowman Football Near Complete Set (121/144) with extras
- 1951 Bowman Football Near Complete (143/144) high grade with extras
Once again, MHCC is breaking up a highly rated 1952 Topps baseball collection, including a #1 Andy Pafko PSA 7, a #261 Willie Mays PSA 7, a #312 Jackie Robinson PSA 7 and a #314 Roy Campanella PSA 8.
The auction isn’t all cards, however. Among the key pieces of memorabilia are a 1973 Willie Mays New York Mets game-used, signed jersey, a 1910 Christy Mathewson “Won in the Ninth” cardboard advertising display; a 1912 S110 Baseball Player Silks pillowtop featuring Cobb, Mathewson and Speaker, a 1938 New York Yankees team signed American League baseball with 21 autographs including Gehrig and DiMaggio, a 1967 Pete Rose game-used bat with over 20 Reds signatures including a young Johnny Bench and a 1980s Bo Jackson Auburn Tigers jersey.
MHCC is accepting consignments for upcoming auctions. Call (303) 840-2784 or visit their website for more information.