"The Prettiest Card Ever Made" is #100 on my ACE 100 List!

As a reminder, here is the summary of my Attainable Collection of Envy 100.

If you are a new subscriber, this post deviates from my normal weekly sports card roundup, which releases every Monday morning. Here is an example of that.

ACE List #100: 1953 Bowman Color Pee Wee Reese

To watch the video I made on this, click here.

Why This Card:

This is one of the few cards that made my list of 100 because of the photo and not the athlete. Of course, Pee Wee Reese is certainly worthy of adoration; a Baseball Hall of Famer, and Jackie Robinson’s double play partner whose value largely came from his defense and ability to get on base and run the bases.

Reese made ten all-star games, despite missing three full seasons to war. He was a member of the 1955 World Series-winning Brooklyn Dodgers, in which Johnny Podres pitched a complete game shutout in game seven to lock it up.

No, this card makes my list because of the photo. When I Googled the card, I found an article by The Athletic / New York Times calling it “the prettiest card ever made” in 2020, and based on the comments on my video, many vintage collectors agree.

Another article I found was one that breaks down the backstory behind the card, and based on some older hobby forum posts, this doesn’t seem to have been public information until this blog came out. Better yet, the blog was written by vintage hobby YouTuber Alex of Bowman53.

Most people believed the photo for the card was taken during spring training of 1952, when most 1953 Bowman Color photos were taken, showing Reese turning two with Jackie Robinson. Alex pretty convincingly shows that the photo was actually taken during spring training of 1946, before Jackie even joined the team.

Alex writes, “In 1946, the Brooklyn Dodgers would spend their spring training at City Island Ballpark in Daytona, Florida – the site of Jackie Robinson’s appearance with the Montreal Royals in an historic exhibition game vs Brooklyn that same year.” I actually found that this may have been the same day as that exhibition. I reached out to Alex on Twitter but have not heard back yet.

Alex shows that a version of the same photo appears on the cover of a 1946 This Week Magazine, as well as the cover of the 1950 National Police Gazette. The photographer was long unknown, but Alex discovered that the photo was taken by David Peskin, as credited in This Week.

To see Peskin’s other cover photos and a proof for a “Dodgers In Action” card for the same set that never happened, go to the blog. There are other great details there, and I really want everyone to go and read it. You can also see how much a copy of that proof sold for earlier in 2024 right here.

And for another fun nugget, the person who owned and (presumably) sold that copy was our very own Chris From Missouri. Here’s his video about it.

Back to the Reese. Who was sliding in the photo? Or, more accurately, who was posed there, since Alex says it was a posed photo with the “runner” placed there on the ground while Reese jumped and threw over him. Many believed it was Gil Hodges or Duke Snider, but Reese himself said it was Stanley George “Frenchy” Bordagaray. Frenchy was with the dodgers until start of 1946 season, so this makes sense. Dodgers GM Branch Rickey had a great Yogi Berra-like quote about Frenchy: “He’s either the poorest great third baseman or the greatest poor third baseman.”

Keep scrolling to vote for where you’d have this card if you were to rank cards.

Recent Sales:

A PSA 1 recently sold for $450 and could usually be had for less than $100 prior to pandemic. A PSA 5 goes for around $1,100, while an 8 averages around $3,500.

Highest public sale ever:

The highest sale ever was PSA 9 for over $26k in Feb 2022 in Heritage Auctions.

PSA Population:

Over 2,000 have been graded by PSA. Only 1 got a gem mint grade of 10. Let me know in comments how much you think that 10 would be worth. It’s never sold publicly, as far as I could find.

Do I Own This Card?

Not yet.

My Target Grade: 

I would target it in a very low grade or raw.

With Apologies To:

1971 Topps Thurman Munson is another fantastic vintage card with amazing photography. If you’re on a budget, it’s a great alternative, with PSA 5s going for under $100.