Mike Groll/Associated PressNolan Ryan's 1968 rookie card, which depicts him as a member of the New York Mets, sold for $500,000 at auction Saturday.
Goldin Auctions reported the winning bid. Per the official listing, this version of the 1968 Topps rookie card received a perfect GEM-MT 10 rating from the Professional Sports Authenticator:
"Among more than 11,500 examples seen by PSA, this incomparable jewel is the only specimen to merit the company's laudable GEM MT 10 assessment The significance of this one, glorious treasure—against which all of its contemporaries will, by definition, be found lacking—is impossible to overstate."
The card features portraits of Ryan and Jerry Koosman, who had a 19-year MLB career from 1967-85. Koosman finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1968, behind only Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, and was a two-time All-Star.
Ryan only made two appearances for the Mets in 1966, missed virtually all of the next season because of injury and served six months in the Army Reserves during the Vietnam War. His first full year in the big leagues came in 1968, when he posted a 3.09 ERA in 21 appearances.
He holds the all-time record for strikeouts with 5,714. For that and other achievements during his 27-year MLB career, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1999.
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