Babe Ruth 100th Anniversary Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/19/2014
Graded by PSA NM 7. When you set a seemingly unbreakable major league home run record with 59 home runs, and are the most recognizable person in the entire country, there is a good chance you could have your own candy bar. But in 1921 when the Baby Ruth candy bar became available, the bar was supposedly not named for the legendary slugger, but for Ruth, the former baby daughter of President Grover Cleveland who died in 1904. Stories abounded the candy company was being very sly in capitalizing on the popularity of the Bambino without paying him the necessary royalties. The George H. Ruth Candy Co. was founded in 1926 in direct retaliation against the Curtiss Candy Company for their refusal to compensate Ruth for the use of his name on their "Baby Ruth" candy bars. Curtiss always maintained the candy bar was named not for Ruth but for the daughter of former President Cleveland. However, since Ruth Cleveland died in 1904, seventeen years before the Baby Ruth candy bar was created, their claim seems implausible. The court battle between both companies ensued until 1931 when the ruling went against the George Ruth Candy Co. That ruling denied the George H. Ruth Candy Company the right to trademark its two candies, "Ruth's Home Run Bar" and "Babe Ruth's Own Candy," stating there would be too much confusion among the public if candies named "Baby Ruth" and "Babe Ruth" were allowed to compete against each other. However, one good thing which came about from this candy controversy was a set of six baseball cards, issued in 1928, which if accumulated in complete set form could be redeemed for a real signed Babe Ruth baseball. These cards have been reproduced on several occasions, lessening demand for this issue and PSA decided to stop grading this issue. However, with more research and comparisons to known original examples, the real ones are easier to decipher such as this offered PSA graded high end example. Extremely well centered with four sharp corners, this sepia toned example has tremendous print quality and crisp registration with sharp focus; traits which distinguish the legit examples from the illegitimate. The blank backed reverse is without the redemption information for the signed baseball, and is extremely clean. This is the highest graded George Ruth Candy Co issue from either PSA or SGC, and is card No. 2 which indicates his record breaking 60 home runs. Graded by PSA NM 7.