JULY 19TH AUCTION
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/20/2013
This 1948 Leaf #54 Chuck Bednarik card has been graded NM 7 by PSA. To be graded at such a level is no small feat for this notoriously condition sensitive rookie card, however close inspection of this card could cause even the most finicky collector to question what it would take to get an example graded a half or the full grade higher that this specimen deserves. This card features tremendous centering with the snow white borders framing the image just a touch high and to the left. The colors are vibrant with focus that is rarely encountered on examples of this (and many other) Leaf cards of the day. The corners appear to all be minimally sharp enough for a NM-MT card. So why a "7" instead of an "8"? The only thing that we could see under close scrutiny is at the tip of the upper left corner a very slight touch (?). This card was issued the year before Chuck Bednarik's professional career started in 1949 with the Philadelphia Eagles who used their #1 pick in the draft to pick up the would be Hall of Fame player. Bednarik was known to be the one of the toughest tacklers in the NFL, once knocking Frank Gifford out of action for one and a half seasons. It seems almost unfair that with this example of his rookie card Bednarik couldn't force his way into a NM-MT 8 grade. Quite possibly the finest example of this key football rookie card we have ever seen and certainly deserving of enshrinement in an "8" holder.