Baseball Card Collection Could Set New Record
2021-05-30
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1When Florida doctor Thomas Newman died of COVID-19, he left his family with a large collection of sports cards worth some $20 million.
2One is a Babe Ruth card that could set a new world record.
3Sports cards were made in the U.S. in the 19th and 20th centuries.
4They were included in packages of gum and children collected them.
5While cards are still made now, it is the old ones that are worth a lot of money.
6Newman started his collection about 40 years ago.
7His family says he was driven by the love of collecting, not money.
8He built his collection traveling around the United States at conventions and kept his cards in a locked container at his Tampa home.
9Nancy Newman was his wife.
10"He loved his paper babies," she said.
11"He got such joy out of it."
12Newman died in January at age 73.
13He kept the collection of more than 1,000 old and modern baseball, football and hockey trading cards mostly private outside of his close family and friends.
14It will be shared at an online auction at California-based auction house Memory Lane from June 21 to July 10.
15Stewart Newman is his son.
16"It is cool for his legacy that he put 40 years into collecting and he is getting the recognition that was probably overdue," he said.
17The most valuable card in the collection is a 1933 Babe Ruth card.
18Babe Ruth was a star baseball player for the New York Yankees during the 1920s and 1930s.
19He is widely considered to be the best player in history.
20Experts say the card could break the $5.2 million world record price for any single sports card.
21The Babe Ruth card is rated Mint 9.
22Cards are rated on a 1 to 10 scale, so a 9 is almost perfect.
23It is the only Babe Ruth card of its kind that is known to exist.
24And it comes to auction at a time when prices for sports trading cards have gone way up.
25Newman's son said he bought the Babe Ruth card around 15 or 20 years ago for far less than its current worth.
26He refused several requests to sell it.
27Other valuable cards in Newman's collection include a 1916 Babe Ruth rookie card, and a near-perfect 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie card that could sell for $1 million.
28Mickey Mantle played for the Yankees in the 1950s and 1960s.
29A rookie card is a player's first card created when he becomes a professional and is often considered valuable.
30JP Cohen is the president of Memory Lane Auctions.
31He said: "There are some amazing one-of-a-kind pieces that we, as a company who have been doing this over 20 years, have never seen before."
32Newman began collecting as a boy.
33But his mother threw out his cards when he left for college.
34He started collecting again in the 1980s, visiting card collector conventions around the country, often with his son.
35"I remember it was hard getting my dad away so I could even just have some lunch or something," said Stewart Newman.
36Thomas Newman and his family had a general idea about the value of his collection.
37But card prices have greatly increased over the past few years and especially during the pandemic.
38"He would want it to be an investment for the family's future," Nancy Newman said.
39"I am sure he is looking down and is very happy with what's happening with the collection."
40I'm John Russell.
1When Florida doctor Thomas Newman died of COVID-19, he left his family with a large collection of sports cards worth some $20 million. One is a Babe Ruth card that could set a new world record. 2Sports cards were made in the U.S. in the 19th and 20th centuries. They were included in packages of gum and children collected them. While cards are still made now, it is the old ones that are worth a lot of money. 3Newman started his collection about 40 years ago. His family says he was driven by the love of collecting, not money. He built his collection traveling around the United States at conventions and kept his cards in a locked container at his Tampa home. 4Nancy Newman was his wife. "He loved his paper babies," she said. "He got such joy out of it." 5Newman died in January at age 73. He kept the collection of more than 1,000 old and modern baseball, football and hockey trading cards mostly private outside of his close family and friends. 6It will be shared at an online auction at California-based auction house Memory Lane from June 21 to July 10. 7Stewart Newman is his son. "It is cool for his legacy that he put 40 years into collecting and he is getting the recognition that was probably overdue," he said. 8The most valuable card in the collection is a 1933 Babe Ruth card. Babe Ruth was a star baseball player for the New York Yankees during the 1920s and 1930s. He is widely considered to be the best player in history. Experts say the card could break the $5.2 million world record price for any single sports card. 9The Babe Ruth card is rated Mint 9. Cards are rated on a 1 to 10 scale, so a 9 is almost perfect. It is the only Babe Ruth card of its kind that is known to exist. And it comes to auction at a time when prices for sports trading cards have gone way up. 10Newman's son said he bought the Babe Ruth card around 15 or 20 years ago for far less than its current worth. He refused several requests to sell it. 11Other valuable cards in Newman's collection include a 1916 Babe Ruth rookie card, and a near-perfect 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie card that could sell for $1 million. 12Mickey Mantle played for the Yankees in the 1950s and 1960s. 13A rookie card is a player's first card created when he becomes a professional and is often considered valuable. 14JP Cohen is the president of Memory Lane Auctions. He said: "There are some amazing one-of-a-kind pieces that we, as a company who have been doing this over 20 years, have never seen before." 15Newman began collecting as a boy. But his mother threw out his cards when he left for college. 16He started collecting again in the 1980s, visiting card collector conventions around the country, often with his son. 17"I remember it was hard getting my dad away so I could even just have some lunch or something," said Stewart Newman. 18Thomas Newman and his family had a general idea about the value of his collection. But card prices have greatly increased over the past few years and especially during the pandemic. 19"He would want it to be an investment for the family's future," Nancy Newman said. "I am sure he is looking down and is very happy with what's happening with the collection." 20I'm John Russell. 21Jill Serjeant reported this story for Reuters. Dan Novak adapted for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 22____________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24gum - n. a type of soft candy that you chew on but do not swallow 25convention - n. a large meeting of people who come to a place for usually several days to talk about their shared work or other interests or to make decisions as a group 26auction - n. a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most 27legacy - n. something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past 28overdue - adj. used to say that something should have happened or been done before now 29mint - adj. something in perfect condition, just as if it were new. 30rookie - n. a first-year player in a professional sport