In the hobby of baseball autograph collecting, few signatures are more desirable or instantly recognizable than that of “The Iron Horse,” Lou Gehrig. In the hobby of baseball card collecting, few cards are more iconic than Gehrig’s #92 card from the 1993 Goudey set. Here is an item that combines both: Gehrig’s classic ’33 Goudey card, signed legibly by the Yankee captain in pencil across his uniform and certified authentic by PSA/DNA.
One of the most beloved figures in all of baseball history, Gehrig played 17 seasons with the Bronx Bombers beginning in 1923, setting the then-record for most consecutive games played with 2,130. A prodigious home run hitter and RBI man, Gehrig topped 40 homers five times in his career, and topped 150 RBI seven times, finishing with a .340 batting average. His rapid career decline in 1938 and 39 became national news, and his diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and subsequent “Luckiest Man” speech on July 4 of 1939 captured the country’s attention in ways that very few athletes (aside from his counterpart, Babe Ruth) could. Gehrig passed away at home in 1941, a casualty of what would forever become known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” Even today, Gehrig’s legacy remains strong, as he received the most votes of any baseball player on the MLB All-Century Team in 1999 – more even than Babe Ruth.
Gehrig signed with his trademark beautiful penmanship, carefully and lightly across the face of this card, so as not to obscure the image and disrupt the card’s presentation. Certainly one of Gehrig’s two or three most popular baseball cards, an autographed copy is a scarce and desirable card from one of the country’s most beloved celebrities and one of baseball’s greatest players.
We’re proud to offer this autographed 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig as a Featured Item in our Inaugural auction this October.