Card of the Day: 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth #9 — The Rarest Card in Baseball
The 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth is widely regarded as the rarest and most valuable baseball card in existence — and with only three graded copies in PSA's entire population report, the data backs up the legend.
This card predates Ruth's major league debut. It was issued in 1914 as part of a 14-card set by the Baltimore News newspaper, featuring players from the Baltimore Orioles of the International League — the minor league team where an 18-year-old pitcher named George Herman "Babe" Ruth began his professional career. Ruth was a left-handed pitcher for Baltimore that season, going 14-6 before being sold to the Boston Red Sox in July. This card captures the Babe before he was the Babe — before the home runs, before the Yankees, before the legend.
Only nine examples of this card are believed to exist in any condition. Of those, only three have been submitted to PSA for grading, making it exponentially rarer than the 1914 Baltimore News Ruth is to the 1952 Topps Mantle what the Hope Diamond is to a cubic zirconia.
PSA Population Report
| PSA Grade | Population | Value |
|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 | 0 | — |
| PSA 9 | 0 | — |
| PSA 8 | 0 | — |
| Total Graded (All Grades) | 3 | — |
* Population data as of June 10, 2026.
The population report tells an astonishing story: zero examples in PSA 8, 9, or 10. None. The three graded copies exist in lower grades — a testament to the card's age (over 110 years old) and the fragile newsprint stock on which it was printed. In 2019, a PSA 1 (Poor) example sold at auction for $72,000. In 2021, a PSA 2 (Good) copy realized $240,000. The last public sale of any example was in 2022, when a PSA Authentic copy brought $150,000.
Why This Card Matters
The 1914 Baltimore News Ruth is not just a baseball card — it is a historical artifact that predates every significant moment in Ruth's career. It was printed before he ever threw a pitch in the major leagues, before the Red Sox sold him to the Yankees, before the called shot, before 714 home runs. It is the earliest known image of Ruth on a trading card and the only card that shows him as a minor league pitcher.
For collectors, this card occupies a category entirely its own. It is not compared to other baseball cards — it is compared to the T206 Honus Wagner, the 1915 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson, and the 1952 Topps Mantle as one of the four horsemen of the pre-war card market. But unlike those cards, which have hundreds or thousands of graded examples, the Baltimore News Ruth has single-digit known copies. It is the closest thing the hobby has to a true one-of-one.
The verdict: The 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth is the rarest major baseball card in existence — three graded copies, zero above PSA 7, and a direct link to the moment baseball's greatest legend began his journey. It is not a card you collect. It is a card you dream about.
