{
 "id": "sports/baseball/1914-baltimore-news-babe-ruth",
 "url": "https://cardvolume.com/sports/baseball/1914-baltimore-news-babe-ruth/",
 "markdown_url": "https://cardvolume.com/sports/baseball/1914-baltimore-news-babe-ruth/index.md",
 "name": "Babe Ruth",
 "title": "1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth",
 "category": "sports",
 "category_name": "Sports cards",
 "set": "Baltimore News",
 "number": null,
 "year": 1914,
 "language": "English",
 "rarity": "regional schedule card key rookie issue",
 "artist": "Unknown",
 "publisher": "The Baltimore News",
 "flagship": true,
 "updated": "2026-09-27",
 "as_of": "2026-09-27",
 "summary": "The 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth is an early regional issue showing Ruth with Baltimore before his major-league fame. Collectors search for it because it combines Ruth’s first professional-card context with very few documented surviving copies.",
 "key_facts": [
  "CardVolume lists 2 verified sales of the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth as of September 27, 2026.",
  "No grade has the 5 verified sales in 90 days needed for a market price; the most recent verified sale was $4,026,000 for a Red background SGC 3 on October 24, 2025 at Heritage Auctions.",
  "The highest verified sale on record is $7,200,000 for a Red background SGC 3 on December 4, 2023 at Robert Edward Auctions."
 ],
 "versions": [
  {
   "key": "red-background",
   "label": "Red background",
   "how_to_identify": "Red-and-white duotone front with Ruth identified as pitcher for International League Baltimore; schedule text appears on the back."
  },
  {
   "key": "blue-background",
   "label": "Blue background",
   "how_to_identify": "Blue-and-white version of the same Baltimore News Ruth issue; do not merge with red-background sales."
  }
 ],
 "grades": [
  {
   "version": "Red background",
   "version_key": "red-background",
   "grader": "SGC",
   "grade": "3",
   "label": "SGC 3",
   "market_price_usd": null,
   "market_sales_n": 0,
   "market_window": null,
   "verified_sales": 2,
   "last_verified_sale": {
    "date": "2025-10-24",
    "price_usd": 4026000,
    "venue": "Heritage Auctions",
    "buyer_premium_included": true,
    "source_url": "https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-press-releases-and-news/-4-million-babe-ruth-card-leads-heritage-fall-sports-catalog-auction-to-25.8-million.s?releaseId=5317"
   },
   "record_sale": {
    "date": "2023-12-04",
    "price_usd": 7200000,
    "venue": "Robert Edward Auctions",
    "buyer_premium_included": true,
    "source_url": "https://collectrea.com/about/press-news/rare-babe-ruth-rookie-card-sells-for-72-million-becoming-most-expensive-ruth-item-ever-sold"
   },
   "population": null,
   "graded_market_value_usd": null
  }
 ],
 "verified_sales": [
  {
   "date": "2025-10-24",
   "version": "Red background",
   "grader": "SGC",
   "grade": "3",
   "price_usd": 4026000,
   "price": 4026000,
   "currency": "USD",
   "buyer_premium_included": true,
   "venue": "Heritage Auctions",
   "sale_type": "auction",
   "cert": null,
   "source_url": "https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-press-releases-and-news/-4-million-babe-ruth-card-leads-heritage-fall-sports-catalog-auction-to-25.8-million.s?releaseId=5317",
   "status": "cross_checked"
  },
  {
   "date": "2023-12-04",
   "version": "Red background",
   "grader": "SGC",
   "grade": "3",
   "price_usd": 7200000,
   "price": 7200000,
   "currency": "USD",
   "buyer_premium_included": true,
   "venue": "Robert Edward Auctions",
   "sale_type": "auction",
   "cert": null,
   "source_url": "https://collectrea.com/about/press-news/rare-babe-ruth-rookie-card-sells-for-72-million-becoming-most-expensive-ruth-item-ever-sold",
   "status": "verified"
  }
 ],
 "graded_market_value_usd": null,
 "faq": [
  {
   "q": "How much did the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth SGC 3 sell for in 2023?",
   "a": "REA reported a $7,200,000 sale on 2023-12-04, including buyer's premium [2].",
   "source_ids": [
    2
   ]
  },
  {
   "q": "How much did the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth SGC 3 sell for at Heritage in 2025?",
   "a": "Heritage reported that the card sold for $4,026,000 in its 2025-10-24 to 2025-10-26 Fall Sports Catalog Auction, and the lot page lists a 22% buyer's premium schedule [1,3].",
   "source_ids": [
    1,
    3
   ]
  },
  {
   "q": "Is the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth red or blue?",
   "a": "Both red-background and blue-background versions are documented variants; the 2025 Heritage SGC 3 lot described a red-and-white example [1].",
   "source_ids": [
    1
   ]
  },
  {
   "q": "How many 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth cards exist?",
   "a": "A precise formal population is not established here; Heritage described ten Ruth specimens in the census of any grading service in its 2025 lot description, but CardVolume should not treat that as a print run [1].",
   "source_ids": [
    1
   ]
  },
  {
   "q": "Is the 1914 Baltimore News Ruth a major-league card?",
   "a": "No; the card shows Ruth with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League before his later Red Sox and Yankees career [1,4].",
   "source_ids": [
    1,
    4
   ]
  },
  {
   "q": "Can I compare this card to later Babe Ruth Goudey cards?",
   "a": "Only as broad Ruth-market context; for valuation, the Baltimore News regional issue should be compared to the same issue, color, grader, and grade when possible [1,2].",
   "source_ids": [
    1,
    2
   ]
  }
 ],
 "sources": [
  {
   "title": "1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth Rookie SGC VG 3 -- Only One Superior in Any Population",
   "url": "https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball-cards/singles-pre-1930-/1914-baltimore-news-babe-ruth-rookie-sgc-vg-3-only-one-superior-in-any-population-/a/50080-80492.s?ic16=ViewItem-Auction-Archive-JumpLot-PreviousLot-050318",
   "publisher": "Heritage Auctions"
  },
  {
   "title": "Rare Babe Ruth Rookie Card Sells for $7.2 Million Becoming Most Expensive Ruth Item Ever Sold",
   "url": "https://collectrea.com/about/press-news/rare-babe-ruth-rookie-card-sells-for-72-million-becoming-most-expensive-ruth-item-ever-sold",
   "publisher": "Robert Edward Auctions"
  },
  {
   "title": "$4 Million Babe Ruth Card Leads Heritage Fall Sports Catalog Auction to $25.8 Million",
   "url": "https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-press-releases-and-news/-4-million-babe-ruth-card-leads-heritage-fall-sports-catalog-auction-to-25.8-million.s?releaseId=5317",
   "publisher": "Heritage Auctions"
  },
  {
   "title": "1914 Baltimore News Orioles Babe Ruth",
   "url": "https://www.psacard.com/cardfacts/baseball-cards/1914-baltimore-news-orioles/babe-ruth/158264",
   "publisher": "PSA CardFacts"
  },
  {
   "title": "PSA Cert Verification",
   "url": "https://www.psacard.com/cert",
   "publisher": "PSA"
  }
 ],
 "methodology": "https://cardvolume.com/methodology/",
 "cite_as": "1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth. CardVolume, https://cardvolume.com/sports/baseball/1914-baltimore-news-babe-ruth/ (accessed 2026-09-27)."
}