Babe Ruth
Baltimore News
Babe Ruth (Red background, SGC 3): last verified sale $4,026,000 on Oct 24, 2025 (Heritage Auctions). Not enough verified sales in the last 90 days for a market price. Source: CardVolume, cardvolume.com/sports/baseball/1914-baltimore-news-babe-ruth/, as of Sep 27, 2026.
Values as of Sep 27, 2026 in USD. Market price = median of at least 5 qualifying sales of this exact version and grade in the last 90 days. Methodology
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.
Updated · Only verified or cross-checked sales count · How we verify · Data: Markdown, JSON
Sales history
| Date | Version | Grade | Price | Venue | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 2025 | Red background | SGC 3 | $4,026,000 incl. buyer's premium | Heritage Auctions auction Heritage press release gives price; the linked lot page lists the SGC VG 3 car… | Cross-checked | Open |
| Dec 4, 2023 | Red background | SGC 3 | $7,200,000 incl. buyer's premium | Robert Edward Auctions auction REA reported the $7.2 million result; ESPN also reported that the price includ… | Verified | Open |
Verified: an editor or automated check confirmed the figure on the source page. Cross-checked: an independent second research pass reopened the source and confirmed it. Reported: cited by research but not re-checked; never used in metrics. Asking prices are never listed here.
Price chart
Red background · SGC 3
Graded population
No sourced population figure yet.
Population counts copies graded by one company in one grade. It is not a print run and it grows with every submission. Why population is not print run
Grading math for this card
Prefilled with the latest qualifying sale for each grade where one exists. Replace any value with your own. We never suggest what grade your copy will get.
Formula from Grading: condition, uncertainty, and economics: grading pays only if your honest chance of the high grade exceeds (raw net + cost − other-outcome net) ÷ (high-grade net − other-outcome net). The 13% fee is an editable assumption, not a quoted tariff.
About Babe Ruth
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.
Why this card matters
Verified factThis card matters because it places Ruth at the start of his professional career, before his later Boston and New York fame. Heritage’s 2025 lot describes the card as issued for a Baltimore Orioles International League schedule and calls it the first card produced for baseball’s biggest star. REA’s 2023 release reported a $7.2 million result for an SGC 3 example, and Heritage later sold the same grade level for $4,026,000 in 2025. [1][2][3]
Identifying the exact version
AnalysisThe first identity split is background color. The seeded variants, red and blue, are not substitutes in a comp set unless the analysis explicitly says it is using broad historical context rather than exact comparables. For the red version, confirm the duotone front, Ruth’s Baltimore pitcher identification, and the schedule-style back. Because the issue is larger than many tobacco and caramel cards of the era, size and edge characteristics should be judged against this issue, not a T206 template. [1][4]
What moves the price between versions and grades
AnalysisThe small observed supply means individual sale context can dominate the record. The 2023 REA result and the 2025 Heritage result both involved an SGC VG 3 red-background card, yet the later sale was lower. That is a reminder from ch03 and ch10: a record sale is evidence of one transaction, not a permanent value floor. For this issue, color, grade, provenance, and whether the card is one of the few examples publicly tracked all matter. [1][2][3]
Authenticity checks
Verified factCompare against official references and major auction photography; use multiple checks; do not use destructive tests; and remember that copied cert numbers exist. For this card, verify the background color, dimensions, back schedule text, paper aging, grading label, and any provenance such as museum display history. PSA’s certification guidance warns that a valid number does not prove the physical item shown in a listing is genuine, so the card, holder, and sale record must agree. [1][4][5]
Telling the versions apart
| Version | How to identify it |
|---|---|
| Red background | Red-and-white duotone front with Ruth identified as pitcher for International League Baltimore; schedule text appears on the back. |
| Blue background | Blue-and-white version of the same Baltimore News Ruth issue; do not merge with red-background sales. |
What people get wrong about this card
Based on the claims our guides decline to adopt: Risk and strategy · Case studies and corrections
Frequently asked questions
How much did the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth SGC 3 sell for in 2023?
How much did the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth SGC 3 sell for at Heritage in 2025?
Is the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth red or blue?
How many 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth cards exist?
Is the 1914 Baltimore News Ruth a major-league card?
Sources
- 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth Rookie SGC VG 3 -- Only One Superior in Any Population — Heritage Auctions (accessed Sep 26, 2026)
- Rare Babe Ruth Rookie Card Sells for $7.2 Million Becoming Most Expensive Ruth Item Ever Sold — Robert Edward Auctions (accessed Sep 26, 2026)
- $4 Million Babe Ruth Card Leads Heritage Fall Sports Catalog Auction to $25.8 Million — Heritage Auctions (accessed Sep 26, 2026)
- 1914 Baltimore News Orioles Babe Ruth — PSA CardFacts (accessed Sep 26, 2026)
- PSA Cert Verification — PSA (accessed Sep 26, 2026)
Not yet established
- A formal graded-population table with a source-stated as-of date was not saved.
- The blue-background sale history was not established from opened source pages in this pass.
Research: Codex research pass (live web) · automated source checks · independent cross-check · generated Sep 26, 2026 · reviewed by CardVolume editorial (owner-approved) on Sep 27, 2026 · updated Sep 27, 2026. Found an error? Report it.