Earlier this year, a 73-year old doctor from Florida left behind a massive card collection for his family after succumbing to Covid-19. Those in the baseball card industry foresaw that the entire collection could be worth millions of dollars. A few months after, that prediction did come true.

The family of Thomas Newman, a neurologist from Tampa, Florida, inherited an extensive collection of baseball, hockey, and football cards, with some dating back to the 1880s. With the help of Memory Lane Auctions, the whole collection was then auctioned off by the Newman family for a staggering amount of $21.5 million.

One item from the said collection that generated a lot of hype was the late Newman’s prized possession – a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth baseball card encased in a PSA 9 slab. Although it didn’t reach the projected price of $5.2 million, it still sold for $4.2 million. J.P. Cohen, president of Memory Lane Auctions, said that this card of the Great Bambino is the finest and most expensive copy in the market. He added that Newman purchased the said card in the 90s for less than $20,000.

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Other notable bangers from Newman’s collection include a PSA 8 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card and a PSA 5 1925 Exhibit Supply Co. Lou Gehrig rookie card. The former was auctioned off for $2.1 million while the latter got $1.032 million.

After a lifetime of collecting, the cards Newman gathered are now yielding a lot of dividends for his family. It just goes to show that the late doctor’s love for the hobby has manifested in a way that not only uplifts his loved ones, but the whole card industry as well.