8: 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth

1933 Goudey is influential and iconic because it was the moment that baseball card collecting went from an adult activity to a childrens activity. Before this point, baseball cards were released with cigarettes. Goudey Gum released the 240 card set in packs that came with a piece of their gum. The cards didn’t look cheap like so many other doppelgangers of the era.
Babe Ruth is the most iconic player of the era and was the choice for this spot, but some hardcore collectors would correctly point out that it might not be the most important card in it’s own set. When the set was released, there was no card # 106 in the set. People who sent letters in the mail to Goudey ended up receiving a Nap Lajoie card as the final card of the set. Because of the way it was distributed, this card exists in far lower numbers and is considered one of the holy grails of the collecting industry.

Random Babe Ruth Fact: While many baseball fans might be aware of this, average fans probably don’t know that Babe Ruth hit his called shot home run at Wrigley Field off of Charlie Root during the 1932 World Series. Debate remains to this day whether he was actually calling his shot, pointing at the pitcher, or at the Cubs bench players, who had spent the entirety of the World Series heckling him.