Midas Touch: Collector Doug Felber Strikes Vintage Gold in 2012 Golden Age Baseball
Nebraska collector Doug Felber turned 62 yesterday. But his birthday card — hand-picked by Felber himself — actually arrived days before, on Christmas eve inside Sports Center Cards & Collectibles in Omaha. That’s when Felber experienced nothing less than the pull of a lifetime from a box of Panini America’s 2012 Golden Age Baseball.
Admittedly, Felber nearly fell off his stool when he pulled his so-called “holy grail” . . . an original 1933 Goudey #53 Babe Ruth Rookie Card, the centerpiece of Golden Age’s BuyBack program and one of the greatest sports cards in existence. For the record, the suggested retail price for that particular pack of 2012 Golden Age Baseball was $3. The current Beckett value for Felber’s Ruth? $8,000.
“This is my all-time best pull by far — and I’ve been collecting my whole life,” Felber says. “Rick Griencewic, the owner of Sports Center, said it was also the best card that he had ever seen pulled.”
Not a bad early Christmas present for Felber, who was drawn to 2012 Golden Age Baseball for any number of reasons other than the needle-in-a-haystack chance to pull an original Ruth.
“I love the old-time coverage of Golden Age, the fantastic on-card autographs and the array of possible memorabilia cards available,” Felber notes. “I love the Secretariat possibilities in the memorabilia area.”
The chance at a once-in-a-lifetime collection-maker — illustrated beautifully in the gallery below — was simply a bonus.
Congratulations, Doug.