The 1933 Goudey Sport Kings set has fascinated collectors for years. Packed with a who’s who of sports from the first part of the 20 th century, it’s also among the first card sets that were sold with bubble gum. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Carl Hubbell, Bobby Jones, Knute Rockne, Red Grange, Jim Thorpe and numerous other legends are featured. It’s also home to one of hockey card collecting’s favorite cards—the ’33 Sport Kings Eddie Shore and we’re fortunate to have one up for bid this week. This SGC 86 example displays even better than its technical grade, retaining the wonderful colors that make this set stand out, even among other 1930s sets and it’s also centered quite well. The very fact that Shore is included in this set says wonders about his place in the game at the time of issue. It was the first of his four MVP seasons as a top notch defenseman for the Boston Bruins and he remains the only player in NHL history to accomplish that feat. Shore would play 14 seasons and earn seven first-team all-star honors during that time. How tough was Ernie Shore? His ear was nearly torn off during one particularly memorable rough and tumble contest. After finding a doctor to sew it back together, the story goes that he refused anesthesia and asked for a mirror so he could watch the procedure. In the late 1990s, he was rated tenth on the Hockey News’ list of the 100 greatest players in history. One could say, considering the prices attained at auction compared to Shore’s legendary status in the game, that this card is undervalued. But for how long? Notoriously hard to find in high grade and among the most beautiful sets ever issued, Sport Kings are worthy additions to any collection. If you have vintage hockey cards you’d like to sell, please let us know! We’ll buy them or we’ll put them in our weekly eBay auction, promoting them to thousands of collectors around the world.
