The short answer
Babe Ruth is on four cards in the 1933 Goudey set: #53, #144, #149 and #181. Cards #53 and #149 show the same batting pose, on a yellow background and on a red one. #144 shows him full length. #181 is a portrait on a green background. PSA rates #53, the "Yellow Ruth," the toughest of the four, with #149 close behind. A real one measures 2-3/8 by 2-7/8 inches and has green printing on a gray back that calls it "one of a series of 240 Baseball Stars." For a card this valuable, the real proof is a PSA or SGC holder.
We have all four in the vault right now, each in a PSA or SGC holder, listed at $17,500 to $20,000. This guide covers which card is which, what a real one looks like, and what the word "Authentic" on a holder means, because three of our four carry it.
Which four cards show Babe Ruth?
Goudey's 1933 set ran to 240 cards, and Ruth is on four of them, according to PSA's guide to the set. Goudey left card #106 out of the 1933 run and mailed a Nap Lajoie #106 the next year to collectors who wrote in. Ruth's #144 was printed twice on the same sheet, once in the spot #106 would have filled.
- #53, the "Yellow Ruth": the batting portrait on a yellow background. PSA calls it the toughest of the four.
- #144, the "Full Body Ruth": Ruth standing at the plate, full length, bat over his shoulder. Because it was printed twice, it is the most common of the four, though PSA notes it is harder to find in high grade than #181.
- #149, the "Red Ruth": the same pose as #53, on a red background. PSA ranks it a close second to #53.
- #181, the "Green Ruth": a portrait on a green background, not an action shot. PSA calls it the easiest of the four to find in top condition.
Some listings call a Goudey Ruth a rookie card. It is not one. PSA defines a rookie card as a player's first year of cards, and Ruth's cards go back nearly two decades before 1933. PSA's catalog includes a 1914 Baltimore News card of him as a minor league pitcher. The back of our #53 says it in Goudey's own words: "Joined Red Sox in 1914 from Baltimore club." The 1933 cards caught Ruth near the end of his career, and PSA calls the issue "arguably his most important."
How to tell a real 1933 Goudey Ruth from a reprint
PSA separates two kinds of copy. A reprint is "a card that is a reproduction of an original," and a counterfeit is "a bogus reproduction purposely manufactured to deceive buyers." Either way, the first check is the same: hold the card up against what an original is. PSA's guide to the set gives the specs:
- Size: 2-3/8 by 2-7/8 inches.
- Back: green text on a gray background, with the card number, player name and team at the top, and a line saying the card is "one of a series of 240 Baseball Stars."
- Front: a white border, and on all four Ruth cards the words "Big League Chewing Gum" in a red banner across the bottom.
Then look at the edges. PSA lists the signs of a trimmed card as "a hooked appearance along the edge, unusually sharp or uncommon edges for the issue, an inconsistent tone to the color of the edge in question or a wavy, unnatural look to the edges."
For a card that costs thousands of dollars, specs on paper only go so far. The proof that matters is a PSA or SGC holder with a certification number you can look up on the grader's own site (PSA cert verification, SGC cert verification). Every Goudey Ruth we sell is in one.
What "Authentic" on the holder means
When PSA or SGC finds that a card is genuine but has been altered, it does not give the card a number. PSA's grading standards say it "will not grade cards that bear evidence of trimming, re-coloring, restoration, or any other forms of tampering," and that such a card can be holdered as "Authentic Altered" instead. SGC's terms count trimming, re-coloring, bleaching, erasing, cleaning and other restoration as altering, and say SGC "will not grade cards which, in the judgment of SGC, bear evidence of Altering."
So an "Authentic" label tells you two things at once: the grader confirmed the card is a real 1933 Goudey, and it found the card had been worked on. Here is exactly what our four labels say:
- #53: SGC, "Authentic," with "Evidence of Trimming" printed under it. Cert 1162568.
- #144: SGC, "Poor 1," the lowest number on SGC's scale. It sits in an older SGC holder that also prints the matching 100-point score, 10, the same pairing SGC still lists on its cert lookup ("1 POOR/10"). It has a punch hole near one top corner, which you can see in the photos. Cert 2014094-004.
- #149: PSA, "Authentic Altered." Cert 44455943.
- #181: PSA, "Authentic Altered." Cert 43570627.
None of the four is a high-grade card. Each one is a real 1933 Goudey Ruth, and the label tells you exactly what you are getting.
What decides the price of a 1933 Goudey Ruth?
Two things: which of the four cards it is, and the grade. At the very top of the market, the only #53 that PSA has graded Mint 9 sold for $4,212,000 at Memory Lane in July 2021, and a PSA 9 #181 brought $1,272,000 in the same sale, according to Beckett. Our four, with an Authentic label or an SGC 1, are listed at $17,500 to $20,000.
The honest way to check any asking price, ours included, is recent completed sales of the same card number in the same grade from the same grader. Asking prices are what a seller hopes for. Completed sales are what a buyer actually paid.
Every 1933 Goudey Ruth in the vault right now
Listed prices as of October 7, 2026. Each piece is one of a kind, and every piece ships insured with tracking.
| Piece | Grade or authentication | Listed price |
|---|---|---|
| 1933 Goudey #144 Babe Ruth, the Full Body Ruth | Grade: SGC 1 (Poor) | Listed price: $17,500 |
| 1933 Goudey #53 Babe Ruth, the Yellow Ruth | Grade: SGC Authentic (evidence of trimming) | Listed price: $20,000 |
| 1933 Goudey #149 Babe Ruth, the Red Ruth | Grade: PSA Authentic Altered | Listed price: $20,000 |
| 1933 Goudey #181 Babe Ruth, the Green Ruth | Grade: PSA Authentic Altered | Listed price: $20,000 |
If you want the toughest of the four, that is #53. If you want Ruth at the plate head to toe, that is #144. #149 is the #53 pose in red, and #181 is the green portrait.
Looking for other Ruth pieces? Search the vault for Babe Ruth to see every one we have, from cards printed before the Goudey set to original photographs. We wrote the same kind of guide for the Mickey Mantle rookie card and the Ted Williams rookie card. More pre-war cards are in our vintage baseball section.
Questions collectors ask about the 1933 Goudey Ruth
- How can I tell if a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth is real?
- Check it against an original: 2-3/8 by 2-7/8 inches, green print on a gray back calling the card "one of a series of 240 Baseball Stars," and a red "Big League Chewing Gum" banner across the front. Then look for trimmed edges. For a card at this price, buy it in a PSA or SGC holder and look up the certification number on the grader's site.
- What is a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth worth?
- It depends on which of the four cards it is and its grade. The honest measure is recent completed sales of the same card number in the same grade from the same grader. At the very top, a PSA 9 #53 sold for $4,212,000 in July 2021. Ours carry Authentic labels or an SGC 1 and are listed at $17,500 to $20,000.
Want a closer look?
For more photos, condition details, or the provenance on any of these pieces, send a private inquiry. It comes straight to me.
About the author: Tony Bruno runs Texas Vintage Collectibles and has sold vintage cards and memorabilia on eBay since 2001, with 99.6% positive feedback over the last 12 months. In his words: "It was a hobby, and now it is a secondary business income for me."