1941 Play Ball #14 Ted Williams PSA NM-MT 8

1941 Play Ball #14 Ted Williams PSA 8 - The Summer Ted Williams Hit .406

Few baseball cards are tied to a season as extraordinary as the 1941 Play Ball #14 Ted Williams. Gum Inc.’s final Play Ball release brought color to the series for the first time, surrounding Williams with the rich, illustrated presentation that makes the 1941 set instantly recognizable. Yet the importance of this card goes far beyond its design. It was issued during the season in which the 22-year-old Williams accomplished something no Major League hitter has managed since—finishing an entire season above .400.

Graded PSA NM-MT 8, this example preserves one of Williams’ most historically meaningful early cards at an impressive level. The colorful 1941 Play Ball issue can be unforgiving, with registration, surfaces, corners, and centering all contributing heavily to overall presentation. On Williams, the condition carries even greater weight: this isn't simply an early card of the Splendid Splinter—it is a high-grade card issued during the very season that helped turn him into a baseball immortal.

Williams entered the final day of 1941 batting .39955, a figure that would have officially rounded to .400. Rather than protect the achievement by sitting out, he chose to play both games of a doubleheader—and went 6-for-8, finishing the season at an astonishing .406. He also led the American League with 37 home runs and posted a staggering .553 on-base percentage, beginning a career that would ultimately include six batting titles, two Triple Crowns, and a .344 lifetime average.