A one-of-a-kind Connor McDavid rookie card sold for a final bid of $113,176 on Friday in the Lelands Spring Classic Auction.
Bidding started at $2,500, and other versions of the 2015-16 Upper Deck "The Cup" rookie patch autograph card have sold for upward of $50,000. However, this iteration was 97 of 99, which matched McDavid's jersey number and increased the value significantly.
The seller, John from San Diego, came across the card by happenstance after being invited to a hockey card case break at a local collectible store.
"I'm recently retired after 30 years of being a carpenter. I had never really collected a card in my life. A friend of mine last year got me into breaking cards as a hobby and really enjoyed it," he told ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.
The card is likely to grow in value as McDavid continues his trajectory toward all-time-great status, but John had no issues with putting it up for auction right away.
"I don't really have an emotional attachment to the sport," he said. "It never really crossed my mind to hold on to it. If I put it in a shoebox in my closet, it's not doing anything. It would be better for someone else (to have it)."
McDavid is fresh off his fifth NHL season and ranked second in league scoring with 97 points in 64 contests. The 23-year-old already has two scoring titles and an MVP to his name, and his career 1.34 points-per-game rate ranks fifth all time among players with a minimum 300 games played.
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