Manufacturer: Bowman
Set: 1950 Bowman Baseball ➡️
Player Name: Sam Jethroe
Position/Team: Outfield for Braves
Card #: 248
Card Size: 2-1/16” x 2-1/2”
Card Value Snapshot: Raw/Ungraded: $20 | Grade 7: $120
⬇️ See More Pricing Data Below
Samuel “Sam” Jethroe—immortally known as “The Jet”—was a dynamic integration pioneer, a Negro League champion, and one of the most electric, terrifyingly fast base-runners to ever step foot onto a Major League diamond.
Operating with unmatched speed that left catchers and infielders completely helpless, Jethroe holds a historic distinction as the first Black player to break the color barrier for the Boston Braves. Despite being denied entry to the major leagues until he was already 32 years old due to systemic segregation, Jethroe immediately transformed the National League layout with his legs, revitalizing the lost art of the stolen base in the post-war era.
Branch Rickey eventually purchased Jethroe’s contract, assigning him to the minor leagues before trading him to the Boston Braves. On April 18, 1950, Jethroe officially integrated the Braves franchise. He put together a historic debut campaign that took the National League by storm.
The Stolen Base King: Jethroe led the Major Leagues with 35 stolen bases as a rookie. His speed altered how pitchers delivered to the plate, opening up massive gaps for teammates like Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain.
The Rookie Crown: He batted .273, scored 100 runs, and clouted 18 home runs. For his spectacular multi-tool performance, he was honored as the 1950 National League Rookie of the Year—becoming the oldest player ever to win the award at age 32.
Teams Played For: Cleveland Buckeyes (1942–1948), Boston Braves (1950–1952), Pittsburgh Pirates (1954).
MLB Career Totals: 442 games, 460 hits, 49 home runs, 98 stolen bases, and a .261 lifetime batting average.
Unparalleled Speed: Legendary Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella famously remarked that Jethroe was “the fastest human being I ever saw on a baseball field,” a sentiment echoed by everyone who watched him stretch routine singles into lightning-fast doubles.
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Pricing Data For This Rookie Card
Tracking the current market value for the 1950 Bowman Sam Jethroe Card #248. Below, find updated pricing data for ungraded (raw) copies, as well as verified PSA graded sales trends collected from secondary marketplaces.
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Raw/Ungraded: $20
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Grade 5: $75
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Grade 6: $95
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Grade 7: $120
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Grade 8: $207
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Grade 9: $1,430
Data Updated: July 2026
➡️ See All 1950 Bowman Rookie Card Prices
Pricing data includes raw card price & some graded card value estimates.
These values are collated from a variety of resources including recently sold listings, sales averages and a variety of other sports card pricing data sources. Please see full disclaimer on “Terms Page” for more information. (Rookiecardprices.com only shows values for regular base set cards. No prices are shown for errors, parallels, subsets, misprints or other cards unless noted.)
DISCLAIMER: This data is not intended as financial advice and should not be used as such. Please do your own research before making any investment or selling/buying decisions. The use of any trademarked name, logo, or brand imagery on this website is strictly for card identification, historical reference, and descriptive market analysis purposes only.
Did You Know? Long before his historic debut in Boston’s National League club, Jethroe was a legendary superstar for the Cleveland Buckeyes in the Negro American League. A switch-hitting center fielder, he batted a blistering .353 to capture the 1946 batting title and powered the Buckeyes to a historic World Series sweep of the Homestead Grays in 1945.
In April 1945, Jethroe was central to one of the most famous and highly scrutinized events in sports history. Alongside Jackie Robinson and Marvin Williams, he participated in a tryout at Fenway Park hosted by a heavily pressured Boston Red Sox management team. While all three showcase players performed spectacularly, the Red Sox ultimate refusal to sign them delayed Jethroe’s arrival to the big leagues by five critical years.
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