A Tampa neurosurgeon who died of COVID-19 complications has left behind baseball cards worth $20 million for his family, CNN reports. Dr Thomas Newman’s cards – some dating back to the 1880s – will be going up for auction.

Four decades of collecting sports memorabilia might have paid off for Newman,73, as his family is set to inherit more than $20 million, four months after his death. 

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“He was such a wonderful, deep man with so many talents. Besides being a family man, doctor and collector, Newman was a gifted musician and golfer,” his wife Nancy told CNN.

Newman attended conventions to find pristine items -mainly baseball cards- to add to his collection. “He would jokingly call the cards his paper babies,” Nancy said. 

According to CNN reports, Newman’s collection features some of the rarest cards and most are in near-perfect condition.

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“One of the 1933 Babe Ruth cards (Goudey #53, PSA 9) in this collection is the finest known of its kind and we expect it to break the record of $5.2 million for any sports card,” said JP Cohen, president of Memory Lane Auctions, in a press release.”

Tustin will hold the auction that will see more than 1000 vintage and modern baseball, football and hockey trading cards and other sports memorabilia go up for bids. Newman’s collection also has a card signed by Baby Ruth. 

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“The Thomas Newman collection exhibits the kind of depth and level of quality that are rarely achieved. During his lifetime, Dr Newman was a custodian of some of the most historically important cards, the iconic pillars of our hobby,” said Joe Orlando, chief executive officer of Collectors Universe, in the release.