Babe Ruth Auction to Benefit Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/6/2016
Two of baseball’s all-time greats are captured in this exquisite 13 x 18 inch black and white photograph. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are shown in this photo leaning at the edge of a dugout in full uniform looking out into the field. Ruth is sitting down on the top step while four bats are resting on his leg, while Gehrig is leaning forward to Ruth’s right holding a bat with both hands. The bats the two greats are holding are resting against a row of several bats that are laid out in a crate on the dirt just outside the dugout and the photograph has a raised “The New York Times Photo Collection” seal on the bottom right of the photo. This 31 x 31 inch matted and framed piece is more impressive with the two individual signed cuts. Gehrig’s cut is a 3 x 5 inch cut that has been centered to a 1 ½ x 4 inch display. Gehrig inscribed “With Kindest Regards” and signed his name in black ink. Ruth’s cut measures in the display 2 ¼ x 4 ¼ inches and he signed his name in bold black ink. The Gehrig autograph was obtained by Jolly Bill Steinke, who was the first person to broadcast for NBC radio and had a show “Jolly Bill and Jane”, which aired for 12 years and knew both Ruth and Gehrig other New York Yankees of that era through NBC and their sponsors Columbia Bicycles. The signed Gehrig cut comes with a Letter of Provenance from Steinke’s granddaughter Caroline Norton, attesting to the history of the autograph first being signed on the back of a church service program in 1929 for Steinke’s daughter Caroline, who had kept the autographs in an autograph book. Gehrig’s signature also comes with a full LOA from JSA (B15060) and Ruth’s signature comes with a full LOA from PSA/DNA (C81702). Goldin Auctions will be donating 5% of the winning bid price of this lot and all lots in this auction to the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum.