A group of newly uncovered photos taken by a White Sox fan at the infamous 1919 World Series are hitting the auction market for the first time. The collection of five images are among more than 700 photos in RMY Auctions’ May online catalog sale.
Housed for decades inside a scrapbook, the photos were originally part of the collection of an African-American Sox fan. One image was taken just ahead of Game 1 of the 1919 World Series at Redland Field in Cincinnati, capturing fans and photographers, with the scoreboard in the background.
Another photo shows Shoeless Joe Jackson standing in street clothes at the fence, greeting Sox fans who have gathered prior to the game.
Another historic photograph shows Bill Wambsganss tagging Otto Miller to complete his famous unassisted triple play in the 1920 World Series. The 8×10 Underwood and Underwood photo has a handwritten note and credit on the back.
The auction includes numerous images of Babe Ruth including a never before offered 1918 International News photo of the young slugger taking a cut in spring training, printed in the 1940s from the original glass plate negative.
Jackie Robinson greeting Roy Campanella at the Dodgers 1948 spring training camp is the subject of another photo. The 7 1/4″ x 9″ photo carries an Associated Press stamp on the back and is dated April 1, 1948.
AP photographer Rusty Kennedy’s original 6 1/4″ x 10″ photo of Michael Jordan during his rookie season is among the hottest offerings, with a current high bid of over $3,000. It, too, has never been on the market before.
An original photo taken on the Friday night in 1962 after Wilt Chamberlain had scored 100 points during a game in Hershey, PA, is also up for grabs, with the clipped cutline from the paper attached to the back.
One of the earliest photos of Jack Nicklaus, a 7″ x 9″ posed image of the 19-year-old golf prodigy from Ohio State, makes its auction debut.
The posed photo still carries the original newspaper caption on the back and dates to Nicklaus’ appearance at the 1959 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.
Bidding closes Saturday, May 14 on RMY’s website.