He was the talk of the sports world in the fall of 1921 after belting 59 home runs and leading the Yankees to the World Series. Babe Ruth and a few of his Yankees teammates tried to take advantage of their popularity by going on a barnstorming tour of the Northeast after the Series but that was a no-no.
Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis didn’t want any World Series team partaking in such an event because he didn’t want the real 
championship series replicated in any way. While that may seem silly today, Landis was quite serious, which Ruth discovered when he was suspended until May 20 and fined $3,362, the amount of his 1921 World Series check. Teammate Bob Meusel was also suspended. Ruth made more on the tour than in the World Series, but the suspension put the Yankees in a bind to start a new season.
I its newly launched February event, RMY Auctions is offering a never before seen 6 ½” x 8 ½” photo of Ruth during his downtime.
Ruth was allowed to work out and play in exhibition games during his time in the commissioner’s penalty box and the International News photo, dated May 12, 1922 shows a serious Ruth warming up in full uniform. The silver gelatin image is missing portions of its corners but includes the original caption, still attached to the back. The caption makes a reference to the operation he had 
undergone after injuring his elbow during the World Series.
Once he got back in the lineup, Ruth bounced back to hit 35 homers but for the second straight year, the Yankees were beaten by the Giants in the World Series. With a renewed commitment, he hit .393 during the regular season and dominated the 1923 World Series, giving the Yankees their first World Series championship.
RMY is offering 364 lots of sports, news and entertainment photographs in the current auction, which is scheduled to close Sunday, February 15 at RMYAuctions.com.
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