1927 Babe Ruth Photograph Part of RMY’s New Auction

RMY Auctions has kicked off its first event of 2014 with dozens of vintage sports photographs, many of which have never been seen before.

Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, Mathewson, Wagner and Lajoie are just a few of the names collectors will see in the online auction, which is set to close January 14 and includes news service photos from several decades dating back to the early 20^th century.  The opening bid is $25 per photo.

We’ll feature a Photo of the Day every other weekday leading up to the auction, starting with this 1927 news service image of Babe Ruth offering a practice swing for the camera.  Date stamped May 16, the 8×10 photo shows some wear, but is a rare image from an iconic season for both The Bambino and the ‘Murderer’s Row’ Yankees, who won the pennant by 19 games, then swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.

Ruth became the first player in baseball history to hit 60 homers that season, beating his own record of 59 set in 1921.  The day after this photo was date-stamped, Ruth took Rip Collins deep for his ninth homer of the season.

He was coming off a phenomenal 1926 season, in which he batted .372 with 47 bombs and 146 RBI, but somehow surpassed it.  Ruth’s average was down a bit—to .356—but he drove in 164 and had a slugging percentage of .772.