They had dominated the American League, winning the pennant by 13 games while finishing with a 107-47. There were still ten days left in the regular season when the Associated Press distributed a photo featuring members of the team’s infield, ahead of the upcoming World Series.
The 6 ½ x 8 ¼” image shows first baseman Lou Gehrig, glancing away, posed with fellow Hall of Famers Joe Sewell and Tony Lazzeri along with Frank Crosetti, Ed Farrell and Lyn Lary. It was one of several photos likely taken that day, featuring members of the infield, outfield, pitching staff and catchers as was the custom of the day. Newspapers used the photos in their preview stories leading up to the Series.
An original copy, distributed to newspapers and still containing the original caption on the back, is the Photo of the Day from RMY Auctions, which calls it “one of the finest Gehrig group photos we have handled.” The photo has been pre-certified by PSA with the sticker on the back.
The caption carries a date of September 16, but the actual photograph was likely taken at least a couple of weeks earlier as the Yankees were in the midst of a lengthy late season road trip to the Midwest at the time but are dressed in their home uniforms.
The Yankees would go on to make quick work of the Cubs in the 1932 World Series, sweeping Chicago in the four-game set that included Babe Ruth’s “called shot.” Gehrig and Ruth each homered twice in Game 3 while Lazzeri went deep twice in Game 4. Thirteen Hall of Famers played in the Series.
Interestingly, 1932 was the season in which Gehrig became the first player to hit four homers in a single game while infield mate Lazzeri hit for a natural cycle in the same game including grand slam.
The photo is one of more than 1,000 historic news, sports and entertainment-oriented photos in RMY’s May auction, which runs through Saturday, May 9.
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