He may have become one of the patron saints of baseball but in reality, Lou Gehrig wasn’t all that different from the thousands who watched him play in the 1920’s and 30’s. After a hard day’s work he still enjoyed a cold beverage and a smoke. There’s irrefutable proof of that in our Vintage Photo of the Day from RMY 
Auctions.
This extremely rare news photograph shows Gehrig celebrating victory in the 1937 World Series. Sitting at his locker with cleats untied, he’s shown taking a sip from a dark bottle while holding a lit cigarette in his other hand and, we assume, chatting with teammates.
Clubhouse photographs from this time period are quite rare, especially those showing players doing things that might not be palatable to families who read the newspaper and considered Gehrig a hero.
He hit .351 with 37 home runs and 158 RBI that season, so it wasn’t surprising that Giants pitchers issued five walks to Gehrig during the ’37 Series, in which the Yankees beat their city rivals for the second straight season.
The 7×9” NEA photo carries a file stamp of October 14, 1937 on the back and carries a pre-sale estimate of $300-500. It’s one of over 1,000 photos being offered in the Premier Auction now underway at RMYAuctions.com.
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Photo of the Day: Gehrig Has a Beef on Opening Day 1936
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Vintage Photo of the Day: 1927 World Series
