They had to feel invincible.
The New York Yankees had Babe Ruth. They had Lou Gehrig. They had a top-notch pitching staff. They had swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1927 World Series and just won 101 games during the 1928 regular season.
It was against that backdrop that a photographer came out to Yankee Stadium three days before the World Series opener with St. Louis and lined the Yanks’ starting and reserve infielders up for a photo. The classic, original image measures 6×8” and still has the paper caption on the back with the date of October 1, 1928. Relaxed after beating Detroit in the regular season finale the day before, the Yanks would be well rested before opening the ’28 series at home.
The Photo of the Day is among the featured attractions in RMY Auctions’ Premier catalog. Bidding for the highly desirable photo has already surpassed $700.
Led by Gehrig, the 1928 Yankees infield also featured Hall of Famers Tony Lazzeri and Leo Durocher as well as stars Joe Dugan and Mark Koenig. Gehrig hit .374; Lazzeri .332 and Koenig .319.
Once the Cardinals arrived in New York, the Yanks got right to work. Three days after the photo was taken, Waite Hoyt stopped St. Louis on three hits and the second game was a 9-3 blowout. The teams then traveled to the Midwest where New York polished off their National League rivals with two more wins. The entire series took just six days including the long train ride. Three of the four games ended in less than two hours and five minutes.
Bidding will continue through Saturday for the Yankees infield photo and more than 1,000 other lots of photos being offered.
