They had their differences and at times, the relationship was strained but on the field they were teammates committed to dominating the opposition.
That’s what Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig did in 1927. After a regular season in which they combined for 107 homers and the Yanks ran away with the pennant, they faced the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.
It wasn’t much of a contest.
Whatever hopes the Pittsburgh Pirates had to get back into the 1927 World Series were dashed when Ruth swung his bat in Game 3. The 8×10″ image from International News Service shows Ruth crossing the plate after belting a three-run homer in the 7th inning with Gehrig, ready to step in the batter’s box, shaking his hand. The blast capped a six-running inning for the Yankees.
The caption, still attached to the back of the photo, is dated October 7, 1927 and describes what has taken place in front of over 60,000 fans at Yankee Stadium. It’s one of over 1,200 photos in the RMY Auctions July Premier Auction, which runs through July 22.
Classified Type I by PSA/DNA, the photo has a vertical crease and some light general wear from use by the newspaper where it was originally published.
The Yankees swept the series and Ruth was the hitting star, batting .400 with two homers and seven RBI in the four games. Gehrig batted .308 and drove in four.
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