He was just a bit player for the Yankees after leaving Columbia, used mostly in pinch-hitting situations. For the better part of two seasons, the future Hall of Famer was a fixture on the Yankees bench.
In 1925, fans began to get a glimpse of the player he’d become. The RMY Auctions Photo of the Day is a rare, early image of Gehrig from that 1925 season, one never before offered for sale.
The International Newsreel photo measures 4 ¼” x 5” and has been artistically clipped for use in a newspaper at the time. It’s one of more than 400 historic photographs being offered in RMY’s June Auction, which runs through June 18.
Gehrig was likely just 22 years old—if that—at the time the photo was taken. The posed shot shows him stretching for a throw with his 1925 model glove and bare hand outstretched.
Playing in 126 games that season, he batted .295, with 20 home runs and 68 runs batted in. He entered the Yankees lineup for an ailing Wally Pipp on June 1, 1925 and wouldn’t come out until the effects of ALS forced him from the field in 1939, a streak of 2,130 games.
You can see the listing for the auction here.
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