Everything must have seemed so right.
Lou Gehrig had finished another brilliant season in which he hit .351 with 37 homers and 158 RBI. The Yankees were back in the World Series with a commanding lead over their city rivals (again). He was happily married, the unquestioned leader of the greatest baseball team in the world and making a very good living on and off the playing field.
Saturday, October 9 was Game 4 and with Carl Hubbell on the hill, nothing came easy for the Yankees. The RMY Auctions Photo of the Day shows Gehrig, crossing home plate with a slight grin after taking Hubbell deep in the ninth inning. The Yankees would lose that day but finish off the Giants soon enough, winning in five games for their sixth championship in 15 years.
The image shows the last time Gehrig would cross the plate after hitting a World Series home run. Less than four years later, he would be dead.
The 6 ½ x 8 ½” International News photo still has the original, yellowed paper caption. It’s one of over 450 original news, sports and entertainment-oriented photos up for bid in RMY’s September online auction.
Maybe the Giants’ win kept it from being widely used in newspapers but it’s believed to be the first time this particular image has been seen since that fall.
Bidding continues through Saturday at RMYAuctions.com.
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