He had just finished a regular season like no other. Fifty-nine home runs broke his own record. He drove in 161 runs, hit.378, scored 177 runs and walked 145 times. It was no surprise that when Babe Ruth took the field for the start of the 1921 World Series that he was surrounded by newspaper writers and photographers. His Yankee career wasn’t even a year old but he was already a huge story. Now, the Yanks were on the big stage with a major star.
The photo being offered by RMY Auctions is a rare, never before offered shot of the young slugger on the field at the Polo Grounds early in the series against the New York Giants. The 5 x 6 3/4″ George Grantham Bain photo shows a smiling Ruth near the batting cage with his giant bat resting on his left shoulder. Newspaper men stir in the background.
The photo bears the front and back exhibit use in a newsroom nearly a century ago. While the upper right corner has damage, most of the photo remains unaffected. RMY calls it “one of the most important images we’ve ever offered.”
The Yankees would jump out to a 2-0 lead in the series–the last in the best of nine format but an injury to Ruth suffered while sliding in Game 2 helped the Giants creep back in as the next week unfolded and the Yankees were beaten in eight games. Ruth still managed to hit .313, belt his first World Series home run and drive in four. Another loss would follow in 1922 but good times for Yankee fans would soon follow.
Bidding will continue through February 3 at RMYAuctions.com.
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