They became global icons in their respective sports more than 60 years apart and are still among the most widely collected athletes in the 21st century. Rare photos of Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan are expected to draw much of the attention once again as RMY Auctions’ latest online event plays out.
Leading off the offering of several hundred photos from sports, news events and entertainment is a PSA Type I photo of Ruth dating to the historic 1927 season.
You won’t find many more close up shots of Ruth than the 6 x 7 3/4″ photo of a grinning Ruth, donning a Yankees jacket and cap. RMY calls it “one of the clearest and most concise portraits ever taken of Ruth. You can see every wrinkle and imperfection on his aging face as he seems to exuding confidence, contemplating his record setting season.”
Ruth became the first major leaguer to reach 60 homers that season. He hit .356 and drove in 164 runs as the Yankees swept the Pirates to win the World Series.
Another Ruth photo in the auction is dated to just four days after the Series clincher when Ruth and Lou Gehrig captained a pair of teams that barnstormed the country in a tour organized by Ruth’s agent, Christy Walsh. The 6 1/2 x 8 1/2″ photo includes an Underwood & Underwood stamp on the back with a full paper caption still attached.
Another Ruth photo dates to five years earlier and shows Ruth and his teammates at their New Orleans spring training camp in March of 1922.
From six decades later come a pair of early Michael Jordan images from photographer Stephen Green. the first is an 8×10 rookie image taken at Chicago Stadium during a Bulls-Nets game in 1984. The second shows Jordan wearing an early edition of his famous Air Jordan sneakers as he flies to the basket.
The auction has 14 other Jordan photos, some in color and most from Green’s personal archive of Bulls photos.
There’s another Chicago photo from 1974 that shows Hank Aaron making contact for his 725th career home run during a Braves-Cubs game at Wrigley Field two months after he broke Ruth’s longstanding career home run record.
A 1927 Type I image of golf icon Bobby Jones putting at the US Open, a 1949 photo of Satchel Paige warming up, a rare 1913 New York “Female Giants” team photo and an original 1920 photo of Rogers Hornsby by famous baseball photographer Paul Thompson are among the other listings in the auction, which includes over 1,000 lots.
Bidding is underway now and runs through August 10.
Related Stories:
Glass Plate Negative from Ruth’s 1st Homer of 1927 Leads Off RMY Winter Auction
Photo of the Day: Babe Ruth in Action During First World Series Start
Ruth Farewell Photo Among RMY Auction Headliners
Non-Baseball Stars in the 1933 U.S. Caramel Set are Plenty Valuable
Newly Uncovered Ruth-Gehrig Photo Dates to June 1932 Contest
Collector Matches Babe Ruth Photo To 1915 Rookie Season
Newly Uncovered Shots of Vintage, Modern Legends Headline RMY Photo Sale
Notes: Nitschke Super Bowl I Ring; Durant Jersey; Historic Masters Photos; IIAF Jersey Auction for USA Hockey
