A major auction featuring hundreds of rare vintage sports photographs including numerous images of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente and other icons will close over the next two days.
Long-time dealer Henry Yee’s Summer Premier Auction is his largest to date.
While sports memorabilia collectors will be drawn to the black and white news photos and color transparencies of the post-War era, the auction totals over 4,500 images in all, covering nearly every major subject of the 20th century, from entertainment to politics and beyond.
Many of the prominent baseball images were taken by legendary photographers such as Charles Conlon, George Burke, George Brace and Marvin Newman.
Among those already generating strong bids are a photo of the 1918 World Series champion Boston Red Sox featuring Ruth and Gehrig. There is a photo of Ruth batting for the Boston Braves in spring training 1935, facing his old Yankee teammates, a 1940s Satchel Paige Negro Leagues photo and a striking image of Christy Mathewson warming up in front of a crowd gathering at the Polo Grounds more than a century ago. There are photos showing future Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Duke Snider and Johnny Bench during their minor league days and color slides from the 1950s showcasing the likes of Aaron, Ernie Banks, Mantle, Roger Maris and other major stars.
Football fans will see shots of Grange, ancient images of early Green Bay Packers, a 1962 color slide of Joe Namath quarterbacking the Alabama Crimson Tide and many others.
The first group of baseball photos closes Sunday evening with the second group set to end on Monday night, followed by other sports on Tuesday and the Newman Collection of rare vintage color slides and negatives ending on Wednesday and Thursday evening.
Click here to view the photographs and bid in the auction, which is being conducted on eBay.
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