This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/27/2021
Encapsulated PSA/DNA TYPE 1. The Type 1 photograph is stamped by “WIDE WORLD PHOTOS” with a pencil notation that reads “Dec. 30, 1925”. Newspaper stories from December 1925 and January 1926 quote Babe extolling the benefits of the sweet science as part of his off-season training regimen. Additionally there is a “E.F.S.” stamping with the date “APR 1 1926,” most-likely the date of a second usage of the photo when the 1926 season was kicking off. The photo presents with two original paper captions. The first reads in part “BABE RUTH STARTS TRAINING FOR COMING SEASON...New York 'Yankee' baseball star and former home-run king of the American League, started training for the 1926 baseball season today at Arthur 'Doc' McGovern's Gymnasium, where he will take a course of indoor training.”
The caption inaccurately references an image of Ruth on a rowing machine, most-likely another shot the photographer took that day, but the second caption simplifies the description of the photo to “'Babe' in a fighting pose.” Babe was in a battle with more than just his weight and conditioning—after a dismal 1925 season (by Ruthian standards) and vicious rumors about the origins of his personal health issues, he was determined to get back to his old form. And he did, indeed, right the ship with 47 home runs, 152 RBIs and a .372 batting average. The photograph measures 8 x 10 inches and presents with many editorial artifacts, some heavy edge wear with several areas of paper loss and several creases. That being said, the image area is bold and as crisp as a collector could hope for in such an early photo of Ruth. Very Good to Excellent condition.