This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/3/2020
In 1918, Clarence “Tillie” Walker of the Philadelphia Athletics tied the Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox for the home run crown. Each managed to hit a whopping 11 dingers, which led not only the American League but all of baseball that year. The Bambino would then hit 29, 54 and 59 homers over the next three seasons to lift our National Pasttime out of the doldrums of the Deadball Era. Walker would increase his power output from 1920 to 1922 as well, knocking 17, 12 and 37 out of the yard, respectively. In 1922, he became just the fifth player ever to reach 100 career long balls.
This striking 6.5” x 8.5" original wire photo features Ty Cobb congratulating Tillie Walker after he hit #100 of his MLB career to make history. The Georgia Peach, who prided himself on not being a home run hitter and once claimed he could outslug The Babe if he so chose, finished the 1922 season with 85 career dingers and would retire in 1928 with 117 to his credit. Stamped by "International Newsreel" on the reverse, the back of the photo has some tape residue most likely from the original caption. There is a diagonal cut on the bottom left corner and a 3/4" tear at the top border. The front is smooth and clean (a scratch on jumbo holder gives false impression of surface damage) and the subjects present very clearly in the classic black and white shot. Overall condition EX/EX-MT in our opinion. Encapsulated as a TYPE I photo by PSA/DNA.