Babe Ruth has several select iconic images which immediately come to mind when his name is mentioned, and this is one of them. In this immortal image, The Babe has been captured just after connecting with what looks to be another of his majestic home runs. The setting is New York’s Polo Grounds in 1921, home of the Yankees in the years before Yankee Stadium was built. In that 1921 season, Ruth surpassed his previous home run record by hitting an unbelievable 59 big flies that summer. On top of that, The Babe batted .378, recorded 168 RBI, scored 177 runs, walked 149 times, and banged out 204 hits. This famous shot was captured by an anonymous INS photographer and was seized upon by Ruth’s peerless agent, Christy Walsh, who used it to promote his greatest client. As such, this perfectly composed image was used for advertising, books, magazines and of course, baseball cards, including the 1926 Kut-Outs Die-Cuts; the 1930 Rogers Peet Sport Album, the 1932 Sanella Margarine set, 1933 Astra Margarine set, the 1933 C.A. Briggs issue and the 1937 Donut Co. of America Thrilling Moments box top set. It was only natural that when Walsh needed visuals to go along with his famous client’s foray into motion pictures he would use this dramatic image. The reverse of this piece is stamped with “THE CHRISTY WALSH SYNDICATE” stamp as well as the handwritten notation, “Babe Ruth in First National’s ‘Babe Comes Home,’” the Hollywood picture released in 1927. The number “1054” has been written in pencil along the bottom right border as well.
However, what pushes this photograph into the realm of top-tier collectibles is the fact that has been deemed a “Type 1” example by PSA. A Type 1 photograph is an image printed from the original negative within a few years of it being originally taken. As iconic as this image has become in the century since it was snapped, there are relatively few Type 1 examples such as this in existence, making this one of the most sought-after Babe Ruth pieces in the hobby.
The photograph shows toning from age and edge wear, as well as some slight paper loss on the upper left edge, none of which detract from the crystal-clear clarity and fine contrast of the photo. The back of the photo shows some paper loss and paper residue from being removed from its mounting, but none of this impacts the stamping or handwriting. The photo has been encapsuled and graded a Type 1 “Authentic” by PSA. A superb example of one of the greatest and well-known baseball images ever taken, capturing Babe Ruth at the very height of his athletic prowess. This image captures all the excitement, romance and drama that continues to make Babe Ruth the greatest and most identifiable athlete of all-time.