The 1927 New York Yankees remain as one of the most storied baseball teams of all-time and with good reason. The team 110 wins set a new American League record that lasted until 1954 and no less than nine members of the team would go on to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. This amazing Type 1 photograph shows three of the reasons for the 1927 Yankees success: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Tony Lazzeri. All three are Hall of Famers and Yankees legends to this day. Ruth needs no introduction, and even the most casual baseball fan knows that 1927 was the year the Babe hit a record 60 home runs. Beyond the homers, Ruth also hit .356 and led the league in walks, strikeouts, on base percentage, slugging, and runs scored. If anyone had a year comparable to Ruth, it was Lou Gehrig. That magical summer Gehrig hit .373 while leading the AL in doubles, RBI, and total bases. His 47 home runs was second only to Ruth’s 60 and he was selected as the American League’s 1927 Most Valuable Player. The last of the hard-hitting trio was Tony Lazzeri. Playing in just his 2nd full big-league season, Lazzeri had made headlines in 1925 when he hit an incredible 60 home runs in the Pacific Coast League. In 1927, Lazzeri hit .309 while finishing third in home runs, right behind teammates Ruth and Gehrig. Ruth, Gehrig, Lazzeri and the Yankees continued their dominance into the post season where they swept the Pittsburgh Pirates. The trio hit a combined .326 and knocked in 13 of the 19 runs needed to beat Pittsburgh. Ruth, Gehrig and Lazzeri would continue to dominate the American League as teammates through 1935, winning two more Championships in 1928 and 1932.
This Type 1 photograph was taken on Tony Lazzeri Day held at Yankee Stadium on September 9, 1927. Before the game against St. Louis, Lazzeri was presented with a floral wreath from his fans in New York’s Little Italy while a band serenated the young star with Italian-inspired tunes. In the game, Ruth and Gehrig were both hitless. However, though Lazzeri was also hitless and struck out twice, he none-the-less emerged as the game’s hero when his sacrifice in the fifth inning drove in what proved to be the winning run. In this Acme news photo taken before the game, the man of the hour is flanked by Ruth and Gehrig before the Yankees dugout. The front is in wonderful condition with tight corners, no rips or tears, no creasing and light overall toning from age. The photo measures in at 6 ½ x 8 ½. The back of the photo carries the original blue caption slug along with several pencil notations and stamps that read, O.K. for Cleveland and & Reference Dept. Sept. 23, 1927. The photo has been encapsulated by PSA and graded a Type 1 Authentic.