This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/4/2021
No matter how grand or extravagant, there will never be a more recognizable or impressive sports facility in modern times than Yankee Stadium. Its very creation was born from the Yankees mercurial success, brought on by Babe Ruth’s arrival from Boston in 1920. With in three years, the Yankees were outdrawing the New York Giants, who owned the Polo Grounds that the two teams shared. Jealous of Ruth and the newly converted Yankees fans that filled the Polo Grounds, the Giants told the Yankees to look for a new place to call home for 1923. Finding a piece of land within eyesight of the Polo Grounds, the Yankees commenced building an edifice so beautiful and formidable it would be the first ballpark to be called a “stadium.” Built in less than a year and entirely financed by Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, “Yankee Stadium” opened for business on April 18, 1923. Within a few years it would join the Roman Coliseum as the most recognizable and famous sports complexes in history. The New York Evening Telegram wrote on the opening day, “everything smelled of … fresh paint, fresh plaster and fresh grass”.
For their first game in their new home, the Yankees faced their eternal rivals, the Boston Red Sox. After the opening ceremonies and dedications, Yankees ace Bob Shawkey took the mound to face Boston’s leadoff batter, Chick Fewster. At this historic moment, a photographer from Underwood & Underwood clicked the shutter of his camera to record the moment for eternity. This atmospheric shot capturing Bob Shawkey in mid-windup is the only known photo of the first pitch of the first game held in Yankee Stadium. The Stadium is decked out in festive bunting, the Red Sox are perched at the top of their dugout and the 74,200 fans hold their breath as the 1923 baseball season is about to begin. The slug on the reverse of this fascinating photograph credits the photo to Underwood & Underwood. The copy reads “Just as the Smoke of Battle Arose on the Yank’s New $2,500,000 Home – With the Boston Reds as the Rivals. BATTER UP’---the sound that cheered the hearts of thousands of fans that squeezed into the new Yankee Stadium this afternoon for the opening of the season—and the dedication of the world’s finest baseball grounds. 4/18/23.” Various pencil notations are present along with a date stamp of “SEP271930.”
An extraordinary Type 1 photo of the momentous opening of the most famous modern sports stadium. This photo has been encapsulated by PSA/DNA and identified as a Type 1.
Dimensions: 5 ¾ x 9 ¼ inches and photo is placed in a PSA jumbo holder which is: 9.73” wide by 13.21” high by 0.322” thick