This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/28/2013
This payroll check was Babe Ruth’s first received during his epic 1927 campaign. It compensated him $7,687.78 for his initial two-and-a-half weeks (“Salary Apr. 12th -- 30th”), which included 15 games against the Athletics, Red Sox and Senators. Ruth waited until the fourth contest—a 6-3 win over the A’s at Yankee Stadium on April 15th—to launch his inaugural round-tripper in a season that would see him reach an unprecedented home run total of 60. Interestingly, the check deducts $2.55 for phone calls Ruth made from two significant locations: New York’s Hotel Alamac and St. Petersburg’s Princess Martha Hotel. In fact,
according to a Miami News article from March 3, 1927, Ruth stayed at the Hotel Alamac while negotiating his three-year $210,000 contract with Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert. The payroll check measures 3-1/4” x 8-7/8” and showcases minimally EX/MT condition with only slight toning and minor evidence of handling such as mild wrinkles and light fold marks—all of which is commensurate with cancelled bank checks. Ruth’s spectacular black-fountain-pen endorsement, “Geo. H. Ruth,” has been graded NM-MT 8 by PSA/DNA, and the complementary signatures of Ruppert and Ed Barrow are equally bold and impressive.
Encapsulated by PSA/DNA (Auto. Grade NM-MT 8).
This lot has a Reserve Price that has not been met.