Babe Ruth Pictures (some RARE ones!)

[BSmile]

So,
I've been posting a bunch of pictures to the pre-renovation thread (Yankee Stadium) and the renovation era thread ('73-'75) the past few days. However, I wasn't sure where to post some pretty cool images I have of Babe Ruth...so I figured I'd start a new thread here because this section seems to be the most into vintage pic's. Hopefully you guys can add to this thread...I didn't search every single thread/post...but I get the feeling that there isn't a Babe Ruth specific thread anywhere else (strictly for images). So, this isn't exactly a "ballpark, stadiums" etc. thread...but it seems that it might be most appreciated here. So add any Babe Ruth pic's you have here if you'd like. I'm going to start this off with a few very-rare gems. I think they speak for themselves....

[BSmile]

Here we have:
1) Babe in the dugout with the 1916 Red Sox
2) Babe in 1920 at the Polo Grounds
3) Babe on his farm, 1929

[BSmile]

Here we go....
1) Babe signing autographs after an exhibition game in Hartford, CT (with the Savitt Gems team) in 1943. This happened a few blocks from where I grew up.
2) In fact, the game happened at Bulkeley Stadium in Hartford (now gone). This plaque is at the site where the park once stood. Lou Gehrig played here in the minors with the Hartford Senators.
3) OK...not a Babe Ruth pic, but this a team photo taken in Hartford of Lou with the team in 1922.

[BSmile]

1) This is another pic of The Babe in Hartford playing for the Savitt Gems, which was a jewelry store btw. Taken in 1945.
2) The Babe in 1930 (not sure which park) signing a statue of himself made by a fan.
3) The Babe hits HR #713.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Nice shots of the Bam. They are rare, been a fan of Babe for many years and have all kinds of pics. The only one I have seen before was the very last one, nice work. I will copy some and move them to a Babe thread on this board.

[BSmile]

#1) The Babe visits Johnnny Vander Meer on June 16, 1938 after his 2nd no-hitter in a row. It's always fun to see The Babe in a non-Red Sox/Yankee/Dodger cap.

#2) The Babe crosses the plate after HR #700 on July, 13, 1934. You can see how somebody at the paper put crop tape around The Babe for publication. Also, the same person was probably the one who "touched up" Babe's face a little bit.

#3) The Babe taking batting practice for the fans on June 19, 1938. Sadly, this is really why he was hired by Brooklyn in the first place.

#4) Ty Cobb, The Babe and Eddie Collins, 1927. I always find it strange that Ty Cobb always gave The Babe a lot of grief, but he always looks so happy to take a picture with The Babe. Well....nobody ever accussed Ty of being "sane".

More to come.......
Cheers! ~B

[nymdan]

Nice pictures, but I'm not sure this is the right place for them. I think I'll move this thread... but to where? Baseball History?

[whoisonit]

History of the game seems like a natural - BUT - what I think this site really needs is a Babe Ruth Forum - all Babe, all the time.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Nice pictures, but I'm not sure this is the right place for them. I think I'll move this thread... but to where? Baseball History?

You got it, Baseball History, move it there and they may want it merged with another Babe thread. There are a few dedicated to him, one a discussion and another with mostly pictures.

I live there and I can tell you they would love these shots, many which I have not seen before.

[The Monument]

That first pic with the Babe and his large "bat" is hilarious. I don't know how he kept a straight face during that one. No wonder Mrs Gehrig was curious.

[BSmile]

Great! In a good way....like I had said when I started this thread...I'm new to baseball-fever and wasn't sure where to start this thread. So here we are. Cool. I'm so glad that everyone's enjoying the new pic's. Like I had said, I've been collecting vintage baseball images for a while now...and after looking through countless threads all over the boards, I realized that I had some pic's that perhaps nobody around the site had seen...so I felt a natural instinct to share. Which is what I hope others can add to this thread. ANYWAYS....here's some more new Babe pic's that may not be quite as obscure as some of the one's I've posted so far...but still pretty rare to most:

#1) Classic shot of Babe with a birthday cake. Not sure of the year, I would guess late 30's early 40's. (Anyone know better? Let's hear it!)

#2) Babe gets help putting on the Brooklyn jersey for the 1st time. I don't have the exact details...date, who's who....so somebody please chime in on the particulars.

#3) Babe's 1931 NBC Publicity shot. I believe he did radio coverage of the World Series that year for NBC. I'd LOVE to hear those tapes.

#4) Finally (for now), a great pic of Lou Gehrig, some kid named Joe, and The Babe. This pic was on the auction block in the past year...I forgot what it went for (a LOT). Anyways, I'd love to know a bit about it. Both The Babe and (an out of character) Lou look downright pissed-off! Babe isn't even looking at the camera and I don't think I've ever seen a pic of Lou with more of a sourpuss on his face. It cracks me up actually. I'm guessing "Joe" is the son of some politician/owner/dignitary....I could be wrong, just a guess. Anyone have a clue on this one?

More to come soon...
~B

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Great! In a good way....like I had said when I started this thread...I'm new to baseball-fever and wasn't sure where to start this thread. So here we are. Cool. I'm so glad that everyone's enjoying the new pic's. Like I had said, I've been collecting vintage baseball images for a while now...and after looking through countless threads all over the boards, I realized that I had some pic's that perhaps nobody around the site had seen...so I felt a natural instinct to share. Which is what I hope others can add to this thread. ANYWAYS....here's some more new Babe pic's that may not be quite as obscure as some of the one's I've posted so far...but still pretty rare to most:

#1) Classic shot of Babe with a birthday cake. Not sure of the year, I would guess late 30's early 40's. (Anyone know better? Let's hear it!)

#2) Babe gets help putting on the Brooklyn jersey for the 1st time. I don't have the exact details...date, who's who....so somebody please chime in on the particulars.

#3) Babe's 1931 NBC Publicity shot. I believe he did radio coverage of the World Series that year for NBC. I'd LOVE to hear those tapes.

#4) Finally (for now), a great pic of Lou Gehrig, some kid named Joe, and The Babe. This pic was on the auction block in the past year...I forgot what it went for (a LOT). Anyways, I'd love to know a bit about it. Both The Babe and (an out of character) Lou look downright pissed-off! Babe isn't even looking at the camera and I don't think I've ever seen a pic of Lou with more of a sourpuss on his face. It cracks me up actually. I'm guessing "Joe" is the son of some politician/owner/dignitary....I could be wrong, just a guess. Anyone have a clue on this one?

More to come soon...
~B

Never saw any of these pics, No info on any of them, that Joe in the one pic, who can say, Babe must have been photographed with a million people.

[BSmile]

If SHOELESSJOE3 has never even SEEN any of the latest pic's....well then, there ya' go. I am truly thrilled to bring "never-before seen" images to the baseball-fever family. Wow...I actually have even more to share.
Here's The Babe on Feb. 2, 1941 at the New York Chapter of the BWAA dinner/gathering.
Cheers! ~B
----------------------------
February 2, 1941, Hotel Commodore; NY Baseball writers dinner;
L-R: New York Mayor Jimmy Walker, Babe Ruth, Ford Frick, Bill Slocum?, Taylor Spink.
The Babe 2.2.41.jpg

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Los Angeles Tribune, Oct 10, 1916.

[Rennie Stennett]

Here we go....
1) Babe signing autographs after an exhibition game in Hartford, CT (with the Savitt Gems team) in 1943. This happened a few blocks from where I grew up.
2) In fact, the game happened at Bulkeley Stadium in Hartford (now gone). This plaque is at the site where the park once stood. Lou Gehrig played here in the minors with the Hartford Senators.
3) OK...not a Babe Ruth pic, but this a team photo taken in Hartford of Lou with the team in 1922.

Nice pics ! thx...the Hartford team photo is pretty cool...I purposely didn't drop the photo all the way down so I could pick out which was Lou Gehrig, without cheating. Sure enough, I got it. Not to toot my own horn, but Gehrig has the most incredible neck and back muscles around. That's how I knew. There's a shot of Lou after another Yankee World Series win, in the clubhouse with his shirt off...jeez what a back on that guy...I have not seen it in years...I wonder what he did in the offf season ? I know this is a Ruth thread, but I can't help myself...thx again.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Babe's first set of wheels. Known to go tearing down the streets in Boston just as he did all his life scattering folks. Some where I have a disc with some articles from the news archives, his accidents he had with his cars at least half a dozen. Two serious ones, while with Boston trying to squeeze between two trolley cars..........going in opposite directions, mangled that vehicle. Another in later years, a roll over with one passenger ejected.

He didn't live long but he lived hard and fast.

[Gary Dunaier]

#4) Finally (for now), a great pic of Lou Gehrig, some kid named Joe, and The Babe. This pic was on the auction block in the past year...I forgot what it went for (a LOT). Anyways, I'd love to know a bit about it. Both The Babe and (an out of character) Lou look downright pissed-off! Babe isn't even looking at the camera and I don't think I've ever seen a pic of Lou with more of a sourpuss on his face. It cracks me up actually. I'm guessing "Joe" is the son of some politician/owner/dignitary....I could be wrong, just a guess. Anyone have a clue on this one?

More than a clue. Heritage Auctions, who sold the photo last October for $38,837.50 including buyer's premium, doesn't think Ruth and Gehrig are pissed off... they see their expressions as an "unsmiling look of determination." And Joe was not the son of an 'important' person, he was the Yankees' batboy. From Heritage's description of the photo:

The Finest Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig Signed Photograph on Earth. Our lot title might start an argument or two, but we stand behind the pronouncement, and it would take something pretty remarkable to make us change our minds. This simply phenomenal signed photo was consigned to us by the niece of Joe Glassenberg, who served as a bat boy for the New York Yankees from 1926 through 1928. That's him, of course, standing at center of the greatest slugging duo in baseball history, staring into the camera lens with the same unsmiling look of determination shared by his Hall of Fame friends. Purely as an image, this piece would carry tremendous collecting appeal, providing a sharply detailed study of the fabled Ruth and Gehrig during the storied 1927 World Championship season.

Here's a link to Heritage's complete description of the photo, including technical information.

[BSmile]

Good catch Gary!
However, I'd have to say that the "unsmiling look of determination" is a bit of a stretch on Heritage's part. It's a nice way to compliment the picture for an auction book...but to me, they both look like they got hurried onto the dugout steps for the picture and had a "take the friggin' picture already" look on their faces. Even the batboy has a look on his face of, "Um, sorry to make you guys have to do this.."
~B

[hellborn]

#4) Finally (for now), a great pic of Lou Gehrig, some kid named Joe, and The Babe. This pic was on the auction block in the past year...I forgot what it went for (a LOT). Anyways, I'd love to know a bit about it. Both The Babe and (an out of character) Lou look downright pissed-off! Babe isn't even looking at the camera and I don't think I've ever seen a pic of Lou with more of a sourpuss on his face. It cracks me up actually. ...
~B

There's a great photo of Ruth speaking into a radio announcer's microphone set up in the stands near the field while Gehrig looks away with an incredibly POed expression...the caption from "The Babe: A Life In Pictures" even mentions that Gehrig didn't seem to care for what Babe had to say.
I'll try to take a photo of it later.

[Brian McKenna]

Great pictures BSmile - great shots. I never paid much attention before that Ruth signed righthanded.

[BSmile]

Here's three different shots of The Babe on that fateful last visit to The Stadium...and they're in color. In fact, they're the only color pictures that I've ever seen of The Babe...well, except for this shot (last attached) of The Babe and Ted Williams taken on July 14, 1943. If anybody has any true color pic's of The Babe, PLEASE post them here...I'd really love to see them. Color pic's of The Babe are really, super-rare (which is a shame).
~B

[locke40]

BSmile,
LOVE the color photos! Here are a few that I found.

Babe Ruth & Jack Bentley in Giants uniforms for exhibition game; Jack Dunn in middle. October 1923.

[locke40]

I believe these are from 1921, not positive.

[locke40]

5/28/24

[locke40]