This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/12/2024
Sports enthusiasts can forever argue over who was the greatest baseball player in history; an inconclusive endeavor given how the game has changed over its history and fueling speculation over how yesterday's legends would compete in today's game, and vice versa. But one argument few can rebut is that New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth is the most influential ballplayer that the game has ever seen. An ace hurler who was traded to the New York Yankees and converted to arguably the greatest hitter in history, Ruth's emergence in the Big Apple led to the construction of Yankee Stadium ("the house that Ruth built") and the beginning of a baseball dynasty that would last well over a half-century. But Babe Ruth wasn't just a legendary baseball player, he was a larger-than-life cult of personality whose troubled childhood gave him a humble perspective of his popularity. Always willing to accommodate an admirer with an autograph, a pat on the back, or just a smile, Babe Ruth was special, but more importantly, he made his fans feel like they were special too. But with all of the various autographed Babe Ruth items in existence, there are surprisingly few examples of a Babe Ruth auto on a 1926-29 Exhibits card. Though not as widely distributed as his quartet of cards in the 1933 Goudey Series, this example features an oversized, real-life photo of "The Sultan of Swat" in the prime of his majestic career. Over that 1926-29 span that the Exhibits series was produced, Babe averaged over 51 home runs and 154 RBI per season with a .348 batting average. The autograph is graded a 7 by PSA/DNA, which we find puzzling given how clean the penning is, with no break or ink fade in the flow of the signature, as well as the admirable placement of the autograph in perhaps the most contrasting location on the canvas. Fellow Hall of Famer Charles "Red" Ruffin has also signed the postcard on the reverse. We can never know the complete lineage that brought this card from Babe Ruth's hand almost a century ago to our auction, but as collectors and baseball fans, we can certainly appreciate the rare beauty that it possesses. One of the best, if not the only, examples of its kind.