DATE: 1999 ORIGINAL or DUPLICATE: Original Film SUBJECT: APPROXIMATE SIZE: 35mm in standard 2"x2" slide mount NUMBER OF SLIDES: 1 COMMENTS / CONDITION: This is an original color transparency (film) which, like original negatives, can be used to produce high-quality prints (and unlike negatives, can be viewed and enjoyed with the naked eye, without having to use software to invert the image). See scan for further details. This is one of a large accumulation of vintage sports photographs, slides and negatives that we will be listing over the coming months. Wear on these, if any, is mostly confined to minor corner and edge wear, but see scans for further details including condition. We do not deal in stock images or modern reprints, and all scans shown are of the actual vintage photograph, slide or negative being sold. If you have any questions about a particular piece, please ask before the auction ends. BIO: George Herman Ruth (The Bambino or The Sultan Of Swat) was born in 1895 in Baltimore, MD and died in 1948 in New York, NY. He played major league baseball from 1914 to 1935 as pitcher, 1st baseman and outfielder for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees and a single season for the Boston Braves, appeared in the 1915, 1916, 1918, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1928, and 1932 World Series, was selected in 1933 and 1934 as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. Ruth is one of the greatest sports heroes of American culture and the most celebrated player in American baseball history. He has been named the greatest baseball player in history in various surveys and rankings, and his home run hitting prowess and charismatic personality made him a larger than life figure in the "Roaring Twenties". He was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), a record which stood for 34 years until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth's lifetime total of 714 home runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record for 39 years, until broken by Hank Aaron in 1974. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for average: his .342 lifetime batting is tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he hit .393, a Yankee record. Ruth dominated in the era in which he played. He led the league in home runs during a season twelve times, slugging percentage thirteen times, OPS thirteen times, runs scored eight times, and runs batted in (RBI) six times. At the time of his retirement, his 714 home runs were not only the record, but that total was 336 more than the next player, Lou Gehrig.He also finished with the most career walks (2062), most career extra base hits (1356), and he is still the only player to have a season with at least 200 hits and 150 walks. In 1936, Ruth became one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1969, he was named baseball's Greatest Player Ever in a ballot commemorating the 100th anniversary of professional baseball. In 1998, The Sporting News ranked Ruth Number 1 on the list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players." In 1999, baseball fans named Ruth to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Beyond his statistics, Ruth completely changed baseball itself. The popularity of the game exploded in the 1920s, largely due to him. Ruth ushered in the "live-ball era," as his big swing led to escalating home run totals that not only excited fans, but helped baseball evolve from a low-scoring, speed-dominated game to a high-scoring power game. His participation in an all-star tour of Japan in 1934 sparked that country's interest in professional baseball; a decade later, Japanese soldiers seeking the ultimate insult for American troops would sometimes shout, "To hell with Babe Ruth!" Ruth made many forays into various popular media. He was heard often on radio in the 1930s and 1940s, both as a guest and on his own programs with various titles: The Adventures of Babe Ruth was a 15-minute Blue Network show heard three times a week from April 16 to July 13, 1934. Three years later, he was on CBS twice a week in Here's Babe Ruth which was broadcast from April 14 to July 9, 1937. That same year he portrayed himself in "Alibi Ike" on Lux Radio Theater. His Baseball Quiz was first heard Saturdays on NBC June 5 to July 10, 1943 and then later that year from August 28 to November 20 on NBC, followed by another NBC run from July 8 to October 21, 1944. His film roles included a cameo appearance as himself in the Harold Lloyd film Speedy (1928). His first film appearance occurred in 1920, in the silent movie Headin' Home. He made numerous other film appearances in the silent era, usually either playing himself or playing a ballplayer similar to himself. Ruth's voice was said by some biographers to be similar to that of film star Clark Gable, although that was obviously not evident in the silent film era. He had an appropriate role as himself in Pride of the Yankees, the story of his ill-fated teammate Lou Gehrig. Ruth had three scenes in the film, including one in which he appeared with a straw hat. He said, "If I see anyone touch it, I'll knock his teeth in!" The teammates convinced young Gehrig (Gary Cooper) to chew up the hat; he got away with it. In the second scene, the players go to a restaurant, where Babe sees a side of beef cooking and jokes, "Well, I'll have one of those..." and, the dramatic scene near the end, where Gehrig makes his speech at Yankee Stadium ending with "I consider myself the luckiest man..." In 1938, Larry MacPhail, the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager, offered him a first base coaching job in June. Ruth took the job but quit at the end of the season. The coaching position was his last job in Major League Baseball. His baseball career finally came to an end in 1943. In a charity game at Yankee Stadium, he pinch hit and drew a walk. In 1947, he became director of the American Legion's youth baseball program. On April 27, 1947, the Yankees held a ceremony at Yankee Stadium. Despite his health problems, Ruth was able to attend "Babe Ruth Day". Ruth spoke to a capacity crowd of more than 60,000, including many American Legion youth baseball players. Although lacking a specific memorable comment like Gehrig's "Luckiest man" speech, Ruth spoke from the heart, of his enthusiasm for the game of baseball and in support of the youth playing the game. Later, Ruth started the Babe Ruth Foundation, a charity for disadvantaged children. Another Babe Ruth Day held at Yankee Stadium in September 1947 helped to raise money for this charity. On July 26, 1948, Ruth attended the premiere of the film The Babe Ruth Story, a biopic about his own life. William Bendix portrayed Ruth. Ruth's impact on American culture still commands attention. Top performers in other sports are often referred to as "The Babe Ruth of ______." He is widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players in history. Many polls place him as the number one player of all time. SKU: LCF01246
Item: LCF01246
|