(LOT 85)
1925 Babe Ruth Closeup/Portrait PSA Type l Encapsulated N.E.A. Photo – Measures Approx. 8" x 10"
Having just turned 30 years old for the 1925 season, the "Sultan of Swat" showed up to spring training immensely overweight, weighing approximately 270 lbs! Teammate Joe Dugan summed up the "Babe's" deteriorating social lifestyle by eloquently stating: "The good life was starting to negatively impact his entire body and performance, with Ruth indulging in excessive "food, broads and booze". His immense gorging of food and alcoholic beverages eventually led to him to suffer serious stomach pains and a high fever near the end of spring training, with Ruth collapsing on a train to New York and immediately hospitalized. Dubbed by the press as "the bellyache heard around the world", Ruth was suffering from an intestinal infection/abscess (in short, an ulcer) that required surgery and placed him on an extended leave of action. The Babe would miss 40 games before returning to the Yankees, and throughout the season would be involved in additional suspensions that would force him to partake in only 98 games.

His dismal 25 home runs, 67 R.B.I.'s and .290 batting average (by his lofty standards) was the worst offensive output of his Yankees career (save his last season), resulting in the Yankees winning only 69 games and finishing in 7th place. This incredible 1925 PSA Type 1 photo portrays an intense portrait/closeup image of the 'Sultan of Swat" taken by the N.E.A. News Service during that turbulent 1925 campaign. Donning his classic Yankees pinstripes and period-style cap, one look at this truly captivating image can send a "shiver" down one's spine, for it surely depicts one of the most stoic Bambino poses on the planet. Indeed, you can literally feel Ruth's intensity, as he gazes into an unknown future that would ultimately result in the Colossal slugger strongly rebounding from his horrific 1925 season that would ultimately see him swat an amazing 714 lifetime homers, a record that stood for nearly 40 years until Henry Aaron surpassed his mark in 1974.

Portraying near-perfect contrast and superb resolution, Ruth's hallowed face has remained basically unscathed, with the diminutive surface abrasion on his cap, a few stray wrinkles (most notably near the upper right corner), and two faint newspaper crop lines (running perpendicular to the lower left of Ruth's face) have fortunately eluded Ruth's facial expression. The verso includes the significantly bold "N.E.A. SERVICE INC." credit stamp, an additional "June 16, 1925 - N.E.A." imprint, and a stamped notation reading: "George Herman (Babe) Ruth – Right Field – Yankees". A compelling image that fully captures the "Babe's" majestic persona, it serves as a steadfast reminder of how the immortal Ruth nearly "ate and drank himself to death" before the start of the 1925 season, nearly succumbing to the most notarized bellyache in baseball history! – PSA Type I Encapsulation

MIN BID $750
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