(LOT 1734)
1934 Babe Ruth Tour of Japan PSA Encased Type 1 Acme Newspictures Authentic 7" x 8-1/2" Photograph
The 1934 Major League Baseball Tour of Japan was the sixth excursion of American ballplayers visiting the Japanese Empire with the hopes of promoting the game of baseball. Unlike the previous tours, the 1934 groups featured Babe Ruth who at the time was one of the most recognizable athletes on the face of the earth. Not to be overlooked, future Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Gomez, Charlie Gehringer, Earl Averill and manager Connie Mack accompanied the Bambino on their barnstorming visit. (The National League refused to allow players to travel for fear of injuries.) During the 1934 Tour of Japan, players somewhat served as diplomats between the US and the Empire as tensions were mounting less than a decade before the US declaration of war against Japan.
The diplomatic "Tour of Japan" pitted the American League All-Stars against, primarily, the Nippon All-Stars in a series of 23 games played throughout the country in notable cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Shanghai and elsewhere. The AL All-Stars won all 23 games and outscored their opponents 258-46. Offered is a Type 1 photo of Babe Ruth diving back to first base as first baseman Minoru Yamashita applies the tag in front of a crowd of more than 60,000 fans. This borderless PSA encapsulated photograph displays edge and corner wear around the perimeter with some visible, yet unobtrusive, surface abrasions on the front.
Minor paper loss at top right corner. The reverse features the "ACME NEWSPICTURES, Inc." stamp, some pencil written photographer notations and a portion of a news clipping entitled "The Bambino slides into base in Tokyo, Japan, game which American won, 5-1." Though it also in stamped "NOV 22, 1934", the game took place on November 5, 1934 based on the clipping and Photographer notes. This is truly an historical photo of Babe Ruth, the diplomat, walloping 13 round-trippers during the barnstorming tour, but more importantly helping to elevate interest in the game of baseball.
MIN BID $300
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