(LOT 676)
1939 Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio & Other Teammates Type 1 ACME Newspictures Photo - Measures Approx. 7" x 9" - PSA Type I Encapsulation
This magnificent 7" x 9" Type 1 ACME Newspictures photo portrays the nucleus of the "Bronx Bombers" Championship team. Taken on March 8, 1939 most likely at the Yankees St. Petersburgh Crescent Lake Field spring training site, it depicts from left to right: Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Henrich, Bill Dickey and Joe Gordon. With the exception of Henrich, the four other players are all Cooperstown Inductees, with Gehrig and DiMaggio two of baseball's greatest all-timers. Ultimately, the 1939 season would see the Yankees win their fourth consecutive World Championship as they posted 106 wins, finishing 17 games ahead of their rival Boston red Sox and then sweeping the overmatched Cincinnati Reds in the Fall Classic.

Unfortunately for New York, all was "not roses" for this magnificent ballclub, for on May 2nd, their remarkable slugging first baseman Henry Louis Gehrig would pull himself out of the lineup at Detroit's Briggs Stadium due to the escalating ill effects of the incurable ALS disease. Several months later, Gehrig would deliver his iconic "luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" speech on July 4th, with a packed house of nearly 60,000 "choked-up" fans on hand to witness this momentous event. The sepia toned image exhibits near-perfect contrast and a somewhat bright contrast as each player holds or leans on their period-style lumber. The obverse-side surface has managed to elude any distracting creases and/or blemishes, with the verso including the ACME NEWSPICTURES credit stamp as well as various notations that read "3/8/39" and the names of the five players. This is the only 1939 photo of this imposing Yankees group of players we have ever come across, with the inclusion of the unparalleled "Iron Horse" the key component for this significant 1939 illustration!

MIN BID $400
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