(LOT 1685)
c.1912 Tris Speaker PSA Type 1 Encapsulated George Grantham Bain Photo - Measures Approx. 4" x 5"
This ultra-obscure c.1912 Tris Speaker PSA Type 1 George Grantham Bain image stands as one of the "Gray Eagle's" most significant photos extant, taken during the season when the Red Sox would claim their second world championship. Simply stated, original photos of Speaker from his early playing days with Boston are very few and far between, with this remarkable offering portraying this legendary Cooperstown Inductee in a classic batting stance. The 1912 campaign would be one of Speaker's finest as he batted an amazing .383 and posted an unfathomable .464 on-base percentage that led the Junior Circuit. For the only time in his illustrious career, Speaker would place first in the A.L. MVP voting, with his batting and fielding exploits leading the Boston Red Sox to the American League pennant and eventually a World Series title against John McGraw's N.Y. Giants. Speaker's illustrious career commenced with Boston in 1907, and while he played sparingly for the Red Sox in 1907 and 1908, Speaker's breakout season came in 1909 when he accumulated over 600 plate appearances and a stellar .309 batting average.

The rest of the story is history for the highly skilled Speaker finished his incredible 22-year career with an amazing 3,514 safeties to the tune of a .345 lifetime batting, the 6th finest figure in baseball history. Speaker's sepia-toned batting pose is a perfect testament to his uncanny hitting skills, with the 4" x 5" image revealing fine clarity and near-perfect contrast. The top edge of the photo depicts the typical Bain verbiage, in this case reflecting a "SPEAKER (BOSTON)" text, with some stray creases and a lower right corner chip not impeding the classic central image. The verso includes a majority of the original George Grantham Bain News Service credit stamp as well as a CULVER SERVICE caption that is included on many of Bain's original photos. An outstanding testament to the "Gray Eagle's" immortal legacy, it conjures up grand memories of how this graceful player dominated our National Pastime as good if not better than any centerfielder in baseball's glorious history!

MIN BID $300
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