(LOT 1256)
1925 Babe Ruth PSA Type 1 Encapsulated Underwood & Underwood Photo - Measures Approx. 6-1/2" x 8-1/2"
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! "The good-life was starting to negatively impact his entire body and performance, with Ruth indulging in excessive "food, broads and booze", as teammate Joe Dugan so appropriately summarized the "Babe's" deteriorating social lifestyle. 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 in a New York hotel bathroom and was immediately hospitalized for six weeks at St. Vincent's hospital. 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. One such suspension took place on August 30th, with Ruth suspended and fined $5,000 by manager Miller Huggins for being late for batting practice due to a very late night on the town. This ultra-rare 6-1/2" x 8-1/2" Underwood & Underwood Type 1 offering reveals Ruth donning his eloquent bathrobe as he reads the newspaper account of his suspension. Dated August 31, 1925, the verso includes a critical caption detailing a full account of this momentous event, and how Ruth intends to file an appeal with both Judge Mountain Landis (MLB Commissioner) and Yankees team owner Jacob Ruppert. As an aftermath, Ruth's 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 seventh place. An interesting Ruthian keepsake from 1925, it reminds us of how the immortal Babe Ruth's carousing lifestyle led to both the most notarized bellyache in baseball history as well as his ill-fated August 30th suspension!

MIN BID $300