Memory Lane Inc. | The Leader in Vintage Sports Cards & Collectibles
Includes: 5/30/35 PSA Encapsulated Ticket; May 29/30th Scorecard, Original Ruth May 30, 1935 Batting Photo; Pitcher Jim Bivin's note referring to Ruth's Last At-Bat & Phillies 1935 Team Signed Ball & Photo!
Babe Ruth's incomparable career with the Red Sox and Yankees may never be equaled again by any player on the planet. A Hall of Fame pitcher and batter, he surpassed the human standards of excellence from both the pitching rubber and batter's box, leaving an indelible mark on the game that will echo for eternity.
Unfortunately for the "Sultan of Swat", he would not finish his remarkable 22-year career with the New York Yankees, traded after the 1934 season to the National League's Boston Braves.
In the winter of 1935, Yankees owner Col. Jacob Ruppert began working a deal w/the Boston Braves' owner Judge Emil Fuchs to send Ruth to Boston who was starving for the needed publicity. On February 26, 1935, the "unthinkable" happened when Ruppert sent Ruth to Boston as a player/assistant manager to Bill McKechnie, ending his legendary Yankee career.
Part of Ruth's contractual agreement with Fuchs was that he needed to play in every National League ballpark before he could opt out of his contract. Fuch's desperately needed to raise dwindling attendance, and not only needed to showcase the Babe within his home Boston confines, but likewise around the entire league.
An extremely proud individual and his skills rapidly declining, Ruth only agreed to this "circus act" with the hopes of replacing McKechnie as Braves manager for it was his final dream to manage a big-league club.
The Bambino would give his admiring fans one more monumental moment when on May 25, 1935 he walloped his final 3 home runs against Pittsburgh at Forbes Field, with his final 714th dinger the first ball ever hit out of Forbes Field!
His last appearance ever as a Major League player would be on May 30th in the first game of a doubleheader in front of 18,000 adoring fans at Philadelphia's Baker Bowl.
Batting third in the order, Phillies pitcher Jim Bivin would entice the Babe into grounding out to 1st baseman Dolph Camilli, alas, the final swing of an unparalleled career. In the bottom of the 1st, Ruth would take left field, misplaying a flyball off the bat of Lou Chiozza, with the ball rolling all the way to the leftfield fence.
Although Chiozza would be thrown out at the plate, a baserunner scored, and Ruth total embarrassed, pulled himself out of the lineup for the very last time.
Little did fans know that a few days later, Ruth would choose to officially hang up his spikes forever on June 2, 1935, with Fuchs sadly going back on his word and never offering Ruth a managerial position.
There are very few artifacts commemorating Babe Ruth's final Major League appearance due to the fact that fans had no idea Ruth would suddenly call it quits, with little or no reason whatsoever to save any mementos from that final Baker Bowl appearance.
Interestingly enough, that would be the final National League ballpark Ruth needed to play in before he could legally opt out of his Braves contract (he had played in all of the other N.L. stadiums up to that point), with this being the Braves first visit to the Baker Bowl during the 1935 season.
This substantiates why the May 30, 1935 PSA 2/MK ticket and related "unscored" program presented here are virtually impossible to find, and the only ones we have ever come across. For ironclad authenticity, PSA has placed "BABE RUTH FINAL GAME" on their grading slip, with the "MK" qualifier due to a previous owner writing "Ruth's last game" on the tickets verso.
The light green hued $1.65 stub still retains a majority of its original eye pleasing aesthetics, with the critical May 30, 1935 date boldly affixed to the ticket's center area as well as along the left edge. Although the ultra-rare scorecard (measuring approx. 7" x 11") has not been scored, it was certainly issued for games played on May 29th & 30th, with Ruth listed as the number 3 hitter in the Braves line-up.
While we cannot specifically date the program to either May 29th or 30th, it was DEFINITELY issued for that 3-game Phillies/Braves series on those dates (May 30th was a doubleheader) since this was Boston's first visit to the Baker Bowl BEFORE Ruth's eventual retirement on June 2nd.
Therefore, it minimally qualifies as a "FINAL" Babe Ruth Major League "issued" program from Ruth's final at-bat/official playing date (May 30th), and to the best of our knowledge, no such program exists fully scored to definitively date it to the 1st game of the doubleheader on May 30, 1935.
Additional historic items from Ruth's last game include: (1) an original approx. 4.5" x 6" Babe Ruth batting photo of him in his last at-bat of that legendary May 30, 1935 afternoon. Before grounding out, Ruth clearly swung and missed at this particular pitch from Jim Bivin, with his colossal swing spinning him around as though he was a top. The verso reveals the following pencil and pen notations, respectively: "Babe Ruth – 5/30/35 – at Baker Bowl" and "his last weekend of action in Majors".
(2) A small blue ink note written by pitcher Jim Bivin stating: "1935 Phillies – Played the game of baseball 17 years and managed the old Brooklyn Dodger farm clubs for 6 years. – Pitched in the first night game in the Majors (i.e., May 24, 1935 at Crosley Field – Bivin pitched 1 inning against the Reds) and was the last pitcher to pitch to the great Babe Ruth – Sincerely, Jim Bivin". (3) 1935 Phillies team signed Spalding League baseball including a bold "Jim Bivin" black fountain pen signature along the top of the east/right panel. (4) An 11" x 14" 1990 re-strike of the 1935 Philadelphia Phillies team image with pitcher Jim Bivin standing in the back row, 5th from the right.
A simply remarkable compilation of five artifacts relating to Babe Ruth's final playing appearance in a Major League uniform, this ultra-rare and Cooperstown worthy offering merits the utmost attention from elite "Sultan of Swat" enthusiasts. Bursting with historic reverence, it places the collector back to a bygone era when our National Pastime's greatest player played in an official Major League ballgame for the final time. It would have certainly been poetic justice if the Babe decided to "call it quits" after his unfathomable 3-homer game at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field.
Unfortunately, due to contractual restraints, he still needed to take the field one last time at Philadelphia's Baker Bowl, thus completing his full run of competing at every National League ballpark. The legendary Five-Star General Douglas MacArthur once so eloquently stated to Congress: "Old soldiers never die... they just fade away". Synonymous with that iconic ballad, this momentous array of Babe Ruth keepsakes serves as a steadfast reminder of that final May 30, 1935 game when the "Sultan of Swat" simply "faded away"; providing the enamored baseball community one final glimpse of his everlasting legacy!
