This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/10/2004.
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are perhaps the two names most synonymous with baseball, not to mention the New York Yankees. Individually, these two baseball superheroes did it all. In addition to being a superb pitcher early on in his career (he won 65 games between 1915 and 1917) Ruth could hit the ball like no one of his time could. The "Great Bambino" led the Majors in home runs in an amazing twelve different seasons as he set and reset the single season homerun record. His incredible mark of 60 home runs in 1927 stood as the Major League record for 34 years until Roger Maris belted 61 in '61, in a lengthened season. Amazingly, during that magical 1927 season, Ruth's 60 homers accounted for 14% of the homerun total for the entire AL. What is more, nearly 70 years after he played his last game, Ruth is still the second greatest homerun hitter of all-time with 714 total homeruns, one of only two men to ever break the 700 mark. Gehrig on the other hand, was arguably a better hitter than Ruth even though he finished his shortened career with 221 fewer homeruns than his larger teammate. In 1934 he won the Triple Crown, leading the AL in batting average (.363), homeruns (49), and RBI's (165). In addition, Gehrig still holds the AL record for most RBIs in a season with 184, as well as the all-time record for most career grand slams with 23. Despite all of his impressive batting numbers though, the most impressive number of his career has to be the 2,130 consecutive games that he played, many of which were played with fractured bones and a very sore back. Though his career and his life were tragically cut short by a disease that would later bear his name, no one will ever forget the great Lou Gehrig, least of all the New York Yankees who made Gehrig the first professional athlete in any sport to have his number retired. It only makes sense therefore, that when these two were paired together sparks would fly. In the late '20s and early '30s when Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig both donned the Yankee pinstripes, they created the fiercest hitting duo that baseball has ever seen. The two Yankee greats put fear in the eyes of every pitcher they faced and rightly so. During Ruth's record setting 1927 season, the two hitters combined to hit more homeruns than all but one team in the Majors. Success like that in today's game is just not possible, making this dynamic duo an immovable part of baseball history. This cream colored OAL Barnard baseball with red and blue stitching shows light overall toning and has been signed in fountain pen by the two legends, Babe Ruth (sweet spot) and Lou Gehrig (side panel). The Ruth signature is bold and clear, one of the nicest examples we have ever seen, and easily grades a 9. The Gehrig signature is slightly faded on the first "G" in "Gehrig" and grades a strong 8. Comes with a letter from PSA/DNA.