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1933 Babe Ruth Signed New York Yankees Player's Contract....
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$450,000 or more
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Description
1933 Babe Ruth Signed New York Yankees Player's Contract. Not long after the greatest figure in baseball history led his Yankees to the promised land for the final time in his career, authoring one of the sport's most celebrated fables in the process, an aging Babe Ruth sat down with his two bosses to discuss the future. His "Called Shot" and an American League-topping .489 OBP in 1932 notwithstanding, Ruth was seen as an overly expensive commodity at his $75,000 salary and Hall of Fame owner Jacob Ruppert dug in his heels in negotiations. As the offered lot documents, the factions came to an agreement at $52,000, still more than double the figure issued to fellow pinstriped icon Lou Gehrig.The Colonel would get good value for his money as Ruth would produce over 100 runs batted in on the strength of thirty-four homers and a .301 average. The Babe would be named a starter in the very first All-Star Game in 1933, and close out the season with an October 1st pitching victory over his old Boston Red Sox team, his very last appearance on the mound. In 1934, Ruppert would hack another seventeen thousand from Ruth's salary before ending one of the most fruitful partnerships in American sports.
The "Uniform Player's Contract" is the standard four-page model utilized for decades in the Bigs, identifying the player and salary on page one and sandwiching a typed addendum into page two directing a quarter of exhibition game receipts to the sport's greatest draw. The Hall of Fame triumvirate of owner Jacob Ruppert, manager Joe McCarthy and Ruth himself appear in 10/10 black fountain pen below, the Hall of Fame slugger signing in his profoundly desirable "George Herman Ruth" format and adding his handwritten Manhattan address below. It is unquestionably one of the finest Ruth autographs we've encountered in any incarnation.
The document itself has survived the better part of a century since its creation with only original storage folds to report--no tears, creases or stains. It is housed in a lovely and expensive custom slipcase for safety in centuries to come. Full LOA from PSA/DNA.
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