lwadkins
Puritan Board Junior
George Herman Ruth, commonly known as "The Babe," signed his 1st Full Major League Contract in 1916 with the Boston Red Sox. The four pages of the contract are depicted in four photo negatives, encased in glass plates, each measuring 6.5" x 8.5". The contract bears the signatures of Ruth, team owner Joseph Lannin and American League founder and president Ban Johnson. Two of the negatives are cracked at the center and are carefully taped together; the other two are in excellent condition. They have been kept in their original photographer's torn envelope with the photographer's Original Stamp and remarks.
The glass-plate negatives are the only surviving proof of the "Sultan of Swat's" original contract with the Red Sox. The actual contract has never been found and is probably destroyed, making this auction the only surviving record of the terms of this transaction that may have changed the course of baseball history.
Sold on overstock.com auction for $16,968.00!
http://images.auctions.overstock.com/aimages/g/031805_bRuth_plate02_big.jpg
The glass-plate negatives are the only surviving proof of the "Sultan of Swat's" original contract with the Red Sox. The actual contract has never been found and is probably destroyed, making this auction the only surviving record of the terms of this transaction that may have changed the course of baseball history.
Sold on overstock.com auction for $16,968.00!
http://images.auctions.overstock.com/aimages/g/031805_bRuth_plate02_big.jpg
