This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/11/2020
Nothing lasts forever, and with Babe Ruth's career winding down, the Yankees turned to Lou Gehrig with the hope that he could provide at least some of the dominance that Ruth showed over his 15 seasons with the team and lead the Yankees into a new era. While he was a teammate of "The Babe" full time for 10 of those seasons and, along with Jimmie Foxx, was considered the next best player in baseball history, many so-called "experts" doubted that Gehrig could deliver the same results without Ruth in the lineup. Gehrig never reached 60 homers or batted .378 in a season like Ruth, but he provided a level of superiority that made the Gehrig-DiMaggio tandem just as potent as the Ruth-Gehrig era. For the four full-seasons after Ruth's departure, Gehrig averaged 36 homers, 136 RBI, and a .332 batting average, comparable to his yearly averages with Ruth in the lineup, while earning his second American League MVP award. Had he not been stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Gehrig likely would have retired second to Ruth in lifetime home runs and broken the major league record for career runs batted in. Not nearly as prolific at signing autographs as Babe Ruth and having passed seven years earlier, the number of signed 1933 Goudey cards like the example featured here is likely only a fraction of examples with Ruth's mark. The featured card is truly stunning, sporting a very clean signature of "The Iron Horse" that rates a conservative NM 7 by PSA/DNA, thoughtfully placed parallel to his left leg as not to impede upon the artist's image and maximize the overall aesthetics. The card is graded a 2, but again, the visual appeal transcends the pedestrian grade with evenly rounded corners and no significant surface liabilities. A wonderful piece of baseball history and a fitting tribute to a true diamond legend whose life was tragically cut short but whose legacy will live on forever!