The Sultan of Swat, George Herman Ruth, selects lumber from the Yankees bat rack in this stunning Type I photo from Wide World. As if illuminated by the baseball gods for this very image, Ruth's hulking frame emerges into the sunlight on April 14, 1931 - Opening Day in the Bronx before a capacity crowd reported by the New York Times to be 70,000 strong. Behind the Bambino his teammates remain in shadow, an appropriate metaphor for just how convincingly the greatest slugger in the game separated himself from all who came before. Soon after this image was captured Ruth would blast his first home run of the 1931 campaign, taking Red Sox reliever Ed Durham deep in the 7th inning before his Yankees won their home opener by a score of 6-3. 8" x 10" fresh to the hobby photo presents beautifully with white borders surrounding Ruth's likeness. Some creasing is present to both top corners and a very small area has chipped away from the left border. What appears to be adhesive residue remains at the bottom edge, likely related to affixing the paper caption to verso. Verso display's credit stamping from the Associated Press, with the original paper caption included and secured to the photo with clear tape. A significant original news service photograph, authenticated and encapsulated as a Type I photo by PSA/DNA.