Lot # 175: 1920s Babe Ruth Real Photo Postcard at Hot Springs

Category: Baseball Postcards

Starting Bid: $500.00

Bids: 11 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Summer, 2021 Premier Auction",
which ran from 8/9/2021 9:00 PM to
8/28/2021 9:00 PM



Extremely interesting postcard featuring Babe Ruth and two ladies, posed outside a dwelling of some sort, ostensibly in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Some research into this photograph yields some further information - and additional photos, taken at the same location, not only of Ruth, but of other subjects, including ballplayers.  The location of the photo was actually McLeod's Amusement Park, also known as Happy Hollow, which was located in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Several Major League teams, including the Boston Red Sox, trained in Hot Springs.  The dwelling in front of which they are posed served as the backdrop for other photos of other subjects, including ballplayers.

The women in the photo have been identified as Ruth's then-wife Helen, and Edna Bancroft, the wife of Phillies Hall of Famer Dave Bancroft.  In fact, on one website, a comment indicates that the photo was taken by Bancroft himself, evidently in Hot Springs despite the fact that his ballclub trained in St. Petersburg.  Since the Red Sox permitted players to begin bringing their wives to Spring Training beginning in 1917, the photo was likely taken between 1917 and 1919, despite the misinformation on the grading label.

The card has been assigned a grade of VG 3 by SGC, due to a surface indentation visible in Helen Ruth's coat.  The corners are strong, surface clean, and the card is postally unused, an interesting document and one of many, many photos of Ruth taken out of uniform in interesting situations.

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