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Lot Number: 80
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Lot 80
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| Description: Babe Ruth New York Yankees professional model hat c.1920-30s. Navy blue flannel cap features the Yankees iconic overlapping "NY" logo embroidered on the front. Spalding manufacturer's stamp appears faintly on the interior leather sweatband, as does the embroidered, script style player designation "Ruth G.H." A remnant of an additional tag appears to the left of Ruth's name. Heavy usage wear is evident including perspiration induced soiling throughout the interior, general soiling on the exterior and a couple of areas of deterioration on the seam of the bill, which could be easily restored if so desired, but was left intact to preserve the historical integrity of the hat. Dating from the height of Ruth's indomitable reign as baseball's greatest and most celebrated star, the hat is believed to be one of only three surviving Babe Ruth New Yankees game used hats known to exist. Having descended within the family of a Cleveland area tavern owner who obtained it personally from Ruth, the hat is accompanied by a vintage slip of paper bearing the notation "Wally C. Morgan Babe Ruth cap" in an unknown hand that has been kept inside the cap for decades. Utilized in an era long before the advent of batting helmets, hats such as these saw action both in the field and at the plate. They were often kept for multiple seasons, and as such, generally garnered more personal care than other tools of the trade considered more disposable. Next to a player's glove, perhaps no other item enjoyed a more symbiotic relationship with its owner given the importance of the fit, customization of the bill and extent of wear. Period images often depicted players rolling their hats up and placing them in their uniform pockets, which further increased the rarity of their survival today. Few items in the realm of sports memorabilia could equally capture the essence of American sport. The hat has been cautiously preserved, retaining a look and feel that reaches back to the golden years of baseball, when Ruth was King of the Diamond. In comparison to other Ruth game used equipment pieces, such as bats or possibly even uniforms, the offered hat may well be the rarest of the category given the aforementioned evidence. Includes LOA from Hunt Auctions and a notarized letter of provenance from the family of the original recipient: EX |
| Estimated Price: ($150,000.00-$200,000.00) |
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