Baseball has always inspired passion among those who play and those who observe, and emotions run highest whenever one of the game's rules is in question. A famous illustration of this phenomenon occurred on August 1, 1920, when Babe Ruth and his Yankees faced off at Comiskey Park in Chicago against the White Sox and "Shoeless Joe" Jackson. Ruth was dazzling the American League during this period in the 1920 season, and a tremendous group of Chicago fans turned out to see him play. In the fourth inning, the Babe launched a fly ball directly into the overflow crowd, and Jackson pursued it. After disappearing into the horde for a moment, Jackson emerged from the throng of spectators holding a baseball, and claimed he'd caught it to rob Ruth of a hit. At this point, exactly what one imagines would happen did in fact take place: furious, loud and hyper-animated conversations between players, managers and officials ensued all around the field. At the end of it all, the "Out" call stood. The Yankees' momentum stalled when Ruth trudged back to the dugout, and the White Sox took a disputed 3-0 victory.

Presented here are two compelling relics of this controversy's aftermath. The pair includes:

New York Yankees Typewritten Protest Letter - Directed to American League President Ban Johnson and dated August 3, 1920, this missive chronicles the events of the disputed call and makes the Yankees' case that Jackson's "catch" violated ground rule terms. The two-page letter by an unidentified writer appears on Yankees letterhead, and is unsigned. The fully legible pages show moderate evidence of handling, and a penciled filing notation appears in the left-hand margin of the first page.

Official Comiskey Park Score Book - This fragile and well-worn game day publication carries a notation in ink, "August 1," in the top margin of its front cover. Inside, the piece is neatly scored for the controversial Yankees-White Sox contest on that date. Significantly, Babe Ruth's hit total for the game is marked "0" in the scoring grid.

Years later, Joe Jackson conceded in an interview that he hadn't really caught Ruth's fly ball, and that his rival should have been awarded a ground rule double. Even though many people suspected as much at the time of the disputed call, plenty of anger and frustration were expended on both sides of the matter. These tangible survivors of the controversy provide a fascinating illustration of the turmoil, and afford a truly amazing perspective of a singular Ruth-Jackson encounter.

Goldin Auctions will be donating 5% of the winning bid price of this lot and all lots in this auction to the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum.

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