Babe Ruth 100th Anniversary Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/12/2014
When Yankee Stadium opened in 1923, the Los Angeles Herald made a deal with Babe Ruth when he hit his first home run in the new stadium, his bat would be presented to the high school home run champion of the Los Angeles area. Well, it didn’t take Ruth long to accomplish the task, homering in the first ever game at the “House That Ruth Built.” The bat was awarded to Victor Orsatti by the Herald on June 7, 1923, and likely just after the bat presentation, Orsatti was presented with this 14-1/8” high trophy cup for being Player of the Year in the Los Angeles area. The gold nameplate reads “VICTOR ORSATTI Captain All Star Baseball Team Most Home Runs Most Valuable Player – 1923 – From Evening Herald News and Babe Ruth.” The 5-1/4” wooden base holds the attractive cup and the entire trophy in tremendous condition. While being presented with Ruth’s own home run bat and this cup as Most Valuable Player in an entire city was certainly a highlight of the young Orsatti’s life, young Victor also palyed college football at USC, who played for a year there with actor John Wayne. Orsatti also forged a very nice path of his own becoming one of Hollywood’s most desirable talent agent. He is the agent who negotiated Judy Garland’s contract for the Wizard of Oz, and was also the agent for stars such as Betty Grable, Edward G. Robinson, Frank Capra, Margaret O'Brien and three-time Gold Medal Olympic skater Sonja Henie. Orsatti was instrumental in bring Henie from the skating rink to Hollywood and making her the highest paid actress at that time. As mentioned earlier, the trophy is a tremendous condition, with the usual toning wear and some light wear on the felt bottom. This is one of many awards Orsatti likely won during his long and storied career on and off the sports field, but the only trophy presented by Babe Ruth – a virtual one of a kind item.