Babe Ruth was one of the first great celebrities of the 20th century, a physical embodiment of the spirit of the Roaring ‘20’s. As the premier slugger in baseball history, The Babe quickly became notorious for his tape measure home runs and extravagant personality off the diamond. Coated in furs, with gorgeous women on each arm, Ruth made sure he enjoyed every second of his semi-charmed life. Growing up in Baltimore and stowed away at the St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, Ruth was cloistered away from his family, friends, and home, with baseball his only love. It made perfect sense when Ruth, who joined the Yankees at the age of 25 in 1920, basked in the adulation of his throngs of loyal fans.

     In Ruth’s first season in New York, the slugger with a boyish smile broke his own record for home runs in a season by 25 blasts, lifting the record from 29 to 54 in 142 short games. He raised the bar again the following season, crushing 59 home runs while feasting on the new, live ball. In 1927, Ruth elevated the record once more, reaching the 60 home run plateau that would not be touched again until Roger Maris and his magical summer of 1961.

     Ruth retired after the 1935 season, a laborious effort spent in the city he began his career in with the Boston Braves. In 1936, Ruth was named as a part of the inaugural class of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, joining all-time greats Honus Wagner, Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson as the first men to be enshrined in Cooperstown. Sadly, the remainder of Ruth’s life was marred by poor health and the disease that would end his life. He was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in 1946, battling the disease furiously until he succumbed to its evils in 1948. In his last public appearance, Ruth appeared at Yankee Stadium, a waif-thin ghastly mirage of the former home run king.

     This check is from the Chase National Bank of New York. It was signed on October 24th, 1945. Ruth signed the check, which is for $50 and made out to cash, in black fountain pen. He signed the check twice, once on the front and once on the back. He wrote his signature using his birth name of George Herman Ruth, penning his name as “GH Ruth” in his elegant script. This check is in excellent condition, save for cancellation hole punches that do not impact either signature. There is a small bit of bleeding on Ruth’s signature on the front of the check, but it only affects the “G” in “GH Ruth”. Both signatures project abundantly well, making this memento tremendously worthy of carrying the iconic signature of the greatest baseball player to ever take to the diamond. This item has been encapsulated by PSA/DNA (83978967) and has been deemed authentic.

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