Spring 2020 Premium Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/20/2020
1930 was a historic year for Babe Ruth. Already a six-time World Series champion with both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, Ruth was the American League MVP in 1923 and an 11-time home run champion. After tough negotiations with Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, who initially offered The Bambino a one-year $70,000 deal, the same annual salary Ruth had in his previous three-year contract, Ruth was able to parlay his success into a then-record-breaking two-year contract at $80,000 per year. This was a compromise as Ruth had been seeking $85,000 and his new salary was nearly 2 ½ times greater than the next highest paid player.
In today’s money Ruth’s salary would be worth roughly $1,236,000, which in today’s game would certainly be a bargain. Offered here is one of the payroll checks paid out to Ruth during the 1930 season. This check, dated “June 16th, 1930.” was paid in the amount of $7,234.09 that covers Ruth’s pay period from June 1 – June 15, 1930. The very desirable “George H. Ruth” signature is in bold black pen on the back beneath the ledger. There were no taxes taken out of the $7,345.41 payment and there were four deductions for “Mrs. Ruth’s expenses:” (travel) totaling $111.22.
The front of the check has the bold signatures of Yankees’ owner Jacob Ruppert and General Manager Ed Barrow. Both signatures have been signed in black pen with Ruppert’s appearing on the “PRESIDENT” line and Barrow’s on the “COUNTERSIGNATURE” line. The check number is “1225” boldly stamped in red and was drawn from “Manufacturers Trust Company Yorkville Bank Office 1511 Third Avenue Corner 85th Street New York”. The check displays a vertical center fold with bank punches and ink stamping. This check has been encapsulated by PSA/DNA (84125972) and has been graded a NM-MT 8.
Also accompanying this historic check is a December 21, 1959 issue of Sports Illustrated, which features a story on “The Babe Ruth Papers” that starts on page 111 and includes an image of a similar check from the 1930 season from the pay period of May 16 – May 31. That appears on page 116.