Lot # 672: Extremely Rare 1920s Underwood & Underwood Babe Ruth SGC POOR 1

Exceedingly rare circa 1920s Underwood & Underwood "exhibit-style" card featuring New York Yankees Hall of Famer Babe Ruth. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of only three surviving examples of this postcard, making it one of the most elusive of all Babe Ruth promotional pieces. The card captures the legendary "Bambino" on the field in a follow-through swing pose. The photographer's credit "U&U N.Y." appears in the lower left and the lettering "Babe Ruth - Outfielder New York .AM. L" is printed along the lower right. It is interesting to note this card features the same image of Ruth on the front that was used to produce his 1924 W-UNC and 1926 W511 cards. Although labeled by SGC as from the "1920s," the card is recognized as being from 1926 by many advanced collectors. The card (3-3/8 x 5-3/8 inches) presents with a crisp, clear photograph, honest corner wear, and light creases. Graded POOR 1 by SGC due to pencil writing along the entire blank reverse, which represents the names of the Yankees roster from 1926. As a point of reference, the last example of this particular card sold at public auction for $27,450 in October 2024. Few cards of Ruth date from the 1920s. This is an outstanding, fascinating, and extremely rare Babe Ruth card, the first example of its kind that we can recall offering, and one that would be an extremely important highlight in even the most advanced collection. This is a tremendous Babe Ruth item!