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Lot # 29: 1922 Lou Gehrig, "Leading the Columbia Attack" Pre-Rookie Football Action Photo

Starting Bid: $25.00

Bids: 51 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "April Collectors Auction 2021",
which ran from 4/8/2021 8:00 PM to
4/24/2021 8:00 PM



Original 1922 action photograph of the Columbia University football team in action at their home ballpark and battling with an unknown opponent. While at first this seems an unassuming action photograph from one of the most mediocre teams of the era, it is of particular importance by the inclusion of the man leading the charge as fullback, blocking for a teammate with the ball, young Henry Louis Gehrig from Columbia who was also a pretty good baseball player. Seen in full uniform, the photograph is clean and crystal clear giving us a great profile shot of Gehrig with his eyes closed, clenching his teeth during impact, but clearly the face of a man known now throughout the world at a glance. While the photo is not really identified, much research has been put into this image and we feel comfortable in our assessment of Gehrig in the mage for several reasons. First, the man has the clear profile of Gehrig himself and when analyzing the known images of Lou while playing for Columbia (of which there are a handful known) the uniform can be matched as perfectly as possible considering the distance. Everything that can be seen in the known images of Gehrig are present on this player, down to the off-colored four square pads on the pants which were only worn by a few players who ran the ball, the sock stripes and belt, all the way to the cleats which are the exact style worn by Gehrig. From an initial glance it certainly looks to be a perfect match in every aspect with the uniform and equipment. Even the style of pants is exact. Second, the Brown Brothers stamp on the back is clearly indicative of the late 1910's-early 1920's, fitting perfectly within the appropriate time period as brown Brothers moved offices in 1915 and stayed in their Broadway office during this time period that Gehrig was playing for Columbia. Third, when analyzing the photo paper used and paper fibers, this photo also matches perfectly to a c. 1922 piece of photography. Unless another guy was playing at Columbia in 1922 that looked exactly like Gehrig, wearing a rare uniform combination that perfectly matched that worn by Lou, this is the baseball Hall of Famer in action during his one and only year playing college football which would make this quite an exciting discovery. While it is unlikely PSA will attribute this photo to Gehrig based on the profile, we will stand behind our research and assessment for the life of the item if it is ever determined to be from the wrong year or other information we have given is incorrect.

Size: 5x7
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 3/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 8/10

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