Personal check, 8.25 x 3.25, filled out in another hand and signed by Ruth, “G. H. Ruth,” payable to Saks Fifth Avenue for $70.00, May 5, 1942. Double cloth matted and framed with a moving photo of Ruth’s final appearance at Yankee Stadium, to an overall size of 21.5 x 24. In 1942, Ruth was asked to play a part (as himself, in his athletic prime) in the film The Pride of the Yankees, a film biography of Lou Gehrig, who had died from ALS in June 1941. Ruth needed to lose a great deal of weight to play the role, and with a vigorous workout schedule he had lost 40 pounds. He did a respectable job of acting in a bit part, but the strict hours of filming did not suit his night life. He caught a bad cold (he had caught frequent colds his whole life), which developed into pneumonia. In fine condition, with a light vertical crease through portion of opening stroke of signature, slight showthrough from stamps on reverse and cancellation holes and one stamp to body, none affecting the clean signature area. COA Steve Grad/PSA/DNA and R&R COA. Oversized. Featured collection item.
