Anyone Familiar With This "Ruth-esque" Figural?

[BrockJacob]

Initially thought it was broken off a trophy or something but after getting it in hand it feels much too heavy and appears to be solid bronze. Also nowhere on the bottom of the cleats that shows it was ever attached or detached to anything. Bat is missing, but again, no damage to the hand area that shows there was ever even a bat.
The figure definitely appears to be molded after a young Ruth. See the photo of Ruth on the cover of the sheet music from 1919 in the same pose.
So if anybody has seen this figure on a trophy or a statue or any other information it would be appreciated.
Thanks fellas.

[perezfan]

Brock:

The closest I could find is this Batter Figural Trophy (which may or may not be produced from the same mold as yours). At first, I thought the two were different, as the head appears to be looking up more on mine.

But it could just be the difference of the angles from which they were shot.... sort of a parallax view. I have two... a large and a small trophy. The large version is close to Spalding size, and the small one is the size of yours.

Sorry the pics are not more close-up. But if you look at the hand positioning (left palm down/right palm up) and the feet position (right foot up/left foot back and down, with the weight on the toe), it seems to be a potential match. Plus, the right leg is bent, and the left leg is extended back and straight. Also, the diagonal creases on the front of jersey are very similar.

If they are indeed the same, then the bat handle would have been in his left hand, and the bat barrel attached to his right shoe. Perhaps it's just a case of "close but no cigar", but thought I would post these, just to give you a frame of reference.

Hope this is somewhat helpful,
Mark

[perezfan]

In looking again, I can see these are different. Yours is probably modeled after Ruth, and mine are probably generic. Close but no cigar...

Nice piece.... good luck in researching this :cool:

[gnaz01]

Mark,

LOVE the Darktown Battery bank, I've always wanted one of those!!

Greg

[perezfan]

Mark,

LOVE the Darktown Battery bank, I've always wanted one of those!!

Greg

Thanks Greg...

Well, fortunately these do turn up with some frquency, and seem to have come down a little bit in price lately. They are indeed cool, and must have been very well made... most of the surviving originals still seem to be fully functional.

Happy Collecting :)

[BrockJacob]

Thanks Greg...

Well, fortunately these do turn up with some frquency, and seem to have come down a little bit in price lately. They are indeed cool, and must have been very well made... most of the surviving originals still seem to be fully functional.

Happy Collecting :)

Hey hey hey!!! Focus fellas, focus.


Updated the original post with better pictures.

[murphusa]

is it about 13 inches high?

[BrockJacob]

is it about 13 inches high?

No it's much smaller. A little under 6 inches.

[CarltonHendricks]

Initially thought it was broken off a trophy or something but after getting it in hand it feels much too heavy and appears to be solid bronze. Also nowhere on the bottom of the cleats that shows it was ever attached or detached to anything. Bat is missing, but again, no damage to the hand area that shows there was ever even a bat.
The figure definitely appears to be molded after a young Ruth. See the photo of Ruth on the cover of the sheet music from 1919 in the same pose.
So if anybody has seen this figure on a trophy or a statue or any other information it would be appreciated.
Thanks fellas.

Tell ya what...that's a pretty interesting little figural...first of all I don't recall ever seeing one before...and based on the photos it appears bronze....and that would be a game changer...Now our boy Mark Steinberg might pull one out of his hat but I can't think of a single period statue of Ruth...I mean produced when he was in his prime...or even alive...

Based on what I see by the photos I don't think that's a trophy top...It appears to be a statue of Ruth missing the base (and bat)...as for art quality...in my subjective opinion it's not fantastic...but not to bad...the movement...that is the action of the figure is ok not great, sort of trophy art quality...and it appears the person who sculpted it copied that photo of Ruth...Initially I thought the face is shaky as far as a depiction of Ruth but on second thought I think it's alright as the sculptor worked in an impressionistic style...I can't see the lines in the socks too well to know the quality of the definition but seems ok from what I can see...great patina...that is the finish and color...pretty much everything you'd ever want in a patina...overall...I'd say it's a real nice piece..The only thing is you say it appears to have never been mounted...that's the most puzzling thing about it...but it's not the first time I've seen that in a figural...I'm writing this as I wake up having my first coffee so can disavow any of it latter : -)

[BrockJacob]

Thanks for chiming in with your thoughts Carlton. It's definitely had be scratching my head the last couple of days. The minute I saw it I instantly connected it to the image of Ruth on the cover of the sheet music. And I just have this nagging suspicion that I've seen this form somewhere before. It was just too familiar when I saw it. It's driving me crazy.
If anybody can scan through the Halper auction catalog to see if they can spot this figure it would be appreciated. I have the catalog but it's currently boxed up with a bunch of other books and stuff. That auction had an enormous amount of Ruth items. Would be a good place to start a search.
Thanks fellas.

[BrockJacob]

For anybody who was interested/cared, this same Ruth figure was on the "Davega Trophy" presented to Babe in 1921 by the sporting goods company. The trophy is now in the HOF.

[billyb]

Brock,
Great gesture on your part. You should feel very proud. Being able to contribute to the HOF and especially a Ruth artifact, yes, feel very proud. Good job.

[BrockJacob]

Brock,
Great gesture on your part. You should feel very proud. Being able to contribute to the HOF and especially a Ruth artifact, yes, feel very proud. Good job.

Slight misunderstanding there. The trophy Ruth was given is on display in the HOF. The little figure I have, which is sitting next to my desk on a pile of junk mail, just matches the figural from the trophy. Your version is definitely cooler though, so if everybody just wants to run with that story then please proceed....

[billyb]

Brock,
Sorry for the misunderstanding, I do like my versions though.