As the baseball world mourned the premature ending of Lou Gehrig’s spectacular career (and the certainty of his tragic fate), the New York Yankees held tear-jerking ceremonies on Lou Gehrig Day, a July 4, 1939 tribute in which Gehrig gave his famed “Luckiest Man” speech. Elsewhere that day, the Detroit Tigers did battle against the Cleveland Indians at Briggs Stadium. While those combatants were already a distant 15 games behind the front-running Bronx Bombers, 56,272 Tigers fans packed the storied edifice. The scene is captured in this vintage panoramic photograph. Framed to 38-3/4 x 10-1/4”, the four-panel black-and-white stadium scene measures nearly 35 x 5-3/4” and is placed on a period matte. While the original glass has been removed from the worn period wood framing, the overall presentation of this Motor City event is still captivating. A handwritten declaration “July 4th, 1940, Attendance 57,633” is centrally placed on the matte beneath the portrayal. This was errantly written, as details and line scores on the center field scoreboard date the event to July 4, 1939.

Frames included with lots: while we make every effort to protect the frames included in these lots during pre-auction storage and post-auction shipping, we are not responsible for any damage to the frames themselves, and no refunds will be given due to frame damage.