O/T Ruth And A Kid With A Notebook
 

This is way off-topic, but since everybody is lying low waiting for this weekend's REA fireworks. I just thought I would throw this question out there. This is not my pic and I actually found it on eBay, but what do you think is inside the binder/notebook the kid is holding??? Autographs? Signed tobacco/Goudey cards? Calculus exam? The kid seems to have something on his ear like a pen/pencil and doesn't seem all that impress with the Bambino (as if he has seen Ruth close-up at least a dozen times), and Ruth has the same expression I have when I show-up to work every Monday morning :(.

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Here is a wider view of the pic. My impression is, Ruth is on his way to the field when someone called-out his name for a quick Kodak moment. The kid is obviously skipping school and failing calculus; while those two binders contain hundreds of signed tobacco cards. One for the National league, another for the American league. They are currently collecting dust in someones attic.

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Lovely Day...

Kid works at the stadium selling programs or scorecards (that is what he has with him) - he has been around Ruth before, so he's not too starstruck...my guess.

Cheers,
Blair

its Ruth's kid, Johnny, a geek who hated baseball and was stuck with Dad at the ballpark on a Saturday cuz Mom was getting her hair done. So Johnny brought his schoolwork with him to keep from getting bored. Ruth is obviously upset at his wife that he's stuck babysitting while trying to get in batting practice before the game and is now on his way to get young Johnny a hotdog at the concessions.

my take
 

no matter what the real story - this is one helluva post to break up my Monday afternoon at work.

notebook
 

His notebook has a 1930 Goudey Ruth schedule in it....

I think that is Ruth's intern from NYU . This kids grandson,Darren, went on to become an NYU intern for Kramerica Industries.

It could be a teenage Little Ray Kelly.

nm

Just to add a little bit more info. and since I'm obviously bored.

This pic has some writing on the back that states "the last time Ruth played ball in Crosley field." If this is true, then the picture was taken on Tuesday May 28th, 1935. Ruth batted third and went 0 for 2 with a walk and a run scored and played an error free left field (he was taken-out for a pinch batter/runner?). Alas, the Braves lost the game 13 to 4.

What I can't figure-out from the pic is the fact that a few days before, the first major league night game had been played on Crosley field. The lighting was provided by 632 permanent lamps (1,500 watts each). The 632 lamps were installed on eight, 130 foot steel towers by General Electric. One of the towers should be in the pic, but it is not noticeable to my eyes.

Here is a pic from the first night game at Crosley Field (notice the tower in the left field section).

Lovely Day...

Iggy,

Crosley Field, in Cincinnati, not Crosby Field, correct?

Yes, I meant Crosley field in Cincinnati. Sorry about that, my proof reader was on a lunch break. Thanks for the correction.

Lovely Day...

If this picture is from 1935, Little Ray Kelly would have been 17 at the time of the photo. I don't know what he looked like as a teenager, but if there's a kid following around the Babe all by himself it's probably Little Ray Kelly.