Original 1931 Jackie Mitchell Baseball Contract Photo Babe Ruth Lou Gehrig

This listing is for an original 1931 photo of Jackie Mitchell, "the girl who struck out Babe Ruth." This is an extremely rare photo which shows the 17-year old Jackie signing a contract to be a pitcher for the Chattanooga Lookouts men's baseball team. The Lookouts are a minor league class AA farm team in the New York Yankees organization. According to the Baseball Hall Of Fame there are only about a dozen original photos of Jackie and this is the only one in existence of hew signing this historic contract. Also in the photo are Bert Niehoff, manager; Joe Engle, club proxy; and Dr. Joe Mitchell, Jackie's father.

On April 2, 1931 the New York Yankees stopped in Chattanooga for an exhibition game on their way home from spring training. Jackie came into the game in the middle of the first inning and proceeded to strike out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back! The story immediately made national headlines. A few days later, Baseball Commissioner Landis voided Mitchell's contract, claiming that baseball was "too strenuous" for a woman.

The photo measures 3.8" x 4.6" and some of the facial features have been lightly retouched to make them reproduce when converted to newspaper halftone. This can be easily removed with a damp cotton swab. There are some notes on the back indicating the people in the photo. Included with the photo are the seller's correspondence with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. as well as several photocopies of the photo. The Hall Of Fame only has a few original photos of Jackie Mitchell, and knows of very few others that have survived. The photo is in very good condition with a little wear on the edges. We have a very low opening bid and no reserve price so don't miss your chance to win this rare piece of baseball memorabilia!