Rare photo of Babe Ruth and 1915 World Series champion Red Sox up for auction

A rare piece of Boston’s baseball history is up for auction.

An extremely rare photo of baseball legend Babe Ruth and his 1915 World Series champion teammates is up for bidding, Lelands sports memorabilia auction house shared.

The picture shows a slim Bambino standing shoulder to shoulder with 10 of his teammates at the club’s Spring Training facility in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The photo belonged to former Red Sox first basemen Dick Hoblitzell before a family member co-signed it for auction.

1915 was the 20-year-old future MVP’s first full season in the majors after only appearing in five games as a teen in 1914.

“It must be noted there are very few, if any, images of Ruth as a member of the Boston Red Sox that predate the offered photo,” Lelands says. “To the best of our knowledge, no photos of Ruth as a member of the Boston Red Sox in 1914 have ever surfaced. Therefore, the photos taken of Ruth during spring training in 1915 are the earliest images we have of him with the Red Sox.” '

Before Ruth blasted himself into baseball immortality as the Sultan of Swat with the New York Yankees, the southpaw pitcher finished his rookie campaign with 18-8 win-loss record and a 2.44 ERA. In a sign of things to come, Ruth’s four home runs on the season led the team.

The Red Sox would go on to capture their 3rd World Series title by dispatching the Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games in the 1915 Fall Classic.

Bidding for the photo opened at $5, 000 and had eclipsed $24,000 as of Saturday afternoon. The photo is up for bidding here. Bidding closes Saturday night at 10:00 p.m.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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