Approachable despite his deity status, Babe Ruth almost never begrudged an autograph request or an opportunity to be the center of attention which, invariably, he was. Informal and cordial with the masses, the “Bambino” had a serious side, as well. In a business capacity, Ruth endorsed this 1944 contract. As bold as you’ll ever see in the circles of Ruth autographs, this keepsake is a telling reminder that Ruth defined baseball, clung to its amenities and never stopped loving the game.

While Ruth was content with his tape-measure home runs (and their frequency), as well as with the millions of adoring fans that followed, he longed to be taken seriously as he offered his own analysis of the game and its players. Specifically, Ruth’s ultimate desire was to manage a big league club and while he assumed he was being groomed for that role through years of service and empty promises, the call never came. Instead, he was limited to on-air commentary (network “endorsements,” if you will) in exchange for monetary stipends. The title character in “The Adventures of Babe Ruth,” he took to the airwaves in 1934 and offered baseball nuggets for NBC affiliates. He also “authored” ghostwritten coverage of the 1934 World Series. Ten years later, NBC again enlisted Ruth, who decorated the offered document with an incredibly potent signature. Composed on an 8-1/2 x 11” sheet of typing paper, the contract is dated “June 26, 1944” and details an agreement for Ruth to “render professional services” for a segment entitled “Babe Ruth in Person,” which aired in three weekly 15-minue segments. Acceding to the proposition (as always), Ruth signed “George H Ruth” in black-ink steel tip fountain pen. Appealing is both its “formal” variation from “Babe” signatures and its stunning strength and clarity, this Ruth scripting warrants every bit of (“9-10”) assessment. Most full name variations were rendered "G.H. Ruth," making this full "George H. Ruth" endorsement a scarce example, indeed. That observation, coupled with the signature strength, elevate this heirloom to the uppermost echelon in terms of Ruth pennings. The thin stock sheet, meanwhile, remains crisp with normal horizontal compacting folds. Full photo LOA from JSA.