Card Statistics
Babe Ruth is presented in Helmar’s T3 series during his brief final season with the Boston Nationals, shown in an unusual fielding scene at a base. Ruth, at right, leans sharply away from the bag as another Boston player bends over the base with glove extended, giving the composition the feeling of a play unfolding rather than a conventional portrait. The cream Braves uniforms, blue-and-red caps, boldly striped stockings, and “BRAVES” lettering provide a strong Boston identity. The horizontal format gives the two figures room to interact and makes this one of the more narrative compositions in the series.
The original artwork was painted by Natalia Valiukavich in watercolor. She handles the two pale uniforms with warm cream, ochre, gray, and cool blue washes, using the bent and twisting poses to create a strong rhythm across the picture. Ruth’s dark blue stockings and cap contrast with the red-and-blue striping of the other player, while the white base forms a bright focal point between them. The open green field and expansive clouded sky are kept comparatively simple, allowing the awkward, almost comic movement around the bag to dominate the scene.
George Herman “Babe” Ruth joined the Boston Braves in 1935 after fifteen seasons with the New York Yankees, returning to the city where his major-league career had begun more than two decades earlier. By then Ruth was one of the most famous athletes in the world, holder of the career home-run record and the central figure in the transformation of baseball into a power-hitting game. His time with the Braves was brief, but it provided the final chapter of an extraordinary playing career.
Ruth’s last great afternoon came on May 25, 1935, at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, when he hit three home runs in a single game. The third was the 714th and final home run of his career. He retired shortly afterward, ending a career in which he had also been an outstanding pitcher before becoming the most celebrated slugger the game had yet known. His 714 home runs remained the major-league record for nearly four decades.
Numbered #179, the Ruth card is especially distinctive within the T3 checklist because it depicts him not in the familiar Yankees uniform but as a member of the Boston Braves during his final season. The paired fielding action and horizontal format give the card a very different character from the more iconic Ruth batting portraits elsewhere in the series, while the 1935 setting gives it particular historical interest as a representation of the closing months of his career.
Original watercolor artwork by Natalia Valiukavich.
- Description: Horizontal card, getting back to base
- Team: Boston Braves
- Population (# Sold): 14
- First Date Sold: 2023-04-19
- Latest Date Sold: 2026-07-07
- Card Status: Active
- # Sold in past year: 4
- Highest Auction: $ 143.00
- Average Auction Result: $ 64.16
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Visit these teammates on the Boston Braves in the T3-Helmar series
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