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Babe Ruth was deathly ill from throat cancer—although no one was using the word “cancer,” not even the press—when he made a final visit to Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948, in observance of the ballpark’s twenty-fifth anniversary. His jersey was being retired, a well-deserved and lasting tribute to a singular baseball legend. Nat Fein was in attendance with his Speed Graphic camera, and in the locker room he watched two men help Ruth into his uniform. “He was too weak at that time to tie his own shoes,” Fein recalled.
When Ruth was introduced, with 49,641 standing and applauding, Fein followed behind while the Babe walked slowly to home plate. Shocked by Ruth’s emaciated face, Fein preferred photographing Ruth from behind, all the better to capture the famous “3” on his jersey. This photograph appeared in papers throughout the country and won Fein a Pulitzer Prize in 1949.
Babe Ruth padecía un grave cáncer de garganta (aunque nadie pronunciaba la palabra “cáncer”, ni siquiera la prensa) cuando hizo su última visita al Estadio Yankee el 13 de junio de 1948, en ocasión del vigésimo quinto aniversario del parque. Ese día retirarían su camiseta, un merecido y perdurable homenaje a una singular leyenda del béisbol. Nat Fein estaba presente con su cámara Speed Graphic, y en los vestidores observó cómo dos hombres ayudaban a Ruth a ponerse su uniforme. “Ya para ese tiempo estaba tan débil que no podía ni amarrarse los zapatos”, recordó Fein.
Cuando presentaron a Ruth ante 49,641 personas aplaudiendo de pie, Fein lo siguió en su lento caminar hacia el plato. Impresionado por el semblante demacrado del Babe, Fein optó por retratarlo de espaldas, y así captar el famoso “3” de su camiseta. Esta foto apareció en los periódicos de todo el país y le ganó a Fein un Premio Pulitzer en 1949.
