OUR MUSEUM IN ACTION
WALLY PIPP'S FIRST BASE MITT
You can honor one of baseball’s greatest by helping fund the work that will preserve this symbol of excellence for today’s generation and the next.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Whenever Wally Pipp's name is mentioned, a second name typically follows: Lou Gehrig. Pipp, the longtime first baseman of the New York Yankees, was scratched from the lineup with a headache on June 2, 1925. Gehrig was given the nod and would go on to start the next 2,130 games for the Bronx Bombers.
Pipp's story became a unique tale on availability and an anecdote within the remarkable career of the Iron Horse. But Pipp's legacy is much more than that famous day off.
From 1915 through 1924, Pipp started at first for an entire decade in which he led the American League in home runs twice, never finishing outside the top-20 during that stretch. He trailed only Babe Ruth in RBI for the Yankees in 1923, when the the club won their first of 27 World Championships. Pipp's game was transformational during the end of the Dead Ball Era, as first base became the power-hitting position that baseball has come to know today.
Pipp’s mitt, currently on display in the Museum's Baseball Timeline exhibit, needs additional care and conservation. Your donation can help preserve the history of one of the games early sluggers and the teammate forever linked to Gehrig's incredible career.