When Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast Huston purchased the Yankees in 1915, the acquisition of Wally Pipp was the first significant move they made in creating the dynasty that would rule the American League throughout the 1920s. The move paid off, as Pipp would lead the AL in home runs in both the 1916 and 1917 seasons. This marvelous batting image, taken by baseball photographer extraordinaire Charles Conlon, dates from those two seasons in which Pipp was the home run champ. He was the Yankees’ starting first baseman for a decade until June 2, 1925, when legend has it he showed up for the day’s game suffering from a severe headache. After seeing him take two aspirins from the team trainer, manager Miller Huggins told Pipp to sit the game out and substituted Lou Gehrig at first base. And with that, Wally Pipp lost his job as the Yanks starting first baseman, while Lou Gehrig marked the second game of the 2,130 consecutive games he would play. Pipp later remarked, "I took the two most expensive aspirins in history." The front of the image shows beautiful toning and detail and has been cropped. The reverse has the Charles M. Conlon Evening Telegram New York stamp along with “PIPP Yankees” handwritten in pencil. The photograph measures 6.25” x 9.5” and has been encapsulated and graded a Type 1 by PSA.