This dramatic photograph was taken on June 13, 1948, at Yankee Stadium (the house that Ruth built).  It was the 25th anniversary of the stadium and the day the Babe's number was retired.  Ruth, thin and frail as a result of a long illness, emerged from the dugout into "the caldron of sound he must have known better than any other man."  Everyone knew then, as he must have known himself, that The Babe had worn his old uniform for the last time.  He died only two months later on August 16, 1948.   The famed number 3 will never again be worn by a Yankee player.  The Babe Bows Out won a Pulitzer Prize for photographer Nat Fein.  This magnificent photograph is featured in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Smithsonian Institute. Quotes by W.C. Hines, U.S. Sun (1948).

These prints are made directly available by the Estate of Pulitzer Prize photographer Nat Fein, which is the sole holder of Fein's original photographic negatives. It should be noted that there are some online merchants selling unlicensed and poorly mass produced copies of the Babe Bows Out, while others falsely claim their Nat Fein photos are made from the original negative. Many of these merchants utilize popular auction and shopping websites, that due to the large volume of sellers they have, cannot monitor all their merchants for fraud or copyright infringement. 

All prints on this site are guaranteed to be individually produced from Fein's film negatives and were either scanned to make stunning exhibition quality archival digital prints or are expertly developed traditionally in a darkroom on silver gelatin fiber base paper. They are collectible fine art pieces of the highest quality and come with a Letter of Authenticity from the Estate of Nat Fein. On August 15th, 2010 Memory Lane Auctions in Tustin California, sold a vintage Babe Bows Out 8x10 print with a letter of authenticity from the Fein estate for $40,272 (Lot # 5). About ten years earlier on October 10th, 2000, the Nat Fein Estate, through Christie's, (NY), sold an 8x10 vintage print of the Babe Bows Out for $11,163, Lot # 112, Sale Code # 9484).

Learn how you can help to have Major League Baseball retire Babe Ruth's number 3. Visit the official Babe Ruth Family Website at TheTrueBabeRuth.com to sign an online petition to have Ruth's number retired throughout baseball. Operated by Babe Ruth's Granddaughter Linda Ruth Tosetti, the site is very informative and  a must for Babe Ruth fans and baseball historians. 

To read Nat Fein's account of the sad event when he photographed Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium, check out the book The Fein Story Behind the Pictures by David Nieves. Book Now Available Here.

New Babe Ruth Exhibit With Nat Fein's Pulitzer Photo Opens at the Baseball Hall of Fame

Nat Fein's estate manager David Nieves and Cal Ripken Jr. at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Ruth exhibit at Cooperstown. Photo courtesy of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The new Babe Ruth exhibit at Cooperstown opened Friday June 13, 2014 during the 66th anniversary of Fein's Pulitzer photo.
The exhibit features the iconic photo displayed next to Ruth's retired uniform worn in the Fein picture.
The Babe Ruth uniform was set up to replicate Fein's Pulitzer photo. Even the folds in the uniform were made to match the photograph.

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The Babe Bows Out by Nat Fein on the cover of Time's History's Greatest Images (The World's 100 Most Influential Photographs)


Hard cover released October 2012

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To Hear Babe Ruth's Speech during Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium on April 27, 1947 Click Here

Pulitzer Babe Ruth Photo by Nat Fein