DiMaggio’s Debut, Hubbell’s Gem: A 1936 World Series Game 1 Baseball Sent by Umpire George Magerkurth

The 1936 World Series was a changing of the guard. It was the Yankees’ first Series without Babe Ruth, who had retired from the team after 1934, and their first with Joe DiMaggio, and Game 1 at the Polo Grounds is where that new era got its first look. The box score shows it was DiMaggio’s debut game in a World Series, along with Red Rolfe and George Selkirk. But the day belonged to the other dugout. Carl Hubbell won Game 1, holding the Yankees to one run on Selkirk’s home run and seven hits, and the Giants took the opener 6-1 behind their ace. It turned out to be one of only two games the Giants won. The Yankees took the Series in six games, the first of four straight championships for DiMaggio’s teams, capped by an 18-4 rout in Game 2.

What makes this ball special is who sent it. George Magerkurth was working second base that day, and this official National League ball comes with his personal provenance, marked in black ink with the score and game details. A lineup of Hall of Famers took the field in that Series, including Lou Gehrig, DiMaggio, Hubbell, and Mel Ott. Balls taken from the field of play by the umpires themselves are among the best documented ways to trace a World Series artifact, and this one captures the first game of the Series that opened the Yankees’ post-Ruth dynasty