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Babe Dahlgren is best known as the man who replaced Lou Gehrig to end the Iron Horse’s consecutive games played streak at 2,130. Dahlgren was much more than that. He was a big league All Star who tallied more than 1,000 hits.

Later in life Dahlgren was the target of autograph collectors who sought the signature of the man who replaced Gehrig. A willing signer through the mail, Dahlgren enjoyed a 12-year career with eight different ball clubs.

Here is an autographed original Play Ball card from 1939, the year Babe Dahlgren replaced the Yankee captain. The image shows a 27-year old Dahlgren following through on his right-handed swing.

On May 2, 1939 Dahlgren’s name was in the lineup at first base as Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games was snapped.

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Elsworth “Babe” Dahlgren signed his first pro contract as a teenageer. He spent the next four seasons playing in the minors for the Red Sox organization.

On April 16, 1935 Dahlgren made his Major League debut for the big club in Boston. Draper-Maynard Athletic Goods signed him to this endorsement deal three months later with this contract dated July 15, 1935.

Per the deal, Dahlgren received “baseball gloves or mitts made to his specifications, to be billed at $1 each”. In return Dahlgren agrees to endorse the company by allowing them “the use of his name on gloves, mitts or other advertising material…”.

Dahlgren signed the bottom of the contract with a big bold signature. The piece shows a nice early autograph of Babe Dahlgren.

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Babe Dahlgren originally broke in with the Boston Red Sox in 1935. This document, dated January 28, 1936 assigns the 24-year old first baseman to Boston’s minor league system. It is signed at the bottom by Hall of Fame second baseman Eddie Collins, then a Red Sox executive.

Collins’ signature is relatively available due to his role as Boston executive from 1933-1946. However documents with a tie to a historically significant player are in high demand. On May 2, 1939, Dahlgren replaced Lou Gehrig at first base, snapping Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak at 2,130. Coincidentally, Collins and Gehrig both attended Columbia University.

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As head of the Yankees’ from 1932-1947, George Weiss intimately knew the inner workings of the team’s farm system and its minor leaguers. Here he writes to super scout Joe Devine about various personnel issues. First among them in the letter was Babe Dahlgren who had yet to play a game for the Yankees.

Weiss writes that Hall of Fame manager Joe McCarthy, “wants to be protected to bring back Dahlgren if anything happens to Gehrig” who was in the midst of a consecutive games streak that would reach 2130 contests. The letter is dated April 21, 1937, just three months after the Yankees purchased Dahlgren from the Red Sox and two years before Dahlgren replaced Lou Gehrig to snap the streak.

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Weiss who served as the Yankee general manager from 1947-1960 signed many contracts, documents, and letters, making his signature common. The foreshadowing of Babe Dahlgren serving as eventual replacement for the Iron Horse makes this letter rather remarkable.

The letter also mentions pitcher Spud Chandler, the eventual AL MVP in 1943, and Tommy Henrich who went on to play in five All Star games. Neither player had appeared in a single Major League game at the time Weiss signed the bottom of this correspondence.

During his time with the Yankees from 1932-1960, Weiss helped the team to 19 American League pennants and 15 World Series titles. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.

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Babe Dahlgren gained baseball immortality when he became forever linked to Lou Gehrig by starting in place of the Iron Horse on May 2, 1939.

In the collection is a photo signed by Gehrig as he joins forces with Hall of Fame catcher Bill Dickey to argue a call with umpire Cal Hubbard, the only man inducted into both the baseball and football Halls of Fame.

The leading vote-getter in All Century Team voting in 1999, Gehrig was also the baseball writers’ choice for greatest first baseman ever in their 1969 vote.

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Many baseball fans know that Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak was halted when Babe Dahlgren’s name was penciled onto the Yankee starting lineup in May of 1939. What most folks don’t know is how Gehrig’s streak began in 1925.

Light-hitting Pee Wee Wanninger was the starting shortstop for New York on June 1, 1925. Late in the game Yankee skipper Miller Huggins decided to pinch hit for Wanninger and told the 21-year old Gehrig to get a bat. With that pinch-hitting appearance, Gehrig started on a streak that would last until Dahlgren filled in for the Iron Horse in 1939.

Wanninger is linked to another consecutive games played streak of note.

Cal Ripken holds the all-time record for consecutive games played with 2,632. Second on the list is Gehrig with 2,130; third is Everett Scott with 1,307. Wanninger is tied to both men behind Ripken.

In the 1925 season a 32-year old Scott was slipping at shortstop and at the plate. When Yankee manager Miller Huggins saw fit to bench Scott and end the streak, he turned to the rookie Wanninger. On May 5th, 1925 Wanninger started in place of Scott to end what is still the third longest run in MLB history.

Four weeks later Huggins called on 22-year old Lou Gehrig to pinch hit for Wanninger in what would be the start of Gehrig’s own streak.

In the collection is Wanninger’s player’s contract for the 1925 season in which he helped stop and start two of baseball’s most prolific consecutive games streaks. The front page is also signed by Hall of Fame executive Ban Johnson.

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As stated in the previous piece’s description, Pee Wee Wanninger is the man for whom Lou Gehrig pinch hit to begin the Iron Horse’s consecutive games played streak.

Shown here is the signature page for Wanninger’s 1925 player’s contract. Hall of Fame Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert signed the contract as club president, while the player signed “PL Wanninger“. The document is signed on February 2/3, 1925. The front of the contract is also signed by American League President and Hall of Famer Ban Johnson.

This piece represents a historic link to two of the longest consecutive games streaks in the history of the game, those of Gehrig and the man whose streak he broke — Everett Scott. Wanninger and Dahlgren are bookends to Gehrig’s streak.