June 13, 1948, was an overcast day in the Bronx. The gray skies above Yankee Stadium
reflected the great sadness felt by the huge crowd gathered inside the legendary
ballpark. Babe Ruth, gravely ill with the cancer that would strike him down in 2
months, stood for one last time on the field as the Yankees honored him with a
ceremony retiring his uniform number. Out of all the photographers present on that
memorable day, just one man captured the essence of the event in a single image.
Nat Fein of the New York Herald Tribune knelt behind Ruth, aimed his trusty Speed
Graphic camera and captured a priceless moment in American sports history. “Babe
Ruth Bows Out” ran on the front page the next day and later became the first sports
photograph to earn a Pulitzer Prize. Fein was asked why he broke a fundamental rule
of photography and took the shot without showing Ruth’s face. “The retiring of No. 3
was the story. You didn’t need to see the Babe’s face to recognize him. You’d recognize
his great hulk and spindly legs anyplace. No one else had that particular angle, so it
was a little something different.”



Nat Fein was most certainly a man with “a little something different.” The 85-year old
dynamo was still doing his own darkroom work and living life to the fullest right up
until his sudden death in 2001. Even into his later years, Nat displayed the same
youthful passion and enthusiasm he showed when starting his career at the New York
Herald Tribune in 1933. During his 33 years with the Tribune, Nat documented all
aspects of life in New York City in beautiful black and white. He documented many
NYC landmarks that are no longer extent, but live on in his signature photographs.
Fein also photographed many of the leading figures of the 20th century . . . Harry
Truman, Bobby Kennedy, Douglas MacArthur, Mickey Mantle and numerous others.
He seemed to have a wonderful story for each picture he took. “I had to cover Albert
Einstein one time,” he recalled, “and I really wanted to get something different. It was
income tax time and I had a tax form in my pocket, and I thought it would be really
great to have a picture of Einstein figuring out his taxes. Well, I asked him to hold the
form for me, but he got very angry about the whole thing and I was forced to leave
the premises.”



Nat Fein’s estate photographs start at $425. For the stories behind some of Nat’s
most famous photographs the book “The Fein Story Behind the Pictures” by David
Nieves, director of The Nat Fein Estate is available for $30.

More Info

Gallery Show Online - Full Count: Baseball Images by Nat Fein and Others

Gallery Show Online - Nat Fein Prints