Collection of rare baseball photos has Cooperstown calling

Julia Whitaker of Kettering holds 16-by-20 inch prints of Lou Gehrig (left) and Babe Ruth. The pictures were taken by her father, Forrest S. Yantis.

Ron Alvey/Staff Julia Whitaker of Kettering holds 16-by-20 inch prints of Lou Gehrig (left) and Babe Ruth. The pictures were taken by her father, Forrest S. Yantis.

ENLARGE PHOTO

A picture of Mickey Cochrane is personally autographed by Forrest S. Yantis, who took the picture. Cochrane was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.

provided by Julia Whitaker A picture of Mickey Cochrane is personally autographed by Forrest S. Yantis, who took the picture. Cochrane was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Ron Alvey/Staff Julia Whitaker looks through a book of negatives made by her father of baseball players from the 1920s and '30s.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Woman cherishes dad’s photos

Browns GM stands by pick
10:16 a.m.
Volquez to close out the Dragons’ season today
9:04 a.m.
Ask Hal: Dozens of Reds have passed through Dayton
9/6/10
Sports stats: Votto vs. Pujols
9/5/10
Valentino earns Pioneer League honor
9/5/10
> More sports headlines

E-mail this page

By Marc Katz, Staff Writer Updated 8:48 PM Saturday, July 25, 2009

KETTERING — Baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., holds its big inductions ceremony this weekend.

Julia Whitaker of Kettering can see large, oversized baseball photographs and original negatives of former inductees — which include images of several baseball legends, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig — in a box she found under her mother’s bed.

The Hall of Fame would love those as a donation.

“I saw some pictures I’ve never seen before — and most people have never seen,” said Pat Kelly, a picture archivist at the Hall of Fame.

Kelly was able to see some of the images through e-mail. She hasn’t seen all of them, but understands what they represent.

The photos — some of them autographed — were taken by the late Forrest S. Yantis, a Troy insurance salesman who dabbled in photography. He took the photos in the 1920s and ’30s and Whitaker, his daughter, always figured that the 16-by-20 inch pictures stored in an old box under her mother’s bed would stay in the family.

Now, she’s not so sure.

“I’m having a meeting with my family,” Whitaker, 80, said.

On the collectables market, the 100 photos and 70 graflex 4-by-5 negatives, likely are worth thousands.

“I’ve been here 25 years and maybe have seen one collection like this one, and that was a long time ago,” Kelly said.

Keep reading: Woman cherishes father's photos

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Share this article