A Hall of Fame Pair: Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig Signed This Martin 00-18

From the Factory, History | April 1, 2026

A Hall of Fame Pair: Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig Signed This Martin 00-18

This Unassuming 1926 00-18 Connects America’s Pastime with One of the Martin Museum’s Most Unexpected Guitars

With MLB Opening Day just behind us and a fresh season underway, baseball is back in the air. The optimism. The rituals. The legends. Every year, Opening Day reminds us how much the game runs on memory as much as momentum.

And sometimes, those memories show up in unexpected places.

At the Martin Museum in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, there’s a 1926 00-18 with an autograph-covered top that looks modest at first glance—spruce top, mahogany back and sides, a slotted headstock, straightline bridge, no pickguard, and even a rope tied on as a makeshift strap. It’s a simple, workmanlike Martin from the 1920s.

But look a little closer at the treble side of the bridge, and you’ll spot something remarkable:

The signatures of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

“It’s one of those things where, as a huge sports fan, it’s really fun to connect those dots,” says Martin Museum and Archives Manager Jason Ahner.

For baseball fans, history buffs, and guitar lovers alike, this instrument does exactly that.

A 1926 Martin At The Center Of A Presidential Campaign

Like many of the most fascinating guitars in the Martin Museum, this one carries a story no one could have predicted when it first left Nazareth.

“So in 1928, Al Smith was running against Herbert Hoover for president,” Jason explains. “He eventually lost, but as the governor of New York, he had a lot of famous friends in New York City. And somehow this guitar—a 1926 00-18—ended up being used as a promotional item.”

Smith’s supporters signed the guitar as part of that campaign moment.

“He had many of those supporters sign it. Most of them were radio entertainers from New York City, but two of them happened to be Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.”

That alone would make the guitar memorable. But the timing makes it even better.

Murderers’ Row, Preserved On A Martin

The late 1920s Yankees lineup has become baseball shorthand for greatness. Even now, nearly a century later, the phrase “Murderers’ Row” still feels larger than life.

“Obviously, the late ’20s into the ’30s were the height of success for the New York Yankees,” Jason says. “That ’28 team had, I think, something like eight Hall of Famers on it—the famous Murderers’ Row lineup. And the two biggest stars in baseball history were Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.”

Their accomplishments alone would have made them legends.

“Babe Ruth held the home run record for decades until Hank Aaron broke it,” Jason notes. “And Lou Gehrig was the Iron Man, playing the most consecutive games until Cal Ripken Jr. eventually broke that streak.”

Ruth was baseball’s thunderbolt—the swagger, the towering home runs, the personality that helped transform the sport into a national spectacle. Gehrig was different: quieter, steadier, relentlessly dependable.

Together, they became one of the most iconic pairings in sports history.

And somehow, both of them ended up signing the top of a Martin 00-18.

A Simple Guitar With An Extraordinary Connection

Part of what makes this instrument so compelling is that it doesn’t look flashy. This isn’t an ornate showpiece or a custom one-off.

It’s a straightforward 00-18 from 1926—the kind of guitar Martin built for working musicians.

That contrast is part of the charm.

One of the most unusual baseball-related artifacts in the Martin collection turns out to be an unassuming guitar with a spruce top and mahogany body. No dramatic visual flourishes. Just a beautifully made Martin that happened to pass through an extraordinary moment in American history.

And it still carries one especially human detail: the rope used as a makeshift strap.

For all the history attached to it, the guitar still feels like a real instrument that moved through real hands and real rooms—not something created for a museum case.

How The Guitar Found Its Way Back To Martin

For Jason, this guitar also represents a personal milestone.

“We acquired that one through a private sale—we purchased it directly from the owner,” he says. “What’s significant to me is that it was the first instrument I acquired after becoming archivist for the company.”

Martin first became aware of the guitar through the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“They already knew about the guitar and had the photo we have here—Babe holding it, with Lou standing next to him,” Jason says. “There’s another guy in the photo, too. It’s not Al Smith—it’s someone who was working for Smith at the time.”

The owner initially reached out, simply looking for information.

“So they knew who owned the guitar and asked if they could put me in contact with him because he was looking for more information about it,” Jason explains. “He reached out, and I shared everything I could find—build date, specs, and other historical details.”

Then the story took an unexpected turn.

“A couple of weeks later, he contacted me again and asked if we’d be interested in purchasing it. We negotiated and eventually bought it.”

Just like that, a campaign guitar signed nearly a century earlier found its way back home to Nazareth.

Maybe The Only One Of Its Kind

Signed Ruth and Gehrig memorabilia certainly exists—baseballs, bats, photographs.

But a guitar?

That’s another story.

“I’m not sure what a baseball or bat signed by Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth goes for,” Jason says. “I know those items are out there. But I’m pretty sure this is the only guitar that both of them signed.”

That’s the moment the guitar’s significance really sinks in.

It’s not just an interesting museum piece—it may be a one-of-one artifact connecting Martin Guitar, presidential politics, New York entertainment culture, and the most famous era in Yankees history.

All through a single instrument.

A Mystery That Still Lingers

One thing Martin hasn’t been able to confirm is exactly how the guitar made its way into the hands of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the first place.

“Back then, Martin didn’t deal directly with customers,” Jason explains. “They sold through dealers. Obviously there was correspondence with people from time to time, but I’ve never found any correspondence between Martin and Al Smith or anyone from his office.”

So the guitar likely passed through a dealer somewhere along the way before becoming part of Smith’s campaign promotion.

That missing link is part of what makes the story intriguing.

Nearly a century later, the guitar still holds a few secrets.

A Perfect Story For The Start Of Baseball Season

There’s something especially fitting about revisiting this guitar at the start of a new MLB season.

Opening Day always invites a little time travel. Fans start comparing today’s players to the legends who came before them. Old records resurface. Historic teams get mentioned again.

This guitar does the same thing.

It pulls you back to 1928—packed ballparks, campaign events, and a Yankees lineup that still looms large over baseball history. It captures a moment when Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig weren’t just athletes, but two of the most recognizable figures in American life.

And somehow, their signatures ended up on a Martin guitar.

For a company whose instruments have long been woven into the fabric of American culture, that connection feels especially meaningful.

Because Martin guitars have always been there—on stages, in studios, around campfires, and sometimes even in the middle of stories that have nothing to do with music at all.

See It For Yourself In Nazareth

The Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig signed 1926 00-18 is currently on display at the Martin Museum in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

And like many of the instruments in the collection, it tells a story that goes far beyond its specs.

It’s a 00-18, yes—but it’s also a time capsule from one of the most iconic eras in baseball history, signed by two names that still define the game nearly a century later.

Not bad for a simple mahogany-and-spruce Martin.