Gehrig & Ruth – The Great Hitting Duo Pose At Spring Training With Their New Manager Joe McCarthy, 1931
A Pair Of Heavy Hitters And A Manager
The New York Yankees are preparing for the coming baseball season at St. Petersburg, Florida. Shown above left to right, are, Lou Gehrig, first baseman who swats homers, now and then, manager McCarthy and George Herman “Babe” Ruth, sometimes described as “The King of Swat.” photo: Associated Press March 5, 1931
1931 would not turn out to be a pennant winning season for the Yankees. But you could not blame Lou Gehrig or Babe Ruth. Gehrig led the league with 46 home runs and 185 RBI’s. Gehrig’s batting average Continue reading →
In 1932 Jimmie Foxx Was On Pace To Shatter Babe Ruth’s 60 Homer Record
Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch
If Aaron Judge hits more than 61 home runes in 2022 many will view him as baseball’s legitimate all-time single season home run leader. Officially Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa all shattered Maris’s record. But many observers suspect all three cheated by using performance enhancing drugs. Continue reading →
Athletics Manager Connie Mack & Former Giants Manager John McGraw Have A Contest Before The First All-Star Game 1933
Photo shows – Manager Connie Mack of Americans (left) Manager John McGraw of Nationals choose for first up with the aid of a bat.
In the game of the century played at Comiskey Park, Chicago, July 6, the picked team of the American League defeated the picked team of the National League 4-2. Photo: Acme July 6, 1933
It’s hard to believe that this is how they decided home field advantage in the American League’s Comiskey Park for the first All-Star Game, but it’s true.
Kids used to do this in pick-up games in parks to see who would bat first. Continue reading →
A Quick Look Back At A Spring Training Of The Past
Babe Ruth Greets New Yankees Manager Joe McCarthy At Spring Training 1931
Spring training will begin soon now that the avaricious owners and materialistic players have reached an agreement to continue ruining baseball. Continue reading →
Massive fortress-like building of the Ruppert Brewery Third Avenue 91st St. 1940 photo: NYC Municpal Archives
Jacob Ruppert is mainly recognized as the man who bought Babe Ruth from the Red Sox in 1919 forever changing baseball. With that one transaction, Ruppert, the Yankees co-owner and his management team began a dynasty.
To older New Yorkers the name Ruppert also meant beer. The Ruppert Brewery was between 91st and 92nd Street from Second to Third Avenue. Continue reading →
Lou Gehrig to a friend minutes after making his “Luckiest Man” speech on July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day.
Early in the day before being honored at Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig told a reporter, “There hasn’t been a day since I came up that I wasn’t anxious to get in uniform and out on the field. But today I wish I was anywhere but in this stadium.”
For the ceremony Lou Gehrig was standing on the field for one hour in between games of a doubleheader with the Washington Senators, as accolades and gifts descended upon him.
Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Postmaster James Farley, Yankee general manager Ed Barrow and current and former teammates and opponents were there. Besides gifts, they all gave Gehrig the one thing he did not want – sympathy. Continue reading →
In 1929 The Almanac Hotel In New York City Became The First Hotel In The Country To Hire Women Bellhops
New York Hotel Using Girl Bell-Hops
The newest wrinkle in hotel service these days is girl bell-hops. The Almanac Hotel, New York City, is probably the first hotel in the country to use girls for bell-hop service. Hotel customers say they give “real service” too. Here are three of them standing by while a patron registers. The girls are, left to right: Eleanor Julin, Mildred Wilson and Edith Gillin. – Associated Press Photo 11/13/1929
Only at the high class hotels do you still find bell-hops. Until the 1970s, almost all hotels had them.
The Almanac Hotel, (aka Hotel Almanac), was being “progressive” at the time, by hiring female bell-hops, in what was traditionally a male occupation. Or were they? Continue reading →
The Sights & Sounds Of Yankee Stadium 1931 – Yankees vs. Red Sox
What follows is a rare and amazing 14 minutes of film.
Yankee Stadium on opening day April 14, 1931. Yankees versus the Red Sox. Happenings before and during the game.
What makes it so unusual is that the film crew was experimenting with syncing the sound to the action. So there are microphones recording what was being said or the resonant sounds of baseball. The players don’t quite know what to say when asked to speak. The natural sounds of the ballpark are just so different from today.
Batting practice with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Mayor Jimmy Walker throws out the first ball. An IRT train passes and stops beyond the left field bleachers. Everyone in the stands is well dressed as you’d expect. Large signs remind everyone that “Betting is prohibited.”
The lack of technology is pure pleasure. The advertising is on billboards same as now, but no ads or deafening music being blasted from speakers. Your visual senses are not assaulted by a jumbotron. Fans look at the field, no distractions.
No P.A. system. A guy with a megaphone comes out and announces each team’s battery – a term rarely used today – for pitcher and catcher.
Then there is not only a patriotic marching band entertaining fans, but all the players from both teams march along with the band.
The game itself is great to see, but the things you notice while the game is going on seem so foreign to a modern viewing audience. Continue reading →
Babe Ruth and Gary Cooper Get A Visit From Former Yankee Bob Meusel & His Daughter
When Babe Ruth played himself in the classic film The Pride of The Yankees (1942) he had not played for seven years. Since his retirement, Ruth’s weight had ballooned to 270 pounds. The Babe wanted to look good for the film, not that he would ever look as svelte as Gary Cooper, starring as Babe’s teammate Lou Gehrig, but at least he tried.
Before filming began Babe went on a diet and shed over 47 pounds to look more like he did in his playing days.
Some former Yankee teammates appeared for short cameos including Bill Dickey, Mark Koenig and Bob Meusel. Continue reading →
55 Years Ago Today Roger Maris Hit His 59th Home Run Putting Him One Behind Babe Ruth
In the pre-steroid era of baseball, Roger Maris had one magical season. Shown above, Maris connects for his 59th home run of the season on September 20, 1961.
Maris would hit 61 home runs during the 1961 season, breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 60.
Yet Maris’s accomplishment wasn’t considered an “official” record. That is because Ford Frick, the former sportswriter and then Commissioner of baseball, ruled that Maris had to beat Babe Ruth in the same number of games that the Babe was eligible to play in 1927, which was 154.
If Maris did not hit 60 by his 154th game the record would be denoted with an asterisk, indicating that Maris had more opportunities (163) than Ruth did.
The news caption for this photo reads:
Baltimore, Sept 20 – Homer No. 59 For Maris – Roger Maris of the New York Yankees swings into the ball in the third inning tonight as he connects for his 59th home run of the season. The blow came against Baltimore Orioles pitcher Milt Pappas. If Maris can add one more during the game he will equal Babe Ruth’s official 1927 record of 60 in 154 games. He has hit two homers in one game seven times this season. The ball is just a streak as it flies off the bat, right. (AP wirephoto)
