April 27 – Babe Ruth Day

Posted on April 27, 2015

Ruth was not only nicknamed "Babe,"
but he had other nicknames, too, such
as "The Bambino" and "the Sultan of
Swat."

George Herman Ruth, also known as Babe Ruth, was born in February (1895) and died in August (1948). So why is April 27 considered Babe Ruth Day?

First, you have to know that Babe Ruth was extremely important – popular, famous, well-paid, a character. You might even say that he was a legend in his own time. He remains one of the biggest sports heroes in American culture and some say he was the greatest baseball player of all time.

That's why, when he was diagnosed with throat cancer in late 1946, fans wanted news about his health, and the Yankee team organized Babe Ruth Day on this date in 1947. He ended up speaking to a crowd of more than 58,000 fans at Yankee Stadium.

According to The New York Times, “Just before he spoke, Ruth started to cough and it appeared that he might break down because of the thunderous cheers that came his way. But once he started to talk, he was all right, still the champion. It was the many men who surrounded him on the field, players, newspaper and radio persons, who choked up.”

Ruth's life by the numbers:

Age he went away to a Roman Catholic reformatory school: 7 years old.

Age he signed his first professional baseball contract: 19 years old.

Age he died: 53 years old.

Record breaking number of home runs in one season: 60 home runs.

Number of years Ruth's home run record stood: 34 years.

(But the record was broken when Major League Baseball had 8 more games per season!)

Record breaking number of career home runs: 714 home runs.

Number of years career home runs record stood: 39 years.

Salary per year (as of 1930): $80,000 per year.

(The President of the United States only made $75,000 that years.)

Top salary corrected for inflation: about one million dollars per year.

(Note: top baseball stars these days earn $20 million to almost $30 million per year! So Ruth was underpaid, by today's standards; if he were playing and dominating today he would probably be able to ask $25 to $30 million per year.)

Also on this date:

World Tapir Day  

Anniversary of the discovery of hahnium

Freedom Day in South Africa

Civil rights activist Coretta Scott King's birthday

Anniversary of Beethoven's composition of Fur Elise

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• April holidays   
• April birthdays 
• Historical anniversaries in April

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• May holidays 
• May birthdays 
• Historical anniversaries in May

July 18, 2012 - Baseball Fans Get a Perfect Game

—1999

Baseball has always seemed just a little too slow and boring to watch, I've always thought. And a perfect game must just start out sooooooooo boring.

Because in that game, one team would just never get on base. No hits, no runs. No walks. No errors (at least, none that result with a player getting on base!) A shut-out. A no-hitter.

But then..through all the haze of boredom—hey, nothing's happening here—the audience would start to realize: hey, so far, it's a perfect game!

And that doesn't happen very often. So all of a sudden a boring game would become an exciting game.

And I imagine that's what happened in Yankee Stadium when David Cone was pitching for the New York Yankees on this date in 1999. I imagine the home crowd beginning to whisper that the game had been perfect for Cone, so far—whispering because they would not want to jinx it. (Of course, I'm playing here—there's no such thing as magically jinxing something!) The fans would all be wondering if a Montreal Expo player would get a hit and spoil Cone's perfect game. Would one of the Yankee fielders not get to a fly ball, or maybe make an error? Would Cone himself let down, somehow, and walk somebody?

There was a rain delay. I can just imagine people thinking, once we're back from this rain delay, the perfect game is going to go right down the tubes!

But Expo player after Expo player took the plate and was out – out – out. Cone kept up the pitching, and the Yankees backed him up with excellent fielding. One time the right fielder had to make a diving catch to keep the perfect game going. Another time an Expo hit a ball hard between first and second base. The second baseman shot an expert throw to make the out and save the game.

In the meantime, the Yankees scored five runs! There was a walk and a batter who got on because he was hit by a pitch; Yankees made singles and doubles and two home runs! (Hmm...I guess this was NEVER a boring game. My apologies to baseball fans everywhere!)

That last inning would have been very exciting! Everyone knew by now what was on the line. So far in more than a century of Major League Baseball history, there had only been 15 perfect games. The 42,000 fans must have been holding their collective breath while watching Cone pitch to what they hoped would be the last three batters. The first batter was up—and Cone struck him out. Then the second batter hit a big, soft, easy-to-catch fly ball into left field. But...it wasn't so easy to catch, because the summer afternoon sun was exactly where the ball was. Left fielder Ricky Ledee was blinded and struggled to find the ball in the sky, but he somehow made the catch! And then the last batter popped up a foul ball—and the third baseman caught it, too!

David Cone had pitched the 16^th perfect game in all of baseball history, and he fell on his knees, right into the arms of his catcher!

Also on this date:

Extreme Vehicle Day 

Activist and statesman Nelson Mandela's birthday 

January 3, 2010

Great Day for the Yankees

On this date in 1920, the Boston Red Sox announced the sale of pitcher and outfielder Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. Because of that sale, this New York City baseball team became what some would say was the greatest sports franchise of all time.

On this date in 1929, the New York Yankees announced that they would put numbers on the back of the team uniforms. This was to help fans in the stands recognize their favorite players.


A Mighty Big City!

Over the years, New York City has fielded four different professional baseball teams—three of them at one time! That's because NYC is huge, the largest city in the U.S. There are five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

The NYC baseball teams have found homes in different parts of the city. NYC's first teams were the National League Giants and Dodgers. The Giants played on the Polo Grounds of Upper Manhattan, and the Dodgers played in Brooklyn. When the American League Yankees (then called the New York Highlanders) first came to NYC from Baltimore, they shared the Polo Grounds and Manhattan with the Giants. However, the Yankees' popularity outgrew sharing a field, and Yankee Stadium was built in the Bronx. Sometimes the Yankees are called the Bronx Bombers.

In 1957 and '58, the Giants and the Dodgers both moved to California, becoming the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. At that point, NYC was down to only one team, the Yankees. Soon plans were made to begin a new National League team, once again at first playing on the Polo Grounds. The new team was called the Mets, short for the Metropolitans, and soon a new stadium was built out in Queens. Shea Stadium was the Mets' home field for several decades until a new stadium, CitiField, was opened last year.

Play baseball!

Recite a baseball poem! For generations, children have read aloud or recited from memory the looong but colorful poem, “Casey at the Bat,” written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. Good fun!

Read about baseball! This website claims to review the best baseball books for kids.

Watch a baseball movie! I've always loved “Field of Dreams.”

Eat a Baby Ruth candy bar!

The Curtiss Candy Company claimed that this popular candy bar was not named after the Yankee Babe Ruth, but rather after the former president Grover Cleveland's daughter Ruth. However, the candy bar was named Baby Ruth in 1921, the very time when Babe Ruth was becoming famous—and this was 13 years after Cleveland had left the White House, and 17 years after Ruth had died. Since the company had never negotiated an endorsement deal with Ruth, many people think that this story was concocted just so that the company didn't have to pay royalties to Babe Ruth.