Playing For The Providence Grays On Sept 5, 1914, Babe Ruth Hit His First Official Home Run

On April 27, baseball fans around the country honor one of baseball’s all-time greatest players on National Babe Ruth Day.

George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Jr.,  born on February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland, was nicknamed “the Bambino” and “the Sultan of Swat.”  Spending 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), he played for three teams from 1914 to 1935.

• 1914 – At 19 years old, He hit his first professional home run on March 7, 1914, in Fayetteville, N.C., during an intrasquad game in which he played shortstop. Ruth’s first official professional home run came on Sept. 5, 1914, for the Providence Grays of the International League, where he had been sent by the Red Sox for more seasoning the month before.
• 1915 – Ruth’s first major league home run came against the Yankees at the Polo Grounds on May 6, 1915. Exactly three years later, in the same ballpark, Ruth hit a home run in his first start at a position (1B) other than pitcher.
• 1916 – In Game 2 of the 1916 World Series, Ruth pitched a 14-inning complete game to beat the Dodgers 2-1. It is still the most innings ever thrown by one pitcher in a single postseason game.
• 1919 – Babe Ruth’s baseball career started as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He became a full-time right-fielder when the New York Yankees bought his contract in 1919.  Being one of the league’s most prolific hitters, he helped the Yankees win seven pennants and four World Series titles.
• 1922 – You could get chocolate-covered ice cream balls called Babe Ruth Home Runs. They cost 10 cents.
• 1923 – Yankee Stadium, dubbed “The House That Ruth Built” by sportswriter Fred Lieb, opened on April 18, 1923. Ruth hit the new ballpark’s first home run, a three-run shot in the third inning off the Red Sox’ Howard Ehmke, the key blow in the Yankees’ 4-1 victory.
• 1927 – Ruth set career records, in his time, for home runs, slugging percentage runs batted in, and on-base plus slugging.  In 1927, he was the very first player to hit 60 home runs in one season.
•  1931 – At an exhibition game on April 2, 1931, a 17-year-old female pitcher named Jackie Mitchell struck Ruth out (Mitchell then went on to strike out Lou Gehrig)
• 1933 – Babe Ruth hit the first home run in the history of the All-Star Game at Chicago’s Comiskey Park in 1933.
• 1934 – in 1934, Ruth joined an all-star team on a tour of Japan, where he became immensely popular and helped strengthen U.S.-Japan relations through baseball.
• 1935 – Following a short stint with the Boston Braves, Ruth retired in 1935.
• 1936 – In 1936, he became one of the first five players to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
• 1946 – In 1946, after experiencing severe eye pain and difficulty swallowing, Babe Ruth was diagnosed with cancer.
• 1947 – With Ruth’s health failing, April 27, 1947 was declared Babe Ruth Day around the major leagues by commissioner Happy Chandler. Ruth famously addressed the crowd at Yankee Stadium that day, his voice reduced to a hoarse croak by cancer. You can listen to Ruth’s speech here.
• 1948 – At the age of 53, on August 16, 1948, at 8:01 pm, Babe Ruth died in his sleep.  
• 1955 – The candy bar, Baby Ruth, is most likely named for Babe Ruth. The bar was formerly called Kandy Kake, but the name was changed right around Ruth’s rise to popularity. Because “official” permission was not requested, the company (then the Curtiss Candy Co.) denied that Babe Ruth was the namesake. However, in 1995, the Babe Ruth estate licensed his name and likeness for use in a Baby Ruth marketing campaign with Nestle.
• 2024 – In August 2024, Ruth’s 1932 “Called Shot” jersey sold for $24.12 million, setting a new record for sports memorabilia.
• Babe Ruth was one of only two people to ever hit three home runs in a World Series game.
• The Babe played in 163 games as a pitcher, winning 92 and losing 44, for a percentage of .676, he was one of the best left-handed pitchers the game has ever known.
• Why Babe? Some say it’s because Ruth was so young when signed to MLB he required legal guardianship and was “adopted” by one of the monks. Others say it was just because he was still merely a babe.
• Babe Ruth appeared as himself in four different movies. In one, he lost 40 pounds in order to play a younger version of himself.
• Ruth lived for a time on the site of what is now Oriole Park at Camden Yards, above one of his father’s string of saloons.
• In six seasons with Ruth, the Red Sox won three World Series titles. In 107 seasons without him, they have won four.
• Only five teams hit more home runs than Ruth did by himself in 1919 (not counting Ruth’s own Red Sox), and only two teams had more than his total in 1920 (this time including Ruth’s Yankees, who hit 61 in addition to his 54). Ruth also hit more home runs than half of the teams in baseball in 1921.
• Ruth often placed a cabbage leaf under his cap to stay cool during games. He would replace it with a fresh leaf every two innings.
• The 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53, 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #144, 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #149, and 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #181 are some Babe Ruth cards worth a lot of money today.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

David A Kelly Books

Redtri

Factinate

Money

SI

Days of the Year

National Today