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![]() Babe Ruth(Yankee Stadium, September 30th 1927)On September 30th 1927, there was only one place to be in the United States - the Yankee State - where the legendary Babe Ruth hit his 60th homer of the season, a previously unmatched record. The stadium erupted as the 10,000 crowd went wild, tossing their hats in the air and roaring for their heroThe crack of the bat as it hit the ball had been audible throughout the stadium. After walloping home the record-breaking No 60 into the bleacher seats of the stadium, the portly Yankee slugger, nicknamed "The Sultan of Swat," made a triumphant tour of the paths, jogging around the bases in a slow majestic fashion, stomping on each sack purposefully, as if he were recording the feat officially. Many claim that the 1927 Yankees were the most formidable team in baseball history. Their pitching was masterly and they were unrivalled at bat. The Yankees late afternoon rallies were called "five o'clock lightning" and the sluggers were known as "Murderers' Row." The legendary team also included Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs, Bob Meusel and Tony Lazzeri. Yet in 1920, the year George Herman Ruth joined the New York Yankees, the team had been struggling and did not even have its own home ground. By 1923 Yankee Stadium was opened and was immediately dubbed "The House that Ruth built." Altogether George Herman Ruth held 54 records, including career home runs, runs batted in, bases on balls and strikeouts. His record 60th homer was not equalled for 30 years. In World War II, Japanese soldiers were discovered to have adopted the battle cry, "To hell with Babe Ruth!" - an acknowledgement of the legendary status and worldwide fame of the sports hero. At the same time as Babe Ruth was creating baseball history, his fellow team mate, Lou Gehrig, was establishing his own legendary games record. Between 1 June 1925 and 30 April 1939, Lou Gehrig played in 2130 consecutive games for the New York Yankees. This long-standing record was finally broken in 1995 by Cal Ripkin Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles. "The meaning of baseball to me is we all carve out our moments," commented Cal Ripkin after his emotionally-charged achievement ![]() [Contents] [1927] [Heritage] [Mystery Tour] [Brewery] [Geordie] [Connoisseur] [Screensaver] [Feedback] |