Babe Ruth was a towering sports figure of the 1920s, a celebrity who drew wide adulation and acclaim from the American populace.
Some area residents may know that the slugging baseball star appeared in Williamsport for an exhibition game in 1923, but few people are perhaps aware of the many and interesting details surrounding that historic day.
Brian Fagnano, a Montoursville Area School District teacher, wanted to know more. He delved into Ruth’s visit to the city that was part of a baseball tour known as barnstorming.
Barnstorming referred to a team taking to the road to play games against opposing clubs in various communities and a common practice in the early decades of the 20th century.
Fagnano shared his findings with the local chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research organization during its recent meeting at the James V. Brown Library.
He said he long ago became fascinated by that game, which involved two teams: Ruth’s All-Stars and Williamsport’s Pennsylvania Railroad League team.
His extensive research over time included looking into old newspaper clippings, telephone books and various other documents to piece together a PowerPoint presentation he showed SABR members.
Various accounts of what took place that day have been told, and Fagnano did his best to find out the true account.
Many of the facts are not in dispute.
The game took place Oct. 31 at the old Williamsport High School athletic field on West Third Street.
The playing area, where high school football and other athletic contests were staged over the years, now is part of the Pennsylvania College of Technology campus.
Ruth’s All-Stars prevailed, 8-5, with Ruth demonstrating his wonderful baseball skills.
He went two for three at the plate, including a home run, driving in three runs. He was also struck out in one of his plate appearances by Jimmy Mahady.
Mahady, then 22, played professionally that year with the Williamsport Billies of the New York-Pennsylvania League.
In 1921, Mahady appeared in one Major League game with the New York Giants, playing second base without getting a chance to bat.
Fagnano noted that Moonlight Graham, a real-life character who attained posthumous fame from the movie, “Field of Dreams,” experienced a similar fate, appearing in a single Major League game without a plate appearance.
“The fans cheered wildly for Mahady,” Fagnano said.
Of course, they did the same, he added, when Ruth hit his home run.
Dave Kramer, a local baseball standout, also played on the Railroad team that day.
Ruth’s All-Stars included Major Leaguers, among them Dutch Ruether, who compiled a record of 137-95 while pitching for the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers, and other teams over an 11-year career.
Ruth reportedly put on quite a display during pre-game batting practice, hitting long home runs well over 400 feet and perhaps as far as 500 feet.
One detail of the game, which over the years has taken on somewhat mythic proportions, was of Ruth swatting a home run over a chair which for many years sat atop the old Culler Furniture Co. building situated behind the outfield fence.
Fagnano said newspaper accounts of the day revealed no mention of Ruth clearing the chair with one of his clouts. However, he noted he did find a reference to it many years later in a newspaper story.
Interesting enough, the game almost never happened.
Ruth and his all-stars had already launched their tour that fall of 1923, playing in communities in Pennsylvania and New York.
At the time, Williamsport was not part of the itinerary.
And it wasn’t until just a few days before the game when Ruth stopped in the city on his way with his all-stars to Oil City that the Williamsport contest was arranged.
Admission to the game was $1. Tickets were sold at city businesses of the time, including Blackburn’s Drug Store, 1172 W. Fourth St., and T.J. Donovan’s Poolroom, 2 E. Third St.
Ruth had been suspended from play for the first weeks of the 1922 Major League Season for ignoring Baseball Commissioner Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis’ prohibition on players barnstorming.
However, by 1923 that prohibition was lifted by Landis and Ruth was able to barnstorm with other players who were able to use the exhibitions to handsomely supplement their regular baseball season salaries.
After the Williamsport game, receptions were held for both teams in the city.
It’s believed the The Babe did not leave town without receiving a haircut from a local barber.
The Sultan of Swat, whose Major League career stretched from 1915 to 1935, was the greatest home run hitter of his era, knocking out 714 home runs, most of them while starring for the New York Yankees, a record that stood until 1974 when it was surpassed by Hank Aaron.
Ruth hit his first home run off Jack Warhop on May 6, 1915, as a member of the Boston Red Sox.
He also “victimized” pitchers with Williamsport connections over his long career, according to Louis Hunsinger Jr., a SABR member and noted local historian.
Ray Kolp gave up two home runs to Ruth in one game on Aug. 5, 1923, while pitching for the St. Louis Browns.
Kolp managed the Williamsport Grays of the Eastern League in 1944 and 1945.
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