CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 61 S ummer is synonymous with baseball. From little league to church leagues, people are swinging the bat and tak- ing to the mound pretty seriously. As school ends and local high schools are dominat- ing State Championship titles, our town has many great baseball players already, never mind its his- tory of greats. Simply put, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York boasts a Babe Ruth Room, but Fayetteville pays homage to the baseball legend where he hit his first home run. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the home run last March, several community organizations came together to host a number of special events, including a re- dedication of the Babe Ruth historic highway marker and two Vintage baseball games. If you have not ventured down to see the marker and perhaps take a photo next to it, the marker is at the intersection of Gillespie Street and South- ern Avenue, in front of the NCDOT facility. e player's historical "first" took place on March 7, 1914, here in Fayetteville, during an intrasquad game in which he played shortstop. Ruth's first "offi- cial" home run came on September 5, 1914 for the Providence Greys of the International League, where the Red Sox had sent him for more seasoning the month before. e Orioles sold Ruth to the Boston Red Sox on July 9, 1914 along with two other players as part of a fire sale by team owner Jack Dunn, who found himself in fi- nancial straits when the presence of a Baltimore franchise in the new Fed- eral League obliterated the Orioles' attendance. Ruth then made his major league By kELLy TwEdELL debut at Fenway Park on July 11, 1914 as a starting pitcher. He pitched seven innings for the win but was 0-for-2 at the plate, striking out against Cleveland ley Willie Mitchell in his first major league at-bat. History in the making George Herman Ruth Jr., born on February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, is known for his slugging records and le handed pitching feats. Had George, Jr. been raised in a traditional family home, chances are he might have missed his destiny. Known for being a hellion at age 7, Ruth's parents thought it best to send him away to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a Catholic orphanage and reformatory where he was listed as incorrigible. It was there that Brother Mathias, a monk, introduced Ruth to the game. Later at the school Ruth caught the eye of Jack Dunn, the owner of the minor league Baltimore Orioles, and the rest, as they say, is history. Only true fans know how he acquired his nickname, which was actually only one of many: Bambino, Jack Dunn's Baby, Dunn's New Babe, Babe, e Great Bambino, e Sultan of Swat and Bam. As I dug into some of Babe Ruth's history, I was surprised to learn that an early female player carved out a little corner of history for herself aer striking out "Babe" in 1931. Jackie Mitchell, a 17-year-old southpaw who pitched against the New York Yankees on April 2, 1931. e first batter she faced was Ruth, followed by Lou Gehrig, the deadli- est hitting duo in baseball history. Mitchell struck them both out. ere was a box score to prove it and news stories proclaiming her "organized baseball's first girl pitcher." Perhaps if it happened in 2014, the headline would read "Babe vs. a Babe." FEaTurE

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