The day of Babe’s long homer and, alas, final goodbye

The Babe with a few of his playthings

‍A couple of significant moments for Babe Ruth come on this day, starting 99 years ago as he becomes the first player to hit a baseball over the right-field roof at Chicago’s Comiskey Park in the New York Yankees’ 8-1 victory over the White Sox. ‍

Ruth’s prodigious blast in 1927 against right-hander Tommy Thomas leads off the fifth inning and gives the Yankees a 5-1 lead before a Tuesday afternoon crowd of 20,000.

Nothing new, though, for Thomas, who gives up 11 homers to Ruth in the first eight seasons of his 12-year pitching career in the majors.

The other significant moment in Ruth’s life comes, well, at the end of it as he passes away 78 years ago today of throat cancer. He is only 53 years old.

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