This stop isn’t exactly a Christian historic site, but an interesting look at history from the Christian era.
George Herman “Babe” Ruth (1895-1948) was called the “Sultan of Swat” An inaugural member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and holder of records that still stand today, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously by President Donald Trump.
In the “dead ball” era of baseball, home runs were rare. But Babe Ruth hit a home run in just his second at bat in professional ball.
His last year for the Boston Red Sox, before he was sold to the New York Yankees, was 1919. Spring training was held in Tampa, Florida at Plant Field, which hosted baseball, football, horse and car racing, and the Florida State Fair, before becoming the University of Tampa.
On April 4th, 1919, the Red Sox hosted the New York Giants. The historic marker will tell the story:
At Tampa’s Plant Field on April 4, 1919, “Babe” Ruth, playing for the Boston Red Sox against the N.Y. Giants, smacked a 587- foot home run that set a record in a pre-season game. 4,300 screaming fans saw the feat. Famed Evangelist Billy Sunday, an ex-major leaguer himself, who was conducting a tent revival on the Florida Fair Grounds nearby, had pitched the first ball of the game, and The Bambino’s pace-setting ball was presented to him. Ruth played from 1915 to 1935. He is regarded as the most popular player and greatest slugger in history. One year he hit 60 homers.
The Tampa Tribune wrote up the game in the Sports section:
Image Credit: Apr 05, 1919, Page 17 – The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com. www.newspapers.com/image/332943265/?match=1&terms=%22great%20crowd%20watched%20boston%22.
But the front page was reserved for Billy Sunday, the former professional baseball player turned evangelist who was holding a crusade in the “Big Tent” The newspaper even printed his itinerary like a modern television schedule!
Image Credit: Apr 05, 1919, Page 1 – The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com. www.newspapers.com/image/326699447/?match=1&terms=%22famous%20evangelist%20presented%22.
Featured Image Credit: “Babe Ruth’s Longest Home Run.” MLB.com, 4 Apr. 2019, www.mlb.com/cut4/babe-ruth-s-longest-home-run.
