This blogger is a Canadian kid.
Amazingly enough, the great Babe Ruth had several connections to Canadian players and a "first" that happened on Canadian soil.
Ruth, called up by the Boston Red Sox in 1914, made his first appearance on July 14. It was a mound appearance. And it was a good one!
Okay, he went 0-2 at the plate. What about on the hill? The first batter to face him was Jack Graney. Graney was from St. Thomas Ontario. He promptly greeted Ruth the hard way with a single. But Ruth settled down after that and tossed a fine game, eventually winning it, 4-3.
Demoted by to the Providence Grays, Ruth was about to make history. In Canada.
On September 5th, 1914 Babe Ruth tossed a fine 1-hitter against the Toronto Maple Leafs. But he also hit hist first (and only) minor league home run. And this was in Toronto! It came off Ellis Johnson. Not related to Walter Johnson. The Grays went on to take it, 9-0. The Leafs, by the way, were the only Maple Leafs in town! The NHL had not yet arrived.
Babe went on to have a career like almost none other. Along the way, he was seen on the field with guys like Graney, Frank O'Rourke and George Selkirk. Canadians!
Selkirk, from Huntsville, Ontario was a teammate of Ruth in 1934, his last year with the Yankees. With Ruth out of the picture the next year, it was George who replaced George Herman Ruth. Selkirk went on to help the Yankees win 5 World Series from 1936 to 1941, including 4 in a row from '36 to '39.
Even so, he'll always be just a Canadian connection, or footnote to the great Sultan Of Swat. A hero to many years after his passing.
Oh, one last thing: Ruth's last game was May 30, 1935!
So?
I was born on May 30th, albeit many years later. As you can see, I too am swept up by Ruth years later.
And I am Canadian!
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. Dec. 24. 2014.
Amazingly enough, the great Babe Ruth had several connections to Canadian players and a "first" that happened on Canadian soil.
Ruth, called up by the Boston Red Sox in 1914, made his first appearance on July 14. It was a mound appearance. And it was a good one!
Okay, he went 0-2 at the plate. What about on the hill? The first batter to face him was Jack Graney. Graney was from St. Thomas Ontario. He promptly greeted Ruth the hard way with a single. But Ruth settled down after that and tossed a fine game, eventually winning it, 4-3.
Demoted by to the Providence Grays, Ruth was about to make history. In Canada.
On September 5th, 1914 Babe Ruth tossed a fine 1-hitter against the Toronto Maple Leafs. But he also hit hist first (and only) minor league home run. And this was in Toronto! It came off Ellis Johnson. Not related to Walter Johnson. The Grays went on to take it, 9-0. The Leafs, by the way, were the only Maple Leafs in town! The NHL had not yet arrived.
Babe went on to have a career like almost none other. Along the way, he was seen on the field with guys like Graney, Frank O'Rourke and George Selkirk. Canadians!
Selkirk, from Huntsville, Ontario was a teammate of Ruth in 1934, his last year with the Yankees. With Ruth out of the picture the next year, it was George who replaced George Herman Ruth. Selkirk went on to help the Yankees win 5 World Series from 1936 to 1941, including 4 in a row from '36 to '39.
Even so, he'll always be just a Canadian connection, or footnote to the great Sultan Of Swat. A hero to many years after his passing.
Oh, one last thing: Ruth's last game was May 30, 1935!
So?
I was born on May 30th, albeit many years later. As you can see, I too am swept up by Ruth years later.
And I am Canadian!
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. Dec. 24. 2014.
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