TORONTO (PRWEB) December 17, 2004
The site where Babe Ruth hit his first pro home run may soon be historic. On September 5, 1914, when Ruth was a 19-year-old pitcher with the AAA Providence Grays, he tossed a 9-0 shutout and smashed his only minor-league homer in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at an old Toronto ballpark. Author Jerry Amernic, whose novel Gift of the Bambino (St. MartinÂÂs) begins with that 1914 home run, is leading the campaign to make this an official heritage site.
ÂÂBabe Ruth was a sports legend,ÂÂ Amernic said. ÂÂThe Ontario Heritage Act says any property or site of historical interest can be recognized and marked as an interpretive facility. Ontario has granted historical status to farmersÂÂ fields and even trees so I think this qualifies.ÂÂ
Amernic wants photos of the old HanlanÂÂs Point Stadium and the young Ruth ÂÂ who was six-two and 190 pounds ÂÂ on the site along with an information board. He has support from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and the Toronto Blue Jays, and has approached the U. S. Consulate in Toronto and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Said Paul Godfrey, President and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays: ÂÂBabe Ruth is ÂÂMr. BaseballÂÂ and CanadaÂÂs only Major League club wants to historically recognize the BambinoÂÂs first pro home run at TorontoÂÂs HanlanÂÂs Point. This achievement is not only part of baseball history, but part of TorontoÂÂs history.ÂÂ
HanlanÂÂs Point Stadium was on the Toronto Islands, off the cityÂÂs mainland, and it is believed that any home run wound up in Lake Ontario, which is the premise of AmernicÂÂs novel. But there have been claims that RuthÂÂs first home-run ball was stolen and that it was even bronzed and displayed in a restaurant. According to Tom Valcke, President and CEO of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, the ball may still be in the lake.
ÂÂRuth also hit another home run in Toronto when the New York Yankees played an exhibition game against the minor-league Maple Leafs in the early 1930ÂÂs,ÂÂ said Valcke. ÂÂThat ball wound up in the lake too. It almost makes draining Lake Ontario worthwhile if two of the BabeÂÂs taters are on the bottom.ÂÂ
Ruth was a member of the Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series in 1918 and was traded to the Yankees in 1920. That spawned the Curse of the Bambino, the so-called hex on the Red Sox that kept them from winning another World Series until this season when they swept St. Louis.
ÂÂBabe Ruth was a monumental figure whose impact exceeded that of any athlete,ÂÂ said Amernic, who spent years researching Ruth for his novel. ÂÂThe place where he hit his first pro home run is special.ÂÂ
Contact: Dorothy Stoikos
Wordcraft Communications
(416) 284-0838
dorothystoikos@hotmail.com
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