New Babe Ruth footage

I wasn't talking about the weather; I mean the height of the sun at certain times of the year. The sun is at its max height at the summer solstice and lower in the sky before and after. Knowing the orientation of the stadium, you can tell what time it is by the shadows and then determine the height of the sun by measuring the length of the shadows.

 

Don't forget, back in the 20s, you didn't have much filming of anything, other than movies. And until 1927, they were silent films, so you didn't have the Movietone News.

A lot of the clips you see are from the news clips that were shown at the movies.

 

What year did the Yankees put numbers on their jerseys?

 

Yankee Stadium's tougher than most to figure out because I heard it gets late early there.

 

1929

 

September 9, 1928.

At least that's the conclusion of two separate SABR members (one of whom you might know: Keith Olbermann), working independently of each other:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/sports/baseball/11babe.html?_r=1

Here's how Olbermann says he drew his conclusion:

http://keitholbermann.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/10/babe_ruth_film_september_9_192.html

 

Of course there was no bunting at Yankee Stadium! With sluggers like Ruth, Gehrig, Lazzeri and Meusel in the lineup, why waste an out with a sacrifice?

 

There's an old story on (I think) Lefty Gomez. During one inning of an exhibition game, Ruth and Gehrig homer, a bunch of other guys hits doubles and triples, and then Gomez hits a weak grounder that makes it through for a single, and ends up being forced out at second.

When Gomez gets back to the dugout, Joe McCarthy informs him he's fined. When Gomez asks why, McCarthy replies, "Because your lousy single broke up a great rally!"

And another McCarthy story: After the Yanks lost a game, McCarthy goes nuts in the locker room. Outfielder Billy Johnson mumbles, "What does he expect us to do, win every game?" Johnson ended up released.