Can the Internet Help Solve a Baseball Mystery?: October and Rare Film of Babe Ruth

October 11, 2009.  On this Sunday afternoon, the Boston Red Sox lost to the Los Angeles Angels, and were swept out of the American League Divisional series in three games.  In 1928, the World Series was already over, the New York Yankees having swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games, clinching the series on October 9 with a 7-3 win in St. Louis.  Babe Ruth hit three home runs for the Yankees in the finale at Sportman's Park.  Now, a New Hampshire man going through his grandfather's home movie collection may have discovered footage of one of the two 1928 Series games in New York.

On Thursday, the New York Times ran a story about a newly found 90 second film of the Babe shot from the first base stands in the old Yankee Stadium.  Before a packed stadium, Ruth is seen playing left field, striking out and arguing with the umpire (with Lou Gehrig looking on).  Beyond that, much of the rest of the rough footage is a mystery.

Although Ruth hit .625 in the 1928 World Series as a whole, he had only six extra base hits, three of which were the home runs in Game 4 in St. Louis, and only four runs batted in, so he apparently was less than dominating in the earlier games of the Series. (By contrast, Gehrig batted .545, but had four home runs (only one of which was in the final game in St. Louis) and nine runs batted in. 

Because of various elements in the footage, such as signage in Yankee Stadium, uniforms without numbers and the Ruth-Gehrig pairing/order in the lineup, baseball archivists for Major League Baseball think the film may date from 1928.  The large crowd and the long shadows on the field suggest that the game may have occurred late in the season, possibly one of the two World Series Games played in Yankee Stadium in 1928, but  archivists cannot identify the opposing team and the Yankees had a tight pennant race at the end of the 1928 season, winning the American League pennant by only 2 1/2 games over the Athletics.

The archivists need help in filling the details.  The New York Times has the video on its sight.  In the age of the Internet, the hope seems to be that video can be seen by millions and someone may see the footage of the Babe who knows more about when it was made and the game from which it was taken.  So, Yankees fan or not, you can help solve a mystery.  If you, or someone you know, may have attended a Yankees game that season or is a devoted baseball fan, go to the New York Times article, have a look at the video and see if you can add some additional facts about this 90 seconds of celluloid of baseball history eighty years ago.  And, if you have some old baseball home movies, see if you have any footage of Babe Ruth pitching for the Boston Red Sox.  The archivists at Major League Baseball are still looking for that rarity.

Postscript:  On Sunday evening the New York Yankees completed their three game sweep of the Minnesota Twins to advance to the American League Championship against the Los Angeles Angels.