Babe Ruth’s Great-Grandson Visits St. Petersburg Museum of History Friday Before Throwing 1st Pitch at Rays-Yankees

July 25, 2016

Contact: Will Darnall
PR & Marketing Manager
St. Petersburg Museum of History
Cell: 813.400.8743

Babe Ruth’s Great-Grandson Visits St. Petersburg Museum of History Friday Before Throwing 1st Pitch at Rays-Yankees

Brent Stevens to donate autographed baseball from the surviving family of the legendary slugger whose longest home run smash was recorded in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A very special addition gets donated to the world’s largest collection of autographed baseballs at the St. Petersburg Museum of History at 2 PM Friday, July 29, when Babe Ruth’s great-grandson Brent Stevens donates a signed baseball from his family to the “Schrader’s Little Cooperstown” exhibition.

Stevens’ visit coincides with Friday’s 2 PM book signing by local historian and author Will Michaels, whose new book Hidden History of St. Petersburg chronicles multiple chapters about Babe Ruth’s adventures in St. Petersburg during spring training in the 1920s and 1930s. It’s documented that Ruth crushed a home run more than 600 feet at the site of the current Al Lang Stadium -- baseball’s longest hit ever.
Stevens, a resident of Atlanta, is also scheduled to throw out the first pitch at Friday night’s Rays-Yankees game at Tropicana Field. His autographed ball will add to the
museum’s “Schrader’s Little Cooperstown” collection, featuring nearly 5,000 autographed baseballs, the most of any baseball collection in the world.

“Babe’s daughter visited a couple years ago, and now to have his great-grandson explore the exhibit only adds to the historic value of this amazing exhibit,” said Rui Farias, Executive Director. “Coupled with the book debut of Will Michael’s Hidden History of St. Petersburg, it should be another historic day in St. Pete.”

WHAT: Babe Ruth’s great-grandson Brent Stevens donates ball from his family to St. Petersburg Museum of History & book signing by Will Michaels for Hidden History of St. Petersburg
WHEN: 2 PM Friday, July 29
WHERE: St. Petersburg Museum of History, 335 2nd Avenue NE

ABOUT:
Sharing the Sunshine City’s stories for nearly a Century, the St. Petersburg Museum of History is Pinellas County’s oldest museum and home to more than 30,000 artifacts and archives in its collection. Located along the scenic and historic downtown waterfront, the St. Petersburg Museum of History hosts year-round temporary exhibitions such as Experience Cuba, and is also home to permanent exhibitions such as the world’s largest collection of autographed baseballs, “Schrader’s Little Cooperstown,” and Flight One Gallery, where guests can explore the world’s first airliner and the birth of commercial aviation. The St. Petersburg Museum of History is open 362 days a year.

St Petersburg Museum of History - Saint Petersburg, FL, United States. Great history.

26 to 35 – New York Yankees By the Numbers - by Harvey Frommer

26 to 35 – New York Yankees By the Numbers

​​​

By Harvey Frommer

​Numerology – amounts, stats quantities, numerals, whatever you call them – they keep on coming. Reaction has been so positive, that herewith the latest installment for numerals for the team from the Bronx. Please send along your own numbers. Will credit your selection if used.

26

​No Yankee pitcher has won 26 games in a regular season since Lefty Gomez in 1934.

​Only Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle recorded more hits by age 26 than Derek Jeter.

27

​       ​​

​Number of General Managers that worked during George Steinbrenner’s tenure. 

28

Of the 60 record-setting home runs hit by Babe Ruth in 1927, 28 were at Yankee Stadium.

29

​​Joe DiMaggio, most homers by a Yankee rookie, 1939.

Mel Allen was a Yankee broadcaster for 29 seasons, television and radio.   

Whitey Ford over a 16 year career had 29 bases stolen off him.  

Paul O’Neill was awarded the 29th plaque in Monument Park. 

30

Wee Willie Keeler’s bat length, measured in inches, shortest ever. 

Yogi Berra, most home runs in a season by a Yankee catcher, 1952, and 1956 

    ​Eddie Lopat, Mel Stottlemyre, Willie Randolph all wore #30.                                                     

​Roger Maris, of his 61 home runs in 1961, 30 were hit at Yankee Stadium.  

31  

​Bobby Richardson retired from the Yankees at the age of 31 and became baseball coach at the University of South Carolina. 

32 

Most passed balls as a team in a season, 1913        

         Earle Combs was given uniform #1 and as a leadoff man could have become the first Yankee player to bat identified by a uniform number. However, Yankees had a rain delay that day. Cleveland played before the Yankees and it’s likely one of their players wore the #1 first in 1929. So Combs would have been the first Yankees but not major leaguer to wear a number. 

When Combs became a Yankee coach in 1936, he chose uniform #32.  

Uniform number of Elston Howard, retired July 21, 1984

Number of Yankee managers all time through Joe Girardi  
 33

Second longest hitting streak in franchise history, Hal Chase, 1907

​Number worn by Bill Dickey as Yankee coach.         

                                 

33 1/3 ​​

​Mariano Rivera’s longest post-season scoreless innings pitched.

34

​Pitcher Foster Edwards in 1930 was the first Yankee to wear this number. 

35

​Outfielder Dixie Walker in 1931 was the first Yankee to wear this number.

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Dr. Harvey Frommer, a professor at Dartmouth College in the MALS program, is in his 40th year of writing books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, he is the author of 42 sports books including the classics: best-selling “New York City Baseball, 1947-1957″ and best-selling Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball,as well as his acclaimed Remembering Yankee Stadium and best-selling Remembering Fenway Park. His highly praised When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl was published last fall.

His Frommer Baseball Classic – Remembering Yankee Stadium (Second Edition) is his newest sports effort. A link to purchase autographed copies of Frommer Sports Books is at: http://frommerbooks.com/

The prolific author is at work on THE ULTIMATE YANKEE BOOK (2017)

Daring, Definitive New York Yankees Quiz 9 - By Dr. Harvey Frommer

Daring, Definitive New York Yankees Quiz 9
By Dr. Harvey Frommer

Lots of terrific questions and answers were sent along but only a few made my editorializing. Keep them coming. You do not have to be a Yankee fan to take the quiz – it’s sort of a brain teaser. Go to it

94. Who said: "I won't be active in the day to day operations of the ball club at all."
A. Jake Ruppert B. Casey Stengel C. George Steinbrenner D. Yogi Berra.

95. Who said and why: "They told me my services were no longer desired because they wanted to put in a youth program as an advance way of keeping the club going. I'll never make the mistake of being seventy again."
A. Casey Stengel B. Bucky Harris C. Miller Huggins D. none of these

96. Who struck out more times during their respective careers, Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle?

97. Who loved the expression - "That huckleberry?"
A. Red Barber B. Phil Rizzuto C. Mel Allen D. Suzyn Waldman

98. Who was known as the 'oh, say can you see' guy?
A. Robert Merrill B. Whitey Ford C. Phil Linz D. None of these

99. Name two Yankees who were called “Moose.”

100. Which of the following Yankee books was not written by Harvey Frommer?
A. Five O’clock Lightning B. A Yankee Century C. The Bronx Zoo
D. Remembering Yankee Stadium

101. Name the first season the Yankees drew over 3 million fans at Yankee Stadium?
A. 1999 B.1969 C. 2009 D. 1989

102. Which Yankee Hall of Famer did Branch Rickey once predict would "never make anything more than a Triple-A ballplayer at best?" A. Mickey Mantle B. Ron Guidry C. Yogi Berra D. none of these

103 How many total Gold Glove Awards did "Donnie Baseball" win?
A. 6 B 7 C. 8 D. 9

104. In 1933, Babe Ruth hit the first home run in All-Star Game history. In what
park did he hit the historic home run?





===================================================================





ANSWERS



94. C. George Steinbrenner after he purchased the Yankees from CBS.
95. A. Casey Stengel, when he was fired by the Yankees
96. (Mantle 1,710 vs. Ruth 1,330)
97. B. Phil Rizzuto
98. A. Robert Merrill, the famed opera singer who graced Yankee Stadium by singing the national anthem.
99. Bill Skowron, Mike Mussina
100. C. The Bronx Zoo
101. A.
102 C. Yogi Berra
103 D. 9
104. Comiskey Park, Chicago

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Dr. Harvey Frommer, a professor at Dartmouth College in the MALS program, is in his 40th year of writing books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, he is the author of 42 sports books including the classics: best-selling “New York City Baseball, 1947-1957″ and best-selling Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball,as well as his acclaimed Remembering Yankee Stadium and best-selling Remembering Fenway Park. His highly praised When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl was published last fall.


His Frommer Baseball Classic – Remembering Yankee Stadium (Second Edition) is his newest sports effort.A link to purchase autographed copies of Frommer Sports Books is at: http://frommerbooks.com/

REMEMBERING THE 1939 ALL-STAR GAME AT YANKEE STADIUM ​​​By Harvey Frommer

 REMEMBERING THE 1939 ALL-STAR GAME AT YANKEE STADIUM

​​​By Harvey Frommer

​The buzz for the 2016 All-Star Game is all about a National League starting infield of the Chicago Cubs and a half dozen Boston Red Sox on the American League roster. Flashback to 1939 and Yankee Stadium and there is plenty of buzz about that time.  

It was only the seventh All-Star Game ever played. Yankee Stadium was selected as the site in order for it to link in with the 1939 New York City World’s Fair. A box seat ticket for the All-Star Game cost $2.20. Bleacher seats were 55 cents. One could buy a scorecard for a nickel.

Just the week before “Lou Gehrig Day” had been staged at the Stadium. Now the “Iron Horse” was on hand as an honorary member of the American League team.

“It was a beautiful day,” Bob Feller remembered. “Not too hot, but warm enough. It was just a beautiful day at Yankee Stadium.”

There were 62,892 jammed into the big ballpark in the Bronx. When the American League lineup was announced, a fan sceamed out: "Make Joe McCarthy play an All-Star American League team. We can beat them, but we can't beat the Yankees.” 

Six starters were Yankees – Red Rolfe, Bill Dickey, George Selkirk, Joe Gordon, Red Ruffing and Joe DiMaggio. With manager Joe McCarthy, and non-starters Frank Crosetti, Lefty Gomez and Johnny Murphy, there were ten Yankees on the All-Star team.Eleven, if Lou Gehrig was counted.

        The SRO crowd was especially charged up seeing Yankee favorite hurler Red Ruffing start the game and all position starters play the entire contest. Joe DiMaggio’s homer run highlighted the 3-1 American League triumph in a game that took just one hour and 55 minutes to play. Times sure have changed. 

After the All-Star break, the Yanks went on a tear winning 35 of 49 games. The "Yankee Clipper" finished first in batting average, second in RBIs and third in home runs. Bill Dickey, George Selkirk, Joe Gordon and Joe DiMaggio drove in more than 100 runs each. The Yankees led the American League in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, walks, runs, and fielding percentage.  

Allowing nearly 150 runs fewer than any other team in the league, the  Yankees outscored their opponents by 411, a greater run differential than any other team in history. They took the pennant finishing 17 games ahead of second place Boston. No wonder they had so many players on that 1939 All Star team.

Dr. Harvey Frommer, a professor at Dartmouth College in the MALS program, is in his 40th year of writing books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, he is the author of 42 sports books including the classics: best-selling “New York City Baseball, 1947-1957″ and best-selling Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball,as well as his acclaimed Remembering Yankee Stadium and best-selling Remembering Fenway Park. His highly praised When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl was published last fall.


His Frommer Baseball Classic – Remembering Yankee Stadium (Second Edition) is his newest sports effort.A link to purchase autographed copies of Frommer Sports Books is at: http://frommerbooks.com/

Dave Righetti 4th of July No-Hitter by Harvey Frommer

DAVE RIGHETTI: THE NO HITTER, JULY 4, 1983.

          A holiday crowd of 41,077 was on hand at Yankee Stadium on Independence Day. Many of the fans wore Yankee hats that had been given away as a promotion for the game against the Boston Red Sox.

Dave Righetti 4th of July No-Hitter by Harvey Frommer         

 Dave Righetti had come to the Yankees in a multiple player deal that sent Sparky Lyle to Texas. His major league debut was as an end of the season call up on September 16, 1979.  But it was not until 1981 that he returned to the Yankees to stay.

            American League Rookie of the Year that 1981 season (8-4, 2.06 ERA), the player they called "Rags" won twice against  Milwaukee in divisional play and once over Oakland in the LCS.

          On this warm and sunny day, the 24-year-old Dave Righetti would make history. He would pitch a no-hitter against the BoSox. The stylish hurler walked four and struck out nine men, including Wade Boggs for the final out. Boggs, hitting .357 at the time, went down swinging on a hard slider, Righetti’s bread and butter pitch that day.

          FRANK MESSER (GAME CALL, WABC RADIO):

          The Yankees lead, 4-0. Glenn Hoffman is at second base, two outs, in the top of the ninth inning. And Dave Righetti on the threshold of making history here at Yankee Stadium. He set, the kick, and the pitch. . . HE STRUCK HIM OUT! RIGHETTI HAS PITCHED A NO-HITTER! DAVE RIGHETTI HAS PITCHED A NO-HITTER!

          Ironically, it would be Righetti’s  last season as a regular starting pitcher. The next year, he replaced Goose Gossage as the Yankees closer, and in 1986 went on to set the then-major league single season save record of 46.

          The fourth of July no-hitter was the first by a lefthander in Yankee Stadium history, the first no-hitter by a Yankee pitcher since 1956, when Don Larsen tossed a perfect game. It was only the sixth regular-season no-hitter in Yankees history and the first since 1951.

Dr. Harvey Frommer, a professor at Dartmouth College in the MALS program, is in his 40th year of writing books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, he is the author of 42 sports books including the classics: best-selling “New York City Baseball, 1947-1957″ and best-selling Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball,as well as his acclaimed Remembering Yankee Stadium and best-selling Remembering Fenway Park. His highly praised When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl was published last fall.


His Frommer Baseball Classic – Remembering Yankee Stadium (Second Edition) is his newest sports effort.A link to purchase autographed copies of Frommer Sports Books is at: http://frommerbooks.com/



The prolific author is at work on THE ULTIMATE YANKEE BOOK (2017)