There was a time when our baseball heroes roamed the earth like gods, not like criminals hiding in the witness protection program. And when called upon in a time of crisis, these gods responded with their own version of a miracle.
Sixty-nine years ago this week, Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson came out of retirement to stage a showdown between the Bambino and the Big Train.
Why? Because their country needed it.
Ruth, the New York Yankees slugger, and Johnson, the Washington Senators fireballer, were past their glory days on the diamond when they walked onto the field at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 23, 1942, before a crowd of more than 69,000 fans — the second-largest crowd in Yankee Stadium history at the time.
Johnson, 54, had last thrown a pitch for the Senators in 1927. Ruth, 47, had last swung a bat in a major league game in 1935, finishing his career in ignominy with the Boston Braves.
But in 1942 — while the United States was fighting for the free world in World War II — these baseball gods were asked to face each other in an exhibition fundraiser for the World War II Army-Navy Relief Fund to help families of fallen service members.
The event took place between games of a Senators-Yankees doubleheader in New York. The showdown became the hottest ticket in the city.
Johnson was the best pitcher of his time with a record of 417-279, second only to Cy Young in victories, along with a 2.17 ERA and 3,509 strikeouts over 21 seasons. Ruth, of course, was the home run king with 714, driving in 2,213 runs and batting .342 over 22 seasons.
According to accounts of the day, both men had trepidations about participating in the exhibition.
“Babe, I just want to ask one thing; don’t hit any back to me,” Johnson said.
“Hell, I’ll be lucky to hit one at all,” Ruth said. “But I’ll try to pull them down the line.”
Ruth hit a line drive into the lower right-field stands on his third swing. Then, on the 20th and final pitch, Ruth slammed one into the right-field upper deck. It went foul, but Ruth captured the moment by trotting around the bases, tipping his cap, reaching home plate and embracing Johnson as the crowd cheered the glory of the moment, according to news accounts.
They raised more than $80,000 for the relief fund that day.
Imagine if the country faced a similar crisis today and you tried to put together a modern-day version of this event.
Who would be your baseball gods? Roger Clemens? Barry Bonds?
Is it a crisis when the game that helped defined the identity of America in the 20th century has no one worthy today to carry the banner into battle?
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
