Where the legend began

The Toronto Star, September 5, 2003
by Jerry Amernic

It was Sept. 5, 1914. Eighty-nine years ago today. A mere three weeks after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo which, of course, led to World War I.

Here in Toronto men in uniform were everywhere. They were guarding railroad stations and bridges and some of them were probably at the ferry docks. The ferry was the only way to get to the ballpark and baseball was becoming popular in Toronto back then. It was a chance to gain some release from the tension.

Maple Leaf Park, also known as Hanlan's Point Stadium, was but four years old and still retained the smell and feel of a new stadium. The large covered grandstand that stretched around the infield offered an excellent view of the proceedings.

That day the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs of the Triple-A International League, one rung below the majors, played a doubleheader against the Providence Grays. The Grays were in third place in the eight-team loop and in striking distance of first while the locals were fifth. The Providence pitcher was a giant — 6-foot-2 — half a foot taller than the average ballplayer in those days. But he weighed a trim 190 pounds and threw what those in the game called "smoke." His name was George Herman Ruth and everyone called him Babe.

He was just 19 and his delivery was a thing of beauty. Precision in motion. When the ball reached the plate his feet were on the ground and he was well positioned for a fielding play. He had power and speed and, more than anything, style.

When the first game was done he had allowed just one hit and had pitched a 9-0 shutout. And in the sixth inning he did something he had never done as a pro. He hit a home run — a towering three-run shot that clinched the game for the visitors. It would be the only minor-league home run he would ever hit because before the season was over he'd be pitching for the parent Boston Red Sox and over the next five years would establish himself as the best southpaw in the American League.

But he could also hit.

Babe Ruth, to be sure, was a larger-than-life character who lived hard and died young, but when it came to the game and to the fans no one compares.

They called him The Bambino and The Sultan of Swat and everyone wanted a piece of him, and unlike many athletes today, he gave. But the legend of his home-run prowess began right here in Toronto at that old ballpark on Hanlan's Point. A humble, almost nondescript, plaque marks the spot, even though it wasn't even erected until the mid-1980s, some 70 years after the fact.

The Toronto Daily Star ran a story on the new pitching sensation who clubbed the three-run homer.

Exactly where the ball wound up is another thing. Some say it went into the water and was never found. Others say it went into the water and was, while others still claim it went into the stands.

Veteran sportswriter Louis Cauz says he once spoke to a man, now deceased, who claimed to witness the home run. Cauz says the man was about 90 at the time and told him that the ball cleared the fence, but didn't go into the water. Baseball writer Larry Humber agrees. But Mike Filey, a well-known Toronto historian, says the fence at the old park was right up against the water so any home run had to wind up in the lake. He says there was nowhere else it could go. A photograph of the park being used for marketing purposes by the Toronto Blue Jays would seem to confirm this.

"Babe Ruth hit another home run in Toronto too," Filey adds. "When he was playing with the Yankees in the '30s they had an exhibition game at Maple Leaf Stadium and he hit one out. That ball is in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame but the 1914 ball? Who knows? It might still be in the water."

But what about the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Marys, Ont.? Shouldn't they know about that ball? Well, yes and no. Here's what Tom Valcke, president and CEO, says: "I've heard two stories about the Hanlan's Point home run. The first is that it was hit into the lake. The second is that someone stole the ball and as security chased him away he threw it into the water. But maybe it was the baseball from the '30s that was stolen and tossed in. It would almost make draining the lake worthwhile if two of the Babe's biggest taters are sitting on the bottom."