Next Monday, July 11th, will mark the 97th anniversary of Babe Ruth's debut in the Major Leagues with the Boston Red Sox. That's right, the Red Sox—not that other franchise a few hours to the south. He was primarily a starting pitcher with Boston and, of course, he picked up the victory in that first game. Hey, he was Babe Ruth! By October, he had married a Boston waitress and was to become an important cog in three World Series championships (1915, 1916, 1918). You know the rest of the story.July 11th continued to be a big day for the Babe in Boston. On that date in 1916, he started both games of a doubleheader —although only one-third of an inning in the opener for the insufficiently warmed-up intended starter. But then the Babe pitched a complete-game win in the nightcap. He went on to pitch nine shutouts in '16—a record for lefties that stood until some guy named Guidry replicated it in 1978. His 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings in the Fall Classic stood until another guy from that other franchise (Whitey Ford) shattered it in 1961.
His amazing contributions to the Red Sox justify a place of honor for the Babe on Fenway's right-field facade. He wore no number here, but a simple "BABE" would suffice. Arguably the greatest baseball player of all time started it all here. We should take note of that.
(PHOTO CREDIT: SDN-059778, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society)