Another Iowa connection to the Bambino: His Yankee teammate George Pipgras, a pitcher who went 10-3 for the 1927 Yanks and 24-13 in 1928, was a native of Ida Grove. He pitched 11 years for the Yankees and Red Sox and then became an American League umpire.
Ruth's final public appearance was in Spencer, IA, June 22, 1948. John Hart, owner of the local Ford dealership was friends with the Babe and had played in exhibition games with him. Ford Motor Corp. was sponsoring Babe to tour the country promoting American Legion Youth Baseball. He was in poor health then and passed away 2 months later at his home in New York,
Wow. I’ve never heard that before. That was 9 days after he made his last appearance at Yankee Stadium where he leaned on Bob Feller’s bat for support because he was so weak from cancer. Do you have any documentation of this? I would love to write about it!
I was only 2 years old so I don’t personally remember the event but do remember it being talked about at family gatherings. A couple of much older cousins were at the event which was the dedication of Hart’s Field for the town semi-pro baseball team.
Another Iowa connection to the Bambino: His Yankee teammate George Pipgras, a pitcher who went 10-3 for the 1927 Yanks and 24-13 in 1928, was a native of Ida Grove. He pitched 11 years for the Yankees and Red Sox and then became an American League umpire.
I had heard of Pipgras but didn't know he was from Ida Grove. Thx for sharing!
Ruth's final public appearance was in Spencer, IA, June 22, 1948. John Hart, owner of the local Ford dealership was friends with the Babe and had played in exhibition games with him. Ford Motor Corp. was sponsoring Babe to tour the country promoting American Legion Youth Baseball. He was in poor health then and passed away 2 months later at his home in New York,
Wow. I’ve never heard that before. That was 9 days after he made his last appearance at Yankee Stadium where he leaned on Bob Feller’s bat for support because he was so weak from cancer. Do you have any documentation of this? I would love to write about it!
I was only 2 years old so I don’t personally remember the event but do remember it being talked about at family gatherings. A couple of much older cousins were at the event which was the dedication of Hart’s Field for the town semi-pro baseball team.
There are 2 or 3 articles available online. That was how I verified the information.
Btw I have events in Indianola, Laporte City, and Mason City coming up in the next ten days.
Thank you Daniel!
My husband’s baseball coach (Zebe Larson) at Waterloo West High is said to have struck out Babe Ruth.
Very cool! Any idea where that happened? I love these kinds of stories!
Thank you, Daniel. The early days of baseball seem so quaint. The talent for the time is legendary.