Of all the home runs in Braves’ history, Babe Ruth’s three home runs in one game for the then-Boston Braves at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field in 1935 was as historic as it was impressive.
As the years pass, the feat has taken on a bit of legend as well. At times, it crosses the borders of fact and fiction.
The discussion of the Braves’ long-standing status as a team with prolific home run hitters features the great Hank Aaron, the Launching Pad of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, and this year’s edition, led by Matt Olson and a trove of big hitters on pace to break the single-season team home run record.
Babe Ruth hits his last career home run, 1935 pic.twitter.com/HkUHhhlmvt
— Baseball In Pics (@baseballinpix) August 8, 2023
Babe Ruth’s Final Home Runs, In a Braves Uniform, Were Legendary
Bambino The Brave
On one special day, during his otherwise nondescript appearance in a Braves uniform, Ruth swatted three monster homers and drove in six runs. The all-time great made a grand exit from the game.
The 40-year-old Ruth was released by the New York Yankees after the 1934 season and returned to Boston to play for the NL Braves. He began his career with the Boston Red Sox, where he was as good a pitcher as he was a hitter. He was famously sold to the Yankees in 1920. New York received the most prolific home run hitter of his time and Boston received The Curse of the Bambino. The superstition defined an 86-year championship drought by the Red Sox between 1918 and 2004. Ruth was colloquially known as The Bambino.
Despite Ruth’s effort on that May afternoon in 1935, the Braves lost, 11-7, to a Pittsburgh Pirates team that included three Hall of Famers: The Waner brothers (Lloyd Waner and Paul Waner) and shortstop Arky Vaughan.
Ruth would play in five more games that season and not record another hit. In 28 games with the Braves, Ruth hit .181 with six homers and 12 RBI. It marked his fewest homers in a season since 1917 when he started 38 games on the mound for the Red Sox.
The Day of the Legend
Home runs number 712, 713, and 714 were hit at Forbes Field. The ballpark is now part of the University of Pittsburgh campus in the city’s Oakland neighborhood. The Pirates have since moved to Three Rivers Stadium in 1970 and to PNC Park in 2001.
Ruth’s last career home runs set a Major League record that would stand until 1974 when Aaron surpassed it on his way to 755.
Ruth had only played in Pittsburgh one previous time. In 1927, the Yankees fielded what many still consider to be the greatest team of all time. He hit 60 home runs that year and they swept the Pirates in the World Series.
During his 22-season career, this game was only the second time the Sultan of Swat hit three home runs in a single game.
Up, Up and Away: The Story Grows
Watered by the passage of time, the legend has grown into its own persona. Some accounts would suggest Ruth hit balls into orbit on May 25, 1935.
Each of the final three hits was greater than the one before as they sailed over the right-field wall. The first one went into the lower deck. The second went into the upper deck. The third one went completely over the right-field grandstand’s overhanging roof and out of the ballpark, the first one to ever clear the 86-foot high stands. Some eyewitnesses said it even cleared the roof by 50 feet.
The third home run is where witness accounts of that day become creative. The final home run ball was estimated by some to have traveled more than 600 feet. It is said to have landed on the roof of a row house and was retrieved later by the ballpark’s chief usher. Other accounts suggest it was found in the backyard of a nearby home. It is now located at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
The Babe Being ‘The Babe’
Upon hitting his final home run, Ruth reportedly crossed the plate and headed straight to the locker room. To do so at Forbes Field, he had to pass through the Pirates’ dugout. While there, he reportedly paused to sit on the end of the Pirates’ bench next to pitcher Mace Brown and said: “Boy, that last one felt good.”
Ruth was a revolutionary player and a big personality, capturing America’s imagination. He often hit more home runs in a single season than an entire team. In a span of 14 seasons, from 1917-31, Ruth led the AL in home runs 12 times.
Although he no longer holds many of the records that once made him famous, Ruth is still widely considered the best player of his generation, if not the greatest player of all time. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936 as part of the inaugural class.
Main photo credits:
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Players mentioned:
Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Matt Olson, Lloyd Waner, Paul Waner, Arky Vaughan, Mace Brown
