Here is today's Daily Conlon card numbered #174 Sam Jones as he talks about his biggest highlight- a no-hitter."It was a terrific thrill as soon as it was all over. The fans and all the players flocking down on the field to congratulate me. But I think the biggest kick of all came the next day, when I got telegrams from all over the country."Read more by clicking the pic below to embiggen.
On September 5, 1929 Ruth and his Yankees teammates were slated to play in a slightly different style of barnstorming game... (They) were overwhelmed by autograph seekers from the inmate population even signing while running the bases... Ruth was batting in the second inning when he absolutely destroyed a pitch that soared high above the forty foot tall prison wall. The ball was noted to have cleared the wall, over the heads of the prison guards (who deserted their machine guns to follow the path of the ball), continuing past the New York Central Railroad tracks, and ending its journey below the prison administration building. At the time the blast was estimated to have travelled nearly 620 feet in total which was believed to have been the longest of Ruth's career. Subsequent accounts and evaluations of the homerun dimensions have placed the distance at slightly less but by all measure it is clear that the ball flew well over 550 feet. As the most followed athlete of the day one can easily understand the buzz that rose from the Ruth homerun that date. Multiple newspaper and wire accounts spread across the country including the New York Times who wittingly noted, "His second inning drive which traversed the long diagonal of the rectangle before making its getaway past the centre field guardhouse, was jotted down by prison statisticians as the longest non-stop flight by an object or person leaving Sing Sing by that route for the past handful of decades." Upon rounding first base, the prison team baseman (who had 10 years left on a 25 year sentence) exclaimed, "Gee, I wish I was riding out of here on that one!"This is the bat Ruth used for slam that home run. It belonged within the collection from the prison's former athletic director, and sold for $110,000.00.
Here is today's Daily Conlon card numbered #173 of former Brooklyn Dodger Rube Bressler as he describes one of the goofiest Dodger mishaps to ever happen."Do you remember the time three Dodgers would up on third base? It started out with Babe Herman up at bat with none out and the bases loaded. Hank DeBerry was on third, Vance on second, and Chick Fewster on first. Babe hit a ball out to right field and it was hard to say whether it would be caught or would hit the wall. Turned out it hit the wall, and DeBerry came home from third easily. Vance held up so long on second, waiting to see if the ball would be caught, that he could only make it halfway to home- so at the last minute he decided to play it safe and scampered back to third. Chick Fewster kept on going from first and made it to third, so that as Vance came back to third Fewster was already there, standing on the base. And Babe Herman just kept on going as fast as he could, without looking up at anything. So as Vance slid back to third, and Fewster stood on the base, Babe slid into third from the second-base side!Sounds like a circus on the base paths.
"The third baseman tagged all three of them."
"The umpire finally declared Fewster and Herman out."
Here is today's Daily Conlon card #172 of Hans Lobert as he speaks about how "The Horse Just Did Beat Me In.""The mayor (McGraw) asked me if I would race a horse around the bases that afternoon."John McGraw was the master. Can you imagine a manager today convincing a player to do such a thing?
"'Lord,' I said, 'I'm not here to run horses around the bases. I'm here to play baseball.'"
"But he wouldn't take no for an answer, and McGraw finally talked me into agreeing to it."
Bill Klem was to be the referee and we were ready to go. A pistol started us , and off we went. I led at first base by at least five feet, and by the second base I had picked up and was a t least ten feet ahead. I was in perfect stride, hitting each bag with my right foot and going faster all the time. But instead of the horse keeping his distance, he crowded me between second and third and I had to dodger to avoid being knocked down. I broke stride, and that was the end. I was still in front as we rounded third, but not by much ad on the home stretch the horse just did beat me in. I still think I would have won if I hadn't been practically bowled over at shortstop.
"Bill Klem said the horse won by a nose."
