INTRODUCTION from The Sports Time Traveler
Before Babe Ruth became a full time hitter, he was the best left-handed pitcher in the American League.
Walter Johnson was the best right-handed pitcher in the American League and arguably the greatest pitcher of all time.
Two decades later, these 2 men later were among the 5 inaugural players selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
On August 15, 1916, Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson faced off against each other in Fenway Park.
Looking back from 110 years later, it was a real life fantasy pitching duel - The Bambino vs. The Big Train.
And it was a thriller. T.H. Murnane, of the Boston Globe, began his story the next day with this, “By all odds the most interesting baseball game played at Fenway Park this year.”
I have just returned from my virtual trip to Boston in August, 1916 to experience it. Here’s my story.
FENWAY PARK, BOSTON - Wednesday, August 16, 1916
The attendance was listed at just 5,467 here at Fenway Park for yesterday afternoon’s game. What a shame so few fans were on hand. The weather was excellent, with a high of 77 degrees and no rain. And pitching were two of the best in baseball.
21-year-old Babe Ruth was on the mound for the Boston Red Sox.
And he was facing 28-year-old Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators (their official name is the Nationals).
Describing the competitors, in the Washington Post, Stanley Milliken wrote, “The great Walter Johnson, goliath of American League pitchers, faced his David in big Babe Ruth.”
Milliken referred to Ruth as “David” not just because Ruth was the younger pitcher facing the giant of his time, but because Ruth had already faced Johnson 3 times in his short career, and won all 3!
That’s astonishing when you consider that coming into yesterday’s game, Walter Johnson had a career record of 252 - 156 with 61 shutouts. While Ruth had a career record of just 35 - 18 with 6 shutouts.
Ruth, in his 3rd year, had not yet won 20 games in a season.
Johnson, in his 10th season, had already put up mind boggling numbers as a hurler:
- 55 scoreless innings in 1913.
- 7 consecutive seasons with an ERA under 2.00
- 36 wins in a single season
But Walter Johnson had never defeated Babe Ruth in 3 tries.
When he laced up his shoes yesterday afternoon, The Big Train must have been ready to put the Babe in his place. But it’s certain he was not out for vengeance. Johnson is considered to be the gentlest man in baseball. And he’s the ultimate role model. Yesterday’s Quincy Patriot newspaper outside of Boston, put this headline in the sports section, “Walter Johnson’s Only Vice Is That of Chewing Gum.”
Play Ball!
Game time was 3pm yesterday, and the Bambino sent the first pitch humming to the Senators’ 2nd baseman Ray Morgan. Ruth got Morgan and the next two batters to fly out, retiring the side in order the top of the 1st.
The first real scoring threat in the game came in the top of the 2nd, when Ruth had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. Shortstop George McBride came to the plate, a .218 hitter with just 1 home run on the season. He drove a ball to deep right field, but it was caught on the run by Harry Hooper for the final out.
In the bottom of the 3rd with 1 out, Johnson allowed a long hit by Ruth to right field that Sam Rice lost in the sun according to Paul H. Shannon of the Boston Post. Ruth wound up on 2nd as Rice was charged with an error. Ruth managed to reach 3rd base before Johnson got the final out.
Senators 0 - Red Sox 0 after 3 innings
Ruth was off to a good start and the Red Sox needed it. The defending World Series Champions were clinging to a 1.5 game lead in the American League pennant race. While the Washington Senators were mired in 7th place and going nowhere.
In the top of the 5th, Ruth got into trouble again when he gave up a leadoff double to Eddie Ainsmith, who entered the game batting .163. Milliken wrote, “Ainsmith almost knocked the ball over the left field fence.” He had to settle for a two-bagger. Ainsmith then took 3rd base on a sacrifice. But Ruth got 2 easy outs to retire the side.
Ruth had another dangerous moment in the 6th. With Sam Rice on 1st and 2 outs, Howie Shanks singled to short right-center. Rice tried to take 3rd base. T.H. Murnane described the play as Red Sox right fielder Harry Hooper tried to throw Rice out at 3rd, “Hooper’s throw got by (3rd baseman) Gardner and Rice kept on for home. On a quick recovery by Gardner, a perfect throw to (catcher) Thomas, Rice was nailed at the plate.”
Later in the same Boston Globe article, Murnane noted about the play, “When Hooper’s throw went by Gardner, Ruth made no attempt to back up. The ball bounded back from the fence.” It rebounded right back to Gardner who made the peg to the plate.
Ruth had survived the frame unscathed.
Senators 0 - Red Sox 0 after 6 innings
Ruth had faced trouble again and gotten out of it. And both pitchers proceeded to the 7th with a shutout intact.
The Babe was one of 5 strong starters for the Red Sox. 3 days ago the New York Tribune had celebrated the Red Sox starting corps with this composite picture of the quintet:
Meanwhile The Big Train was pitching superb with a stretch of 21 Red Sox batters faced without allowing a hit. The streak was broken in the top of the 7th when Larry Gardner singled and was stranded at 1st.
Ruth got through the 7th, 8th and 9th without allowing a runner past 1st base.
So, now came the bottom of the 9th, and an opportunity for the Red Sox and Ruth to win the game which was still tied at 0 - 0.
Johnson got 2 outs and then up came Larry Gardner. He whacked a triple and now the winning run was 90 feet from the plate. Chick Shorten was sent in to pinch hit for the shortstop, Everett Scott. He hit a weak grounder straight back to Johnson, and the game headed to extra innings tied a 0.
Ruth got into quick jam in the top of the 10th with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out. Walter Johnson stepped up to face Ruth. He hit a grounder to the shortstop Janvrin for an easy force out at 2nd. But the lead runner Ainsmith decided to make a daring dash for home. Again, a Senators player was out at the plate.
In the bottom of the 10th, Johnson made quick work of the Red Sox and the game moved on to the 11th tied at 0 - 0.
Senators 0 - Red Sox 0 after 11 innings
In the top half of the 11th, the 2nd batter, Clyde Milan singled and stole 2nd. But he got no further.
In the bottom of the 11th, it was The Big Train who got into trouble. A single, passed ball and a walk, put Red Sox runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Then Tillie Walker grounded to 2nd and the runners moved up. Once again, the Red Sox had the winning run standing on 3rd base. But Johnson got Larry Gardner on a grounder and the game entered the 12th inning.
Ruth had an easy time in the top of the 12th.
Johnson gave up a walk to Janvrin to start the bottom of the 12th. Janvrin moved to 2nd on Pinch Thomas’s bunt.
Now Babe Ruth came to the plate. A single could win the game for the Red Sox. Apparently Ruth was not thinking small ball. The Bambino blasted a Johnson pitch, “very deep,” to center field according to Milliken. Shannon in the Boston Post wrote, “Ruth’s fly went almost into the centre field seats.” Murnane in the Boston Globe described the play, “Ruth hit a long high fly within a few feet of the fence in front of the center field bleachers, but (the Senator’s center fielder) Milan, after a long sprint, pulled it down. It was one of the longest drives ever seen at the park.”
After that Harry Hooper hit a pop fly for out number 3.
Oh, how sweet, how poetic, would it have been for the Babe to win the game himself and defeat the Big Train for a 4th time in 4 tries.
The Boston Post was so enamored with Ruth’s near game winner, and the catch by Milan, that they ran this cartoon of the play at the top of the sports section on August 16th:
Senators 0 - Red Sox 0 after 12 innings
NOTE from The Sports Time Traveler
I interrupt this article to inform you that in 1916, the center field fence in Fenway Park stood at 488 feet from home plate. This was a truly Ruthian blast. And in any contemporary ball park the ball game would have ended right there with Ruth beating Johnson on a walk off homer like a Hollywood movie finish.
In 1934, the walls in Fenway were reconstructed and the maximum distance to center field was reduced to it’s present 420 feet, and the “Green Monster” in left field took on the form in which you see it today.
Now back to 1916.
Ruth had demonstrated his adeptness at the plate in this game. And it was no surprise. The Babe was batting .302 through the games of August 10th, and that was good enough for the Red Sox hurler to be among the top 10 batters in the American League:
Ruth came out to the mound for the top of the 13th in what was now the longest game he had ever pitched. The first batter was Walter Johnson, and Ruth got him to hit a pop fly for the 1st out.
Janvrin then made his 2nd error at shortstop and Ray Morgan was safe at 1st. At this point, the Babe balked. Murnane wrote about the balk, “The Boston players made a vigorous protest for Ruth was not on the rubber at the time.” It didn’t help, and now there was a Senator’s runner at 2nd with only 1 out.
Next Clyde Milan smashed a line drive to the right side. It was caught by Red Sox 1st baseman Clyde Hoblitzell. He then alertly whipped the ball to 2nd base and doubled up Morgan.
Ruth was out of another jam courtesy of yet one more defensive gem by a teammate.
In the bottom of the 13th, Jack Barry led off for the Red Sox and hit a bounding ball that went over the head of the Big Train. Johnson tried to snag the ball, but all he did was slow it down. Milliken wrote, “Had Johnson not interfered it would have given Foster an easy chance.” Instead the leadoff man was on base with an infield hit.
Johnson then struck out Duffly Lewis and got Hoblitzell to fly out to center. Next up was Tillie Walker who was 0 for 5 in the game. But he banged out a single and Jack Barry made it to 3rd base. Once again, the Red Sox had the winning run on 3rd base.
Next up was Larry Gardner, who already had 2 hits off Johnson. Murnane wrote, “The crowd gave the Vermonter a rousing cheer as he walked to the plate.”
On the 1st pitch, Gardner smacked the ball to center for his 3rd hit off Walter Johnson, and a Red Sox runner finally made it to home.
The game was over and Babe Ruth had defeated Walter Johnson for the 4th straight time as the Red Sox won it 1 - 0 in 13 innings.
Here was the cartoon depiction in today’s Boston Post of Gardner’s game winning hit:
Paul H. Shannon’s story was put on the front page of the Boston Post:
The top of the sports page in the Boston Post featured this cartoon overview of the the great pitcher’ duel:
Below is the box score of the game as it appeared in the New York Tribune.
Johnson had allowed just 7 hits in the 13 innings to Ruth’s 8.
But Ruth and the Red Sox defense had not yielded a single run, despite numerous scares.
The 13 inning 1 - 0 pitching duel between The Bambino and The Big Train has to rank among the greatest of all-time.
A DISCOVERY from The Sports Time Traveler
As I researched this game, I noticed something fascinating.
In Ruth’s game just prior to the 13 inning duel with Johnson, he had no earned runs in the last 3 and 1/3 innings he pitched.
That began a streak of 41 consecutive innings in which Babe Ruth did not allow an earned run, a streak which lasted until the end of August.
Ruth’s 41 consecutive innings without an earned run is not a record. But it does make Ruth one of the 23 pitchers in history to have recorded a streak of 40 or more consecutive innings with no earned runs.
Here are the details of Ruth’s streak:
Aug 12 1916 - no earned runs in last 3 and 1/3 innings pitched
Aug 15 1916 - no earned runs in 13 innings
Aug 19 1916 - no earned runs in 6 innings
Aug 23 1916 - no earned runs in 2 innings (relief)
Aug 24 1916 - no earned runs in 9 innings
Aug 29 1916 - no earned runs in 5 innings (relief - replaced Dutch Leonard with 1 out in the 1st)
Aug 31 1916 - no earned runs until 2 outs in the 3rd inning
BOOKS BY THE SPORTS TIME TRAVELER
If you enjoyed this article, explore my books on baseball. Both of my books have been accepted into the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum Library Collection in Cooperstown.
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