October 1, 1933: Babe Ruth Pitches for the Last Time

October 1, 1933: The baseball regular season ends, and, with the day's games meaning nothing in either League's standings, Babe Ruth pitches for the last time, in order to draw a big crowd in the finale of a season in which the New York Yankees did not win the American League Pennant. It doesn't work: Only 20,000 fans come out.

The Babe goes the distance against his former team, the Red Sox. He gives up 5 runs on 12 hits and 3 walks, with no strikeouts. But the Yankees win, 6-5. Ruth also hits his 34th home run of the season, the 686th of his career, and retires with a career won-lost record of 94-46.

October 1, 1933 was a Sunday. These other baseball games were played:

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the New York Giants, 5-2 at Ebbets Field. Joe Hutcheson hit a home run. Bill Terry, the Giants' player-manager, did not put himself into the game. Mel Ott went 0-for-3.

* The American League Champion Washington Senators closed out their regular season with a 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Rube Walberg of the A's and Ray Prim of the Senators both threw goose eggs for 10 innings, but singles by Doc Cramer and Jimmie Foxx in the top of the 11th gave Connie Mack's club the win.

The game ended with a pinch-hitting appearance by Nick Altrock, who did not reach base. The Senators coach was 57 years old, the oldest player in MLB history to that point. (Only Satchel Paige, who pitched an inning at 59 in 1965, has been older.)

His last previous appearance had been in 1924, when, at 47, he became the oldest player ever to hit a triple. He had debuted as a pitcher in 1898, so this makes him the last remaining player from the 19th Century, and the 1st man to play in MLB in 5 different decades. (Minnie Miñoso of the Chicago White Sox would match that in 1980.)

He won 23 games in 1905 and 20 in 1906, so he was a good pitcher for a while. He helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 1903 and the Chicago White Sox do it in 1906. He was a coach for the Senators from 1912 to 1953, 42 straight seasons, a record for a single franchise. He died in 1965, age 88.

* Both Leagues' seasons ended with a Triple Crown winner -- and both in Philadelphia. In the AL, Foxx batted .356 with 48 home runs and 163 RBIs. In the National League, Chuck Klein of the Phillies batted .368 with 28 homers and 120 RBIs. However, the Phillies lost to the Boston Braves, 4-1 at Braves Field in Boston.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds, 7-5 and 6-5 at Redland Field. (The next year, the ballpark was renamed Crosley Field.) Pie Traynor doubled Woody Jensen home to win the 2nd game in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-3 at Navin Field in Detroit. (The ballpark was later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium.) Hank Greenberg did not play for the Tigers. (No, it wasn't Yom Kippur.)

* The Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* And the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-1 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

There were also 3 games played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat the Green Bay Packers, 10-7 at Borchert Field in Milwaukee. It was the 1st time the Packers had played a "home game" in Wisconsin's largest city.

* The Portsmouth Spartans beat the Chicago Cardinals, 7-6 at Universal Stadium in Portsmouth, Ohio. The Spartans became the Detroit Lions the next season.

* And the Chicago Bears beat the Boston Redskins, 7-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Redskins moved to Washington in 1937.