The 700 Club

The New York Yankees’ Babe Ruth crosses the plate after hitting his 700th career home run 90 years ago today at Detroit’s Navin Field.

Ruth’s homer, a two-run drive to deep right field off Tigers starter Tommy Bridges in the third inning, gives the Yankees an early 2-0 lead in a game they eventually win 4-2 before a Friday afternoon crowd of 21,000.

Ruth hits only eight more home runs for the Yankees in 1934 before moving on to Boston and hitting six homers for the Braves before retiring only two months into the 1935 season.

During his Hall of Fame career, Ruth hits five of his then-record 714 homers off Bridges, the 5-foot-10, 155-pound right-hander who in his career only allows more homers to Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx (16), Hal Trosky (10), Bob Johnson (seven) and Ben Chapman (six) than he does to Ruth.