The Babe’s final game

Babe Ruth in Boston’s dugout on May 30, 1935

Five days after his last great game – the one in which he hits three home runs at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field – Babe Ruth plays the final game of his 22-year Hall of Fame career 89 years ago today at Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl.

Hitless since that epic performance against the Pirates at Forbes Field, Ruth – the longtime New York Yankee now Boston Brave – plays his last game in front of an overflow crowd of 18,000 on a Thursday afternoon in North Philly.

Alas, the crowd does not see much of Ruth on this day, which ends with the Phillies beating the Braves 11-6.

Jim Bivin

Facing rookie right-hander Jim Bivin and batting third in the Braves’ lineup, Ruth takes what turns out to be his final at-bat in the top of the first inning and grounds out to Phillies first baseman Dolph Camilli.

Ruth plays in the field in the bottom of the first inning, and the results are embarrassing for him.

First, Ruth cannot move fast enough to catch a fly ball-turned-single hit by Johnny Moore with two outs and no one on base.

Boston pitcher Fred Frankhouse follows Moore’s gift hit by allowing a walk, double and then a triple to Lou Chiozza, whose fly to left field is another ball that eludes the slow-footed Ruth.

Seeing the ball roll to the wall, Chiozza tries for an inside-the-park homer, only to come up short as an exhausted Ruth retrieves the ball and throws it to third baseman Pinky Whitney, who then relays the ball to catcher Al Spohrer in time to throw out Chiozza at the plate.

As his teammates, now trailing 3-0, return to the dugout after that final out, Ruth slowly runs toward the center field gate that leads to the visiting team’s clubhouse.

His day is done.

So is his career as five days later Ruth officially announces his retirement.

Ruth finishes his career with 714 home runs, a record that lasts until the Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron passes him in 1974 with his 715th on the way to 755 homers in his own Hall of Fame career.

Ruth, of course, knows when the time comes to leave the game.

“All ballplayers,” Ruth says, “should quit when it starts to feel as if all the baselines run uphill.”