Shieber: ‘Speedy’ film footage shows record-setting Babe Ruth homer
From SABR member Tom Shieber at Baseball Reseacher on August 10, 2015:
It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a while there’s a jewel hidden in plain sight. Sometimes it just takes a little research to uncover that jewel. Herewith the story of a classic silent movie that contains two such jewels.
Jewel 1: The Earliest-Known Celebrity Photo Bomb In the 1920s, there was no bigger star on the baseball diamond than slugger Babe Ruth. And during the same decade, you’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger star on the silver screen than comedian Harold Lloyd. So when the Bambino made a cameo appearance in Lloyd’s 1928 silent film “Speedy,” fans of both our national pastime and motion pictures were elated.
You can watch the film here, with the Ruth appearance running from 49:03 to 53:20.
In the 85-minute-long movie, Lloyd plays Harold “Speedy” Swift, a rabid Yankees fan whose obsession with baseball results in his inability to hold a job. Speedy eventually becomes a cab driver and is lucky enough to pick up the Babe for a fare. Ruth asks Speedy to take him to Yankee Stadium and so begins a wild ride through the streets of Manhattan en route to the ballpark in the Bronx.
Read the full article here: http://baseballresearcher.blogspot.com/2015/08/old-footage-now-identified-as-showing.html?m=1
Originally published: August 10, 2015. Last Updated: August 10, 2015.