Courage Boys features stories to inspire and leave you feeling hopeful. Making a difference is not only possible, but something we’re all capable of accomplishing. These are the stories of ordinary people making the decision to be extraordinary with bravery, resilience and principle. This is Courage Boys.
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The Babe
It was the 1932 World Series at Wrigley Field, Cubs versus the Yankees. Babe Ruth sat in the visitor's dugout and waited for another bat. With a homer in the first, he was already one for one.
Emerging from the dugout to a chorus of profanity and boos, Babe crowded the plate and eyeballed Charlie Root, the winningest pitcher in Cubs' history.
Two strikes down, Ruth took his right hand off the bat and held up two fingers to the Cubs' bench. Then with the same hand, pointed straight at center field. He yelled something at the pitcher and leaned back in over the plate.
Smack! The Babe hit another home run.
Rounding third, he smiled at Lou Gehrig, who then took the plate and knocked the very next pitch out of the park.
There are those that debate Ruth's intent with the pointed finger. Was he pointing at the pitcher or the out field? Was he really calling the shot? We may never know what Ruth was really thinking. But he had a history with promises.
You see, six years earlier, Babe told Johnny Sylvester, a dying 10-year-old, "I'll knock one home for you on Wednesday." And he did, on Wednesday, game four of the Cardinals versus Yankees series of 1926. He sent Johnny the ball.
So while a film from 1932 might be a bit blurry, the fact remains that since Ruth's fifth inning homer, children all around the globe have been pointing to the fences and calling their shots.