This recently re-discovered silent, black and white, 16mm home movie dates to 1927 and was likely filmed by someone who hailed from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. The film is noteworthy in that it contains footage of famed baseball player George Herman “Babe” Ruth. Raw film footage of Babe Ruth is rare — so rare that less than an hour’s worth is said to exist in the archives of Major League Baseball.
The first footage shown in the film is of the dramatic horseshoe curve of the Allegheny River at Brady’s Bend, PA, (about 60 miles northeast of Pittsburgh). After some footage of hunting dogs and fishermen, there is footage of a packed football stadium (most likely this is the famed Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut), and finally footage of Game 1 of the 1927 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, on October 5, 1927. There you’ll see Babe Ruth take batting practice, Pirates third baseman Harold Joseph “Pie” Traynor nearly run into a movie camera, and Kenesaw Mountain Landis (the first Commissioner of Baseball) in the crowd.
00:08 Brady’s Bend, PA, in winter 00:59 Train pulled by steam locomotive rounds the bend 01:30 Train moving in the opposite direction around the bend 02:15 Pack of hunting dogs in a pen 02:45 (footage plays backwards) group of fisherman readying their expedition 03:05 Fish in shallow stream 03:59 Marching band on field in a packed football stadium 04:12 Football played, pan of stadium 05:22 People watch the football game from tree tops, stadium spectators in the foreground 05:56 Wide fan waterfall 06:27 Game 1 of the 1927 World Series at Forbes Field 06:31 Babe Ruth takes batting practice, fouls off both pitches 06:59 Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman “Pie” Traynor warms up 07:16 Traynor nearly collides with man carrying movie camera on tripod 07:27 Kenesaw Mountain Landis, first Commissioner of Baseball, is shown to his seat 07:43 Outfield, grandstand at Forbes Field 08:31 Spectators 8:38 The End
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
