Babe Ruth Hits His 700th Career Home Run

On July 13, 1934, Babe Ruth hit his 700th career home run off Tommy Bridges of the Detroit Tigers at Navin Field, becoming the first player in baseball history to reach the milestone. The two-run blast in the third inning gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead, and New York held on to win 4-2.

The home run cleared the single-deck bleachers in right field and sailed out of the ballpark entirely, landing on Plum Street and rolling several hundred yards. Some estimates put the distance at over 500 feet, though measurements from the era were rarely precise. As Ruth circled the bases, he shouted to anyone within earshot, "I want that ball! I want that ball!" Police were dispatched to retrieve it and found the baseball in the hands of a teenager named Lenny Bielski. The boy received $20 and an invitation to watch the rest of the game from the Yankees dugout.

Ruth's dominance of the home run record was staggering. At the time he hit number 700, the four players closest to him were teammate Lou Gehrig at 323, Jimmie Foxx at 248, Al Simmons at 235, and Mel Ott at 197. No other active player had even half his total. Ruth had reshaped the sport's relationship with power hitting. Before his arrival, home runs were curiosities. By 1934, they were the main attraction.

Ruth was 39 years old and in his next-to-last season with the Yankees. His body had thickened and his batting average had dropped from the stratospheric numbers of the late 1920s, but his power remained sufficient to hit 22 home runs in 1934. He would finish his career in 1935 with the Boston Braves, ending with 714 home runs, a record that stood for 39 years until Hank Aaron surpassed it on April 8, 1974.

Only three other players have since joined the 700-home-run club. Barry Bonds (762), Aaron (755), and Albert Pujols (703) are the only members alongside Ruth.