Babe Ruth Hits His 60th Home Run

On September 30, 1927, Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the season in the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium, breaking a 2-2 tie and giving the New York Yankees a 4-2 victory over the Washington Senators. The pitch came from left-hander Tom Zachary, and Ruth drove it into the right-field bleachers.

Ruth took a slow trot around the bases while the crowd of roughly 10,000 tore paper into confetti and threw hats into the air. It was the second-to-last game of the regular season. He had hit 17 home runs in September alone, an extraordinary final push that carried him past his own previous record of 59, set in 1921.

The 1927 Yankees were known as Murderers' Row, a lineup that included Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, and Bob Meusel. Gehrig had 47 home runs of his own that season and finished with 175 RBIs. The team won 110 games and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.

Ruth's 60 home runs were more than any entire American League team hit that year except the Yankees and the Athletics. The record stood for 34 years until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961, and it remained the standard by which all home run seasons were measured for most of the 20th century.

The baseball Ruth hit for number 60 was caught by a fan named Joe Forner and eventually made its way to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, where it remains on display. Zachary, the pitcher who surrendered the blast, protested to the umpire that the ball was foul. The umpire disagreed. The record stood.