The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-10-15

runs through the aid Of some neigh
rorlv fence on his homo park, as 80
frequently happens when player
IL able ta-44z more than seven or
eight home runs in one season. Ruth
In the past year hit a ball beyond q
barrier OF every park in the Afneri-
can League and In several cities ne
made drives which old timers read
flv class az record drives. II any
mayer of the past hit home runs on
every PARK I'm tire circuit the per
formance has escaped notice, which
hardly would he probable
The Boston slugger hit what New
York critics agree was the longest
drive e@er made, 81, the Polo Grounds
the ball going above the roof or the
rirhtf1eId stand and continuing on It's
wav 70 A neighboring field. Joe Jack
son once put a ball over the stand.
bat Il Was not travelling as fast as
the Ruth slam when II disappeared
rror, view. A. Navin Field. Detroit
Ruth hit ball beyond the street
wall in a game during the past sum :
rner. This wall stands beyond run
wsv through which the ffearh"rttes
make their way to the uncovered
stands Al Sportsman Park in 81
Louis Ruth hi. the longest drive ever
recorded there. and at his home field.
Fenway park. in Boston, the mig
rlurwer has made several drives be
vond the best mark reached by any
other player
Great Driving Power.
An idea Of the remarkable driving
power shown by Ruth In his record
making campaign this season is pro-
vided in the hitting he has done Mt
ComiSkey Park in Chicago and Navin
Field in Detroit Ruth has driven
three homers in>o the right field
hleachors at Chicago, AS many as the
entire collection Of American Lee que
s,urcers has averaged IN a season
since the park waa built. He has hit
FIVE home runs to the rtght-f"ld sec
ton OF Navin Field, and here he goes
beyond the average season crop fer
home runs to this distant section
C"levelan%s- ripht field has n fence
AZ feet high, and Ruth hit two be-
You'd this barrier this year,
Since the tendency Of later DAYS
is to build larger parks than those
used In the old DAYS, there seems to
be little likelihood OF any slugTer dis
placing the record set by Ruth this
season. IT must be remembered. too.
by the Red Sox early In the year, also
that the major league schedule called
for only l40 games. Ruth took par,
IN only 100 games during the 1919
season, or twenty four lcsx than the
schedule calls for normally. With
those twenty-four extra games added
there is no telling how high Ruth
would run that home run total.
1t is not with the idea of disparar-
ing the high totals reached by Ed
Williamson In 1884, or Buck Free
man in 1899, 10 say that both had
easier fences to shoot AZ in the old
days than Ruth, or any other player.
has at the present time, William
son met conditions as he found them
and it IL to his credit that he was
able to set up a figure which no
player Of his day, or OF the next
thirty four years. could duplicate.
Freeman. with two home runs less
than Williamson made. undoubtedly
was one Of the star sluggers Of a
later era However, since SO many
comparisons have been made be-
tween tho figures OF Ruth and those
OF, Williamson and Freeman, it is
only fair to the great Red Sox slug
ger To say that he hardly had to
equal those old-tfme marks to prove
his superiority over both as long
distance hitter.
Clark Griffith has been quoted as
saying that Freeman had a neighbor-
" fsnce at the home part of the
Washfngton Club when he compiled
6s record IN the late COS, while the
capital was represented in the old
tRene-club National League. Ac-
qcFding to figures recently unearth-
-. Freeman made fifteen OF his
4use runs - Washington, and rot
\ III eM IT, two "a aAx o4a4r pexk