A National Heirloom (21 Sep. 1994)

Baseball in the 1920's can be described in two words: Babe Ruth. George Herman "Babe" Ruth dominated the game in almost every respect. An accomplished pitcher, he was also the greatest ... See full summary »

Director:

Ken Burns

Writers:

Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns

Stars:

Grover Cleveland Alexander, Roger Angell, Adam Arkin

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Grover Cleveland Alexander	...	Himself (archive footage)
Roger Angell	...	Himself
Adam Arkin	...	Himself (voice)
Red Barber	...	Himself
Mike Barnicle	...	Himself (voice)
Keith Carradine	...	Himself (voice)
John Chancellor	...	Narrator (voice)
Ty Cobb	...	Himself (archive footage)
Calvin Coolidge	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bob Costas	...	Himself
Robert W. Creamer	...	Himself
John Cusack	...	Himself (voice)
Ossie Davis	...	Himself (voice)
Loren Dean	...	Himself (voice)
Gerald Early	...	Himself

Storyline

Baseball in the 1920's can be described in two words: Babe Ruth. George Herman "Babe" Ruth dominated the game in almost every respect. An accomplished pitcher, he was also the greatest batter the game had seen up to that time eventually moving to the outfield so he could play every day. Ruth spent most of his youth in a reformatory, his parents having had him declared incorrigible. He shone in the school's baseball team and was signed by the minor league Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the Boston Red Sox. It was a black day when they traded him to the New York Yankees and they would not play in a world series again for 25 years. Babe's conduct both on and off the field became a major issue and he was suspended at one point for 39 games by the Commissioner for refusing a direct order to stop barnstorming in the off season. His off field behavior offended a great many people but he was oblivious to it all. Christy Mathewson, to many the greatest pitcher of his generation, died ...

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Genres:

Documentary | History | Sport

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Details

Release Date:

21 September 1994 (USA)

Company Credits

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"West End Blues"
Words and Music by Joseph "King" Oliver & Clarence Williams
Published by MCA Music Publishing, A Division of MCA Inc.
Performed by Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

'The Babe' Saves Baseball

I thought this was the second-most interesting of these decade segments on this Ken Burns' "Baseball" series. Each program lasted about two hours, by the way. Most of this segment was devoted to one man: Babe Ruth. That's okay because he is still the most fascinating and colorful ballplayer - and best all-around - who ever played the game. Nobody was a hall-of- fame caliber pitcher and hitter but Ruth....and nobody had the fame he had. I have no problem with his getting all this coverage here, and I am not a Yankees fan, but Ruth was that interesting.

Also mentioned are the World Series battles of the decade, plus some small features on Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig and Branch Rickey. Near the end of this tape (or DVD) is a very touching tribute to Christy Mathewson, who died at a very young age after being exposed to poison gas in World War I. This tape, and all the reading I've done on this era, convinces me that Mathewson - as a player and a human being - might be the most respected player in history. Everybody loved and had the highest regard for him.