1926: With Help from a Legendary Baseball Player, an Aviation “First” Takes Place in the Skies Above Long Island

July 22, 1926

In what was widely believed to be a new record for America’s National Pastime and a notable “first” in aviation, sports legend Babe Ruth (1894-1948) caught a baseball from a plane flying well above Mitchel Field airport in Garden City, Long Island. “Babe Ruth Catches Ball from Skies,” announced a headline in that day’s edition of the Seattle Union-Record.

That history-making baseball was dropped from a military plane by this aircraft’s pilot, Captain Harold M. McClelland (1893-1965) of the U.S. Army Air Corps. He flew the plane at approximately 100 miles (160.9 kilometers) per hour. Ruth, for this part, was on the ground below wearing an army uniform rather than the familiar pinstripes of his New York Yankees team to help promote the local summertime Citizens Military Training Camps. 

The whole event was easier said than done, with the Bambino futilely darting around the field as a total of six balls thrown consecutively by McClelland went astray and failed to even land on the field itself. (The first of those balls ended up instead among some cameramen on the sidelines who were recording the stunt for posterity.) At long last, the seventh ball-throwing attempt proved to be the charm for Ruth. 

“It was from a height of 300 feet [91.4 meters] that Captain McClelland tossed the seventh ball,” reported the New York Times. “The Babe got under it, steadied himself and neatly caught it. A cheer went up for the exploit.”

U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Foulois (1879-1967), commander of Mitchel Field at the time, later recalled the following: “The last I saw of the Babe that day he was slowly flexing his burning hand and trying to smile about it as he left in a big limousine.” (The accompanying photo of Ruth was published the following year in an issue of the French sports magazine L’As: tous les mois, tous les sports [The Ace: Every Month, Every Sport].)

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on Babe Ruth catching a baseball tossed from a plane in flight, please check out Imperial Valley Press 22 July 1926 — California Digital Newspaper Collection

A video of this airborne baseball pitch is available at Babe Ruth catches baseball from a plane | 02/07/2024 | MLB.com