The Babe Comes Home

In 1920, George Herman “Babe” Ruth spent the summer in Haverstraw filming one of his more famous roles in “Headin’ Home.” The film was shot almost entirely in the Village of Haverstraw. Baseball scenes were filmed at Babe Ruth Field, behind Saint Peter’s Church on Broadway. The original field was fitted with covered bleachers and resembled an early twentieth-century stadium. The Haverstraw farm team mainly used this stadium.

The New York Times gives a synopsis of the story, which was adapted from a short magazine story by Wid Gunning:

Babe Ruth plays Babe Dugan, home run whiz of the Los Angeles Angels (a minor-league team in 1920). Babe’s habit of chewing tobacco makes him the bane of the Snow White Laundry, which has to clean his juice-stained uniforms after every game. Laundress Vernie (Anna Q. Nilsson) attends an Angels game to see for herself just how one man can be so messy. Babe hits a fly ball, which hits Vernie in the eye. From this bad start, a romance develops, culminating in an engagement. On the eve of the wedding, Babe and Vernie have a rhubarb over his tobacco habit. She walks out, and Babe goes into a slump. But during a crucial game (bases loaded in the ninth, natch!) Vernie shows up in the stands and tosses Babe a flesh plug of tobacco. He stuffs the wad in his mouth and hits the deciding homer. Conceding that it was Vernie’s love and not the “chew” that inspired him to win, Babe swears off tobacco forever.

A local legend is still told today, that Ruth, during filming of a scene, hit a home run ball out and over Saint Peter’s. The story has been passed down among generations of Haverstrawans since that day in 1920, as many locals were present for the filming of the scene. If the legend holds true, it is said that this home run would be one of the longest range home runs in baseball history. It is easy to understand this when visiting Babe Ruth Field in Havestraw. Stand on the home plate (which is not the original place of Ruth’s home plate, as the field was shifted since 1920; the spot is very close to original, though) and gaze across the field to the spire of Saint Peter’s. The distance is unimaginable for a home run ball. If it could be proven that the Babe hit this ball, this dusty field in Haverstraw could become an integral part of baseball history.

Here is a scene from “Headin’ Home.”