majorleaguebaseball

Babe Ruth and "Little Ray" Kelley at the Polo Grounds Babe Ruth (George Herman Ruth, Jr., 1895- 1948), "Little Ray" Kelly (Ray Kelly, 1918-2001) "One day, Babe saw a man and his little boy playing catch in a park near Babe’s house in New York. He decided to walk over and watch the two play catch for awhile. Babe talked to the man for a little bit and found out that the little boy was only three years old. He was very impressed by how well the boy could play catch. "Babe then got the idea to make the little boy, whose name was Ray Kelly, his personal mascot! So the next day, Babe picked up this little boy and took him to the stadium with him for his game. And, that’s how Little Ray Kelly became a part of the history of the game of baseball. "Little Ray Kelly was Babe’s personal mascot for ten years. He even had his own Yankee uniform. And, he was with the Babe all the time during Yankee home games." [ 1 ] "At age 13, Little Ray retired from the Yankees because his school obligations intervened. But Ruth had the boy and his father as his guests at the 1932 World Series, and they sat in a box seat next to the Yankees' dugout when Ruth hit his famed ''called shot'' home run in Game 3 at Wrigley Field off the Chicago Cubs' Charlie Root. "Mr. Kelly maintained long afterward that Ruth did indeed point to the center-field bleachers before hitting the ball there. 'He absolutely did it,' he said. 'I was right there. Never in doubt.' After leaving the Yankees behind him in the early 1930's, he graduated from high school, then served as a sergeant in the Army Air Forces during World War II. Mr. Kelly later graduated from Pace University and worked as an accountant for Mobil Oil." [ 2 ]

Pixel Wrangler Great story. Thanks for posting.

Pixel Wrangler thanks for this in-depth look into Ray Kelly. We will identify him in the online record and add some of this story to the online record.

The date written on the negative is 10/2/17. But the World Series didn't start until 10/6/1917.

Buck Weaver played shortstop for the Chicago White Sox, who won the American League Championship in 1917. On 10/1/1917, the White Sox lost a game to the New York Yankees in New York, and according to
The Birmingham Age-Herald. October 02, 1917, page 8, col 6, near top,
- chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038485/1917-10-02/ed-...
the White Sox were to travel back to Chicago on 10/1/1917 evening, stopping at Cleveland.

The negative numbers of this picture and the following pictures, of the baseball reporters and the Chicago White Sox are in sequence, suggesting that all three may have been on the same day.

Nicholas Altrock (September 15, 1876 – January 20, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher between 1898 and 1919. After the 1919 season he continued to make periodic appearances as a pinch hitter for many years, until his final game at the age of 57. As a player, Altrock was a member of two World Series winning teams and then, won a third World Series as a coach. He was a coach for the Washington Senators for many years.

Alexander Schacht (November 11, 1892 – July 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and, later, restaurateur. Schacht was a pitcher in the major leagues from 1919 to 1921 for the Washington Senators.

See also