pologrounds

Biography - adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mannix-daniel-7478 Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Mannix It was July 20th 1920 according to this contemporary Australian newspaper report - trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/171051030

New York, July 21.—Archbishop Daniel Mannix, of Ireland and Australia, did not reach Brush Stadium yesterday until the second game of the double-header. So, without his ecclesiastical assistance, the Yankees lost the initial game. But after his Grace tossed out the ball to First Baseman Walter Pipp, at the opening of the second game, the Yankees had no difficulty, romping away with the second game. ...

Throws like a girl

A very similar photo ran in The Sun and the New York herald., August 01, 1920, Section 5 Rotographic Section, Image 54 with the caption: "... Photograph shows him throwing the first ball for a Yankees-White Sox double heather at the Polo Grounds." chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030273/1920-08-01/ed-...

Thank you for providing some background information and linking to Chronicling America!

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.

John Francis Hylan www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6233903

The curved detail on the top edge of the wall places Mayor Hylan at the Polo Grounds, as he poses prior to throwing out a ceremonial first pitch. (See comment by Jon (LOC P&P) below). The date inscribed (in reverse) on the bottom of image reads "10/6/24," which would make the occasion Game 3 of the 1924 World Series, between the New York Giants and Washington Senators. The first game of the series to be played at the Polo Grounds. The Giants would defeat the Senators that day, by a score of 6-4, but the Senators would ultimately win the World Series (their first World Series Championship) in seven games. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1924_World_Series

Thanks TVL1970. The New York Times article published on October, 7th, 1924 says Hylan posed for the photographers with a ball, but didn't actually throw it.