THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512130039
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: OBSCURE TOUR
LOCAL LANDMARKS THE TOUR BOOKS NEVER MENTION
SOURCE: BY EARL SWIFT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
THE GHOSTS of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth still shuffle around the bases off Norfolk's Monticello Avenue, where warehouses and vacant lots now stand.
Between 18th and 20th streets stood old Bain Field, home to the minor-league Norfolk Tars and the scene of two memorable big-league moments.
In June 1934, Gehrig, who until this year held baseball's record for consecutive games played, saw his streak nearly ruined by an inside fastball thrown by Tars pitcher Ray White during a Yankees-Tars exhibition game. The ball caught Gehrig above the right eye and knocked him cold. He recovered.
Nearly five years later, on April 13, 1939, Gehrig smacked two balls over the stadium's wooden fence in an exhibition game between the Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. They were the last two homers of his career. He retired from the game three weeks later.
A third event is a bit squirrelier to pin down. Legend has it that during an appearance here in the 1930s, Babe Ruth hit the longest home run in baseball history.
It's only fair to mention that other cities lay claim to the story, which has it that the ball sailed over Bain Field's fence and landed in a rolling Norfolk & Western coal car bound for West Virginia.
Bain Field was eclipsed in 1939 by High Rock Park, built by Norfolk dentist Eddie Myers at Church and Rugby streets. Named for a local ginger ale, the 8,000-seat stadium was renamed Myers Field in the early 1940s after the soft drink company yanked its sponsorship.
Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto began their careers in the park before the Tars quit the game in July 1955. The stadium didn't last much longer. by CNB