Monday marks the 39th anniversary of the day Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth‘s career home run record, and it’s also Opening Day at Fenway Park, so it feels like a pretty appropriate day to share this.
In 1917, America entering World War I was very much a reality, and even a very talented pitcher for the Boston Red Sox was not exempt from the draft. On Monday, historian Michael Beschloss uncovered Ruth’s old registration papers for the draft. They reveal some interesting information.
Not only does Ruth list his occupation as “base ball,” but he gives his address as 680 (possibly 580) Commonwealth Ave. in Boston, which is just a few blocks from Fenway Park. That address is now part of Boston University. Ruth lists his place of employment as the ballpark.
Ruth also gets his own birthday wrong. Until he finally applied for a passport later in life, he had always believed his birthday to be Feb. 7, 1894, when in fact it was actually Feb. 6, 1895.
Ruth was never actually drafted, and of course he went on to become perhaps the most famous baseball player in the history of the game. Check out the historical document below.
Photo via Twitter/@BeschlossDC
Thumbnail photo via Wikimedia Commons/Babe Ruth
