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Primary sourceArtifact1927 (bat); display photographed later

Home Run Record Bats Display

1927 (bat); display photographed later

A Hall of Fame display case showing the bat Ruth used for his 60th home run in 1927 alongside later record-breaking home run bats.

The display includes the actual bat Ruth used to hit his record-setting 60th home run in 1927.

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Four baseball bats displayed upright in a glass case against a yellow wall with placards. From left: a light wood bat signed by Babe Ruth, a bat signed by Roger Maris, a pale bat signed by Mark McGwire, and a black bat signed by Sammy Sosa. Each has a labeled placard below.
Display of home run record bats including Babe Ruth's 60th home run bat, 1927. Baseball Hall of Fame.

About this source

What it is

This photograph shows four baseball bats displayed together in a glass case: the bat used for Babe Ruth's 60th home run in 1927, Roger Maris's 61st home run bat from 1961, and bats used by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa for their record home run seasons in 1998. Each bat has its own identifying placard.

Why it matters

Displaying these bats side by side traces the history of baseball's single-season home run record across decades, from Ruth through Maris to McGwire and Sosa. Ruth's bat represents the record that stood as baseball's benchmark for decades and against which every later record-breaker was measured.

Look closer

  • Why might a museum choose to display these bats together rather than separately?
  • What does it mean for a record to become a measuring stick for future athletes, as Ruth's did?
  • What information is missing from a label and placard that a fuller biography might tell you?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Babe Ruth on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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1923

Black-and-white full-length studio portrait of a man in a striped baseball uniform and cap with a large N-style logo, holding a wooden bat on his shoulder against a painted backdrop. Signature reads Yours truly Babe Ruth.Photograph

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Irwin, La Broad, & Pudlin · c. 1920

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Primary source

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1920s

Trade magazine advertisement for the 1920 film Headin' Home starring Babe Ruth. Left: an illustrated cartoon of a batter in pinstripes with a bat, numbered 54. Large text reads Babe Ruth in Headin' Home. Below: a still of a man in a work shirt grinning beside a woman in a wide-brimmed hat by a fence. Text reads a delightful photoplay of youth and happiness.Documentary

Primary source

Headin' Home

Lawrence C. Windom · 1920

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