I found two of the most amazing baseball highlight films I've ever seen and wanted to share them with you. They speak for themselves.
The highlights are both from Yankee Stadium--Opening Day, April 14, 1931, Yankees v Red Sox, and Opening Day (Yankees Home Opener) April 24, 1934, Yankees vs A's. They are sound films and that is what is so amazing about them. You will hear the voices of Babe Ruth, Joe McCarthy, Shano Collins (Red Sox Manager), and Connie Mack among others. You will hear the voices of Mayors Jimmy Walker and Fiorello Laguardia. You will hear the actual crack of the bat, along with crowd noises. You will see the pitching motions and batting stances of the time. You will not see outfield play, as the cameras couldn't cover it at the time. Mostly you will see a packed Yankee Stadium (70,000 in the 1931 game and about 40,000 according to the Brooklyn Eagle account--see below, in the 1934 game). This was the height of the Depression but you'd hardly know it based on these films. Note especially the bleacher crowd shot in the 1931 game. An integrated (if not by many) crowd.
April 14, 1931: Boston 3 at New York 6 (14 minutes, 21 seconds)
Wilcy Moore (who had pitched on 1927 Yankee juggernaut) v Red Ruffing
Babe Ruth would bat .373 with 46 HR, 162 RBI, 149 runs, 126 walks, and 51 strikeouts in 145 games. Not too shabby for a 37 year old. Yanks would finish 94-59, 2nd in the American League, 13.5 games behind the A's 107-45.
Box score and play by play (Retrosheet.org)
Note especially the time of the game. They didn't mess around.
Game Story: Brooklyn Eagle, Apr. 15, 1931
April 24, 1934: Philadelphia 0 at New York 1 (17:52). (Note: this game is no longer available as of October 15, 2019). I will leave the rest of the story here, in the hopes that the game will be available again soon.
Johnny Marcum v Red Ruffing. This was Ruth's last year with the team. At age 40 he batted .288 with 22 HR, 84 RBI, 78 runs, 104 walks and 63 strikeouts in 125 games. Yanks would finish 94-60, 7 games behind the Tigers 101-53. Note: #6 on the A's is Jimmy Foxx.
Box score and play by play (Retrosheet.org)
Game story: Brooklyn Eagle, April 25, 1934
The provider is Guy Jones' Youtube site, which also contains an absolute treasure chest of old "slice of life" newsreel films going back to the 1890s (including some Lumiere Brothers films), some with live sound, some with added sound. The site is pretty amazing. I have not seen anything like it.
