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Charlie Root is best known in baseball history as the man to surrender Babe Ruth’s called shot. That’s unfortunate for the man who still holds Chicago Cubs franchise career records in wins, games, and innings pitched. The last player born in the 19th century to win a Major League game, Root averaged 17.5 wins per season from 1926-1933. Shown here is the first of five pages of a questionnaire Root filled out and dated on April 14, 1938. Five days later the right-hander got the win in the Cubs’ Opening Day game. On this page Root reveals three brothers and five sisters, and his position as the eighth-born in his family.

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In this questionnaire from 1938, Charlie Root checks off his 29 games and activities including such mainstream sports as football and both ice and land hockey. Root also identifies such bygone games as prisoner’s base, fox and geese, bull in ring, rolling hope, and run sheep run. In the bottom half of the sheet, the pitcher checks off his “quiet activities and games”. These include such things as wood work, puzzles, dominos, and drawing. In the ensuring pages Root reveals more of his upbringing.

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Here Charlie Root is asked to put an “X” next to activities in which he participated in from grades 1-4 and an “O” in the games he played in fourth grade or after. The only Chicago Cub pitcher to win as many as 200 games, Root had a busy childhood. Among the activities he played before and after fourth grade are pocket knife, rabbits, mouth organ, paints, see saw, marbles and many more. Over his 17-year big league career Root received MVP consideration in five seasons.

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Much more than merely the man who surrendered Babe Ruth’s called shot, Charlie Root had his best season in 1927, when he won 26 games. He had a career-low 2.60 ERA in 1933 while winning 15 games. During his time in Chicago he went to four World Series. On this page Root identifies his favorite sport as baseball. Along the way he reveals more information before answering the 15th question at the bottom of the page. When asked what have been his major occupations, Root writes, “Outside of Baseball have been a wood pattern maker, shipping clerk, and grocery boy.”

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In page five of the questionnaire, Charlie Root rates himself as “very good” at baseball, “average” at golf, and “good” at swimming. The final question asks the player, “Do you believe your athletics are instructive or hereditary?” To this the 201-game winner responds “instructive” explaining, “As there were no athletes in our family.” Root was born on St. Patrick’s Day March 17, 1899. He earned a victory in his final contest on September 2, 1941 to become the last pitcher born in the 1800s to win a Major League game.

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Did Babe Ruth call his shot off of Charlie Root in the 1932 World Series? It depends who you ask. In the following pieces the debate will be answered from a number of players who played in that game. There is plenty of support from both sides of the aisle. Shown here is an autographed photo of the Bambino. A prodigious signer, Babe Ruth autographs can be found on virtually every medium. Everything he signed continues to increase in value due to sustained demand. Of particular interest are autographed pictures of the Bambino. Ruth had copies of this photo that he signed later in life.  Most of the examples of his autograph on this photo are personalized and penned in green ink, just as this one is.

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Perhaps Babe Ruth’s most mythical feat was his “Called Shot” in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series at Chicago’s Wrigley field. Did he point to centerfield and declare where he would put the next ball pitched by Charlie Root?

Hitting in front of Ruth that day was Joe Sewell who describes in perfect detail exactly what happened.   “ ‘Yes’ “ Babe Ruth pointed to the centerfield and I have a mental picture of the ball going out of the park…” Sewell states on the first page of his two-page handwritten recollection. The rest of the letter is penned with perfect detail.

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The vivid details of this letter continue on the second page as Joe Sewell details Babe Ruth’s uncomfortable trip circling the bases after the homerun. “…on his way home the fans threw cabbage, lemons, eggs, hats, and everything they had on the field until the umpires called the game and the ground keepers had to come out and clean it all up.” At the close of the letter, Sewell sums up his take saying, “There was no myth to it as I saw it all”.

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Agreement was hard to find, even among the opposing Chicago Cub players. Pitcher Guy Bush seemed to corroborate Joe Sewell’s testimony in taking a less certain stance.  “(Babe) Ruth was talking to me,” Root wrote. “At the time when he raised his right hand it is of my belief he pointed to center field. The only thing I am sure of he hit the next pitch in centerfield stands.”

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Not so fast.  “Joe Sewell is wrong. When (Charlie) Root got 2 strikes on him the Babe pointed one finger at the Cub bench, meaning he had one more strike left. He did not point to center field,” says fellow Yankee Frank Crosetti, the starting shortstop and number eight hitter in the lineup that day.

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Above is an autographed image of New York shortstop Frank Crosetti. Affectionately known as “Crow”, he played 17 years for the Yankees, five as Babe Ruth’s teammate. A two-time all star and later a Yankee third base coach, Crow was with the team from 1932 to 1964. He was part of 17 World Championship teams and 23 World Series participants overall, far and away the most of any individual in the history of the game

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Ben Chapman was undecided really about Babe Ruth’s called shot. The right fielder hit seventh in the New York lineup that day and wrote, “He was pointing at Charley (sic) Root who had knocked him down.” However, Chapman wasn’t entirely certain. Later in the letter he writes, “In my opinion, he did not call the sit, but he could have.”

No wonder the debate continues eight decades later.

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Playing third base that day for the Cubs was Woody English who forever discounted the idea of Babe Ruth calling his shot.  “…he held two fingers up saying that’s only 2 strikes. The press box was some 200 feet up in the stands and the newspaper men thought he pointed, but he did not.”

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Woody English autographed this 1933 Goudey baseball card reprint depicting him in the 1932 season. English appeared in Major League Baseball’s first All Star game in 1933 and played in two World Series. He finished with 1356 career hits and a .286 lifetime average.