Reusse: 100th anniversary of Babe Ruth in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota

SLEEPY EYE, MINN. – The New York Yankees and the New York Giants met in the 1922 World Series for the second straight season. Once again, all games were played in the Polo Grounds, the home to both teams for the last time.

Yankee Stadium, the mammoth "House That Ruth Built," was under construction right across the river in the Bronx that October.

The Giants repeated as champs, beating the Yankees in five games — four wins and a tie. The last game was played on Oct. 8.

A year earlier, the 1921 Series was the last of three requiring five wins, and the Giants won 5-3. Babe Ruth and teammate Bob Meusel went on a barnstorming tour after that series, which was against a rule established by the baseball's power-crazed first commissioner, Kenesaw Landis.

Ruth and Meusel were suspended for the first 39 games of the 1922 season and also fined the amount of their '21 World Series share.

The absence of Ruth for the first 25% of the 1922 season caused mighty howls from owners, both the Yankees' and those drawing much smaller crowds when New York came to town without Ruth.

I can't find a formal announcement on a Landis reversal, but Ruth and Meusel were back on a two-man barnstorm after the '22 World Series, and this time without recriminations.

Eight days after the World Series ended, the superstar and his very good teammate were in Sleepy Eye — a baseball-mad town of 2,500. Sleepy Eye was celebrating its 50th anniversary in the high style of bringing the Babe to town on a tour of mostly much larger towns.

It was Oct. 16, a Monday. There's a legend that local promoters were ready to handle 10,000 fans streaming in from as far away as the Twin Cities to see Ruth.

Didn't get much of a break in the weather. It was 27 degrees and, late on the tour, Babe said: "We played in a snowstorm in Sleepy Eye."

The crowd was closer to 700.

The format was Ruth playing with one collection of strong local players and Meusel with another. The boxscore credits Ruth with two home runs and four RBI in a six-inning game that his team won 9-7. According to the Sleepy Eye Herald, Ruth "landed on the old apple for two screaming homers, the longest ever recorded on the local grounds."

There's a 100th-anniversary celebration of The Babe's visit being held on Saturday, and it will start at the current excellent ballpark that sits on the same acreage where Ruth played.

Dana Kiecker, by official records the only Sleepy Eye native to play in the big leagues, will be present and throw some batting practice in a free gathering that starts at 1 p.m.

The truth is, Kiecker spent about 2½ days as a Sleepy Eye resident when born at the local hospital, then went home to the farm near Fairfax.

The only true Sleepy Eye native to play in the big leagues, Fred Bruckbauer, was born in the New Ulm hospital.

Bruckbauer was a standout Gophers pitcher. He made one big-league appearance in the Twins' first month of existence, on April 25, 1961, faced three batters and didn't get an out.

Fred wasn't the only problem that day: Kansas City A's 20, Twins 2.

There is a plaque for Bruckbauer here on the back grandstand. There will be another unveiled honoring Ruth's appearance around 3 p.m. Saturday.

After that, Dean Brinkman's No. 20 jersey as a tremendous player for the Sleepy Eye Indians town team will be retired.

Brinkman, the town chiropractor, the main driving force for the Ruth anniversary celebration, popular to an immense degree in every baseball town within 100 miles (or more) of Sleepy Eye, died on Labor Day at age 59 while undergoing an emergency heart procedure.

Scott Surprenant, Brinkman's teammate, offered this in tribute:

"Dean was our Cal Ripken. A natural athlete; a 6-foot-4, power-hitting shortstop.

"A favorite memory was the state amateur quarterfinals in 1995 against Gaylord. He was getting knocked around pitching in the first, but we pulled off a hidden-ball trick — Dean played his part perfectly — to get out of the inning. And we came back to win 10-9.

"Dean's mark is left all over the Sleepy Eye ballpark, including our blown-up Babe Ruth photo."

Randy Krzmarzick, baseball man and a close Brinkman friend, took over a lead role in the Ruth celebration, with plenty of help.

There was a session at the ballpark Thursday morning when a group of Sleepy Eye boosters and organizers met to admire the Ruth photo, admire the immaculate condition of the ballpark, and to tell Sleepy Eye baseball stories.

Then, we went downtown and met a handful of local legends aged 80 and above. The oldest was Chisey Hansen, 98, a good ballplayer way back when, and also locally famous for this:

When prohibition ended at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 5, 1933, a young Chisey and his father, who was a seller of malt, were the first to line up and receive a supply of beer at the August Schell Brewery in New Ulm.

"Loaded three big barrels," Chisey said. "The Hansens were off and running."

Beer. Baseball. And The Babe himself was here, on this same ground, smacking the old apple.

Fabulous.