Part Two: Our Forgotten But Notable Neighbors The Rocklanders Who Contributed to the Story, Legend, Myth and Legacy of Babe Ruth

Continued from the July 23rd, 2026 Edition of the Rockland County Times

With this in mind, Babe accepted an offer of $50,000 to star in a movie called “Headin’ Home”, the filming of which took place largely in the town of Haverstraw in late August 1920, right in the middle the baseball season, and, coincidently, the same week that the 19th Amendment, which made it illegal to deny or abridge women the right to vote, came into law. The scenes were shot early in the mornings so that Babe could travel back to the Polo Grounds in time for the games. At the time, there were only day games.

The plot revolves around a young man named Babe (with no last name), played by none other than the real-life Babe Ruth, who is then a trim and very athletic 6’2” and 210 lbs. The celluloid Babe is an ice deliveryman who lives in the small town of Haverlock together with his elderly mother, younger sister and a pet dog named Herman. Our baseball loving protagonist, a simple but well-meaning yokel, spends much of his day whittling a small tree into a bat, and frees Herman and 14 other dogs awaiting execution in the dogcatcher’s pound. He is not considered good enough to qualify for the local all-star team that is about to play an important game against an out-of-town team. By some convoluted fluke, Babe is called on to play for the rivals and wins the game for them by blasting a mammoth, walk-off home run. 

In the movie, the ball is shown breaking the church’s new window. In reality, the ball that Babe actually hit landed in the yard outside of Mrs. Bertha Spiegel’s home at 65 Broadway, as she was preparing breakfast. Locals swear that it traveled well over 500 feet.

Babe is forced to leave town and barely escapes getting lynched by his angry neighbors. But before fleeing, he rescues a damsel in distress. 

In the next scene, we learn that Babe has become an extremely successful home run hitting professional ball player, who decides to visit his family in Haverlock. Now treated as the local hero, he helps his mother, sister and Herman out financially. The movie ends with Babe “getting the girl” who had previously rejected him.  And they lived happily ever after.

Many Haverstraw residents appeared as extras in the 1920 movie, and in all likelihood, now in 2026, more than a century later, many of their descendants still live in Rockland. Among the more prominent extras were Homer Lydecker of Nyack who played the umpire, and members of Haverstraw’s semi-pro Knights of Columbus team whose members included Jack Skully, John Cook, Thomas Shankey, William Bogasky, Vincent Lynch, Victor Shankey and his brother Gus Shankey (both Victor and Gus Shankey have been inducted into the Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame, and Victor would serve as the Haverstraw Town Supervisor for nearly four decades), Walter Bedell, and Frank Hessian, who pitched to Babe that day.  The faces of many other locals, especially a large number of children, are recognizable.

“Headin’ Home” debuted less than a month later, on September 19, 1920, with an exclusive week-long showing on an enormous, specially-built screen at the world-famous Madison Square Garden. Afterwards, to satisfy the tremendous demand of young and old alike to see their latter-day demi-god swing a bat and blast his famous Ruthian shots, the movie was shown at theaters throughout the country

But why was the film shot in Haverstraw, of all places? It seems that the choice of production location was left up to Babe, and it was he who made that decision. It was certainly an odd choice. Not only is Haverstraw on the other side of the Hudson from Manhattan, where the Yankees played (the Tappan Zee and George Washington Bridges were yet to be built), but it is also 30-odd miles north of the city. There were plenty of towns closer and easier to get to than Haverstraw, all with baseball fields. So, again, why Haverstraw? To understand Babe’s rationale, one must have some knowledge of who George Herman Ruth, Jr., was before he became Babe Ruth, the mythological public figure.

The life story of the man known as Babe Ruth began in Baltimore in 1895. His father was a bartender, while his mother, who helped out in the bars, gave birth to seven children, five of whom died before the age of two; only Babe and a sister survived. At age seven, Babe, who may have been a hard child to handle, was sent by his parents to an institution, St Mary’s Industrial Home for Boys, run by brothers of the Xavierian order. He would remain there for the next 12 years of his life.

At St. Mary’s, a combination reform- and trade-school, George lived with about a thousand other boys and young men, where he was educated till 8th grade, and trained to be a tailor.   Apparently, he also had plenty of time to play baseball — at which he excelled. One of the staff, Brother Mathias, recognizing George’s special, God-given talent, introduced him to the local Baltimore minor league baseball team owner, a Mr. Dunn, who signed up the then 19 year old Babe as a pitcher. Up until that point, George as he was still known, who probably had never had a dollar in his pocket and may never have previously had any social contact with members of the female persuasion, said goodbye to St. Mary’s. He was suddenly cast into an adult world that he wasn’t prepared for, nor was he especially comfortable in. While playing for Baltimore he was given the nickname Babe.

Within a few months, Mr. Dunn traded him to the Major League team the Boston Red Sox late in the 1914 season, where Babe would appear in just five games that year. Babe would remain playing for the Boston Red Sox until traded to the Yankees.

To be continued next week