Good morning, Whitewater.
Saturday in Whitewater will be partly sunny, with an even chance of afternoon thundershowers, and a high of seventy-eighty. Sunrise is 5:27 and sunset 8:33, for 15h 06m 21s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 21.6% of its visible disk illuminated.
In the video below, Uli Emanuele “pilots what is possibly the most technical and difficult BASE jump ever. For the past 3 years Uli has been dreaming about and preparing for what could be a world record jump. With just his wingsuit and hiking poles, he climbs to his exit point and realizes there is no turning back.”
On this day in 1914, Babe Ruth makes his major league start, as a pitcher:
On July 11, 1914, in his major league debut, George Herman “Babe” Ruth pitches seven strong innings to lead the Boston Red Sox over the Cleveland Indians, 4-3.
George Herman Ruth was born February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland, where his father worked as a saloon keeper on the waterfront. He was the first of eight children, but only he and a sister survived infancy. The young George, known as “Gig” (pronounced jij) to his family, was a magnet for trouble from an early age. At seven, his truancy from school led his parents to declare him incorrigible, and he was sent to an orphanage, St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys. Ruth lived there until he was 19 in 1914, when he was signed as a pitcher by the Baltimore Orioles.
That same summer, Ruth was sold to the Boston Red Sox. His teammates called him “Babe” for his naiveté, but his talent was already maturing. In his debut game against the Indians, the 19-year-old Ruth gave up just five hits over the first six innings. In the seventh, the Indians managed two runs on three singles and a sacrifice and Ruth was relieved. His hitting prowess, however, was not on display that first night–he went 0 for 2 at the plate.
Ruth developed quickly as a pitcher and as a hitter. When the Red Sox made the World Series in 1916 and 1918, Ruth starred, setting a record with 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings in World Series play. His career record as a pitcher for the Red Sox was 89-46.
To the great dismay of Boston fans, Ruth’s contract was sold to the New York Yankees before the 1920 season by Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, so that Frazee could finance the musical No, No, Nanette. Ruth switched to the outfield with the Yankees, and hit more home runs than the entire Red Sox team in 10 of the next 12 seasons. “The Sultan of Swat” or “The Bambino,” as he was alternately known, was the greatest gate attraction in baseball until his retirement as a player in 1935. During his career with the New York Yankees, the team won four World Series and seven American League pennants. After getting rid of Ruth, the Red Sox did not win a World Series until 2004, an 85-year drought known to Red Sox fans as “the Curse of the Bambino.”
On this day in 1921, the America’s first equal rights law of its kind takes effect:
1921 – Nation’s First Equal Rights Law Signed
On this day Governor John J. Blaine signed into law the nation’s first legislation guaranteeing women the same legal privileges, rights and protections as men. [Source: WLHBA]