The Big Event – October 1931: Miller Stadium – West New York N. J.
Baseball legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig took part in a three-game exhibition series. Fort Lee Athletic Club (with Gehrig) faced West New York’s team led by Ruth. The final game was a 7–4 win for West New York, played before a packed crowd—estimates say 8,000 fans lined the stands, rooftops, and nearby windows.
About 8,000 people have been there to watch it all happen over rooftops and windows to see it all! with the West New York Nines) and Lou Gehrig (with Fort Lee Athletic Club, West New York (with Ruth) won 7–4, and both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig reportedly hit homers during the match.
This exhibition brought two of baseball’s biggest stars to Hudson County, giving local fans a rare chance to see legends up close — a hallmark of the 1930’s barnstorming tradition.
Miller Stadium’s lively multi‑sport legacy continued well after the barnstorming era — and it even appeared in Bruce Springsteen’s 1985 “Glory Days” music video.
Whenever I’m out for a walk I pass Miller Stadium a number of times, It’s like you’re walking into history! The wall and look as they were in the 1930’s, you can’t help thinking of the history of what it was like back then, they still events there today I hear they have large fireworks there in July.
This story reminded me of the post I made a few years about about the day in the 1950’s we heard about a couple of Yankee players was at the deli around our block, so we rushed there to get autographs. https://thepastisback.blog/2019/03/03/yanks-around-the-block/ [click to read]
Most of us were Yankee or Dodger fans back in the 1950’s, we had our favorites, I was a Mickey Mantel, Whitey Ford fan, and some of my friends were Dodger fans who liked, Jackie Roberson, Pee Wee Resse, Roy Canpanella, Duke Snider, on the mound, Carl Erskine and others, but we all loved the game of baseball! and The Dodger’s won their first World Series on Oct 4th, 1955 the day after my 8th Birthday!
I have to admit I did get some of the background about this post from ChatGPT, and other source’s because I wasn’t here in the 1930’s so I have to give credit for that, but I did hear rumor’s about this story back in the 1950’s.
Clipart licensed by: RetroClipart.com
