On a hot and humid day at Long Island’s Mitchell Field with the media well represented, Babe Ruth, wearing an Army uniform, catches the last of seven baseballs dropped from a plane, being piloted by Captain Harold McClelland that is traveling 100 mph at the height of about 250 to 300 feet above the ground. The publicity stunt was arranged by Major Benjamin Foulois to bring more attention to the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) and the Citizens Military Training Camp.

On July 22, 1926 — On a hot and humid day at Long Island’s Mitchell Field with the media well represented, Babe Ruth, wearing an Army uniform, catches the last of seven baseballs dropped from a plane, being piloted by Captain Harold McClelland that is traveling 100 mph at the height of about 250 to 300 feet above the ground. The publicity stunt was arranged by Major Benjamin Foulois to bring more attention to the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) and the Citizens Military Training Camp.

In this rare news photograph, Babe Ruth has just caught a baseball dropped from an airplane on July 22, 1926 at Mitchel Field (an early New York airport) in Garden City, Long Island. The New York Times reports Ruth donned an army uniform to drum up publicity for the Citizens Military Training Camps.


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