Exclusive Video, Timeless Stories from Babe Ruth Day in 1947 Brought to Life with New York Sports Tours Virtual Experience

As Babe Ruth shuffled out of Yankee Stadium's first-base dugout, traipsing toward the diamond, he tipped his cap to acknowledge a sell-out crowd.

It was a sight baseball fans had witnessed countless times before during the Babe's iconic 22-year career. Rather than a roar from those in the stands craving a majestic blast off his bat, however, fans cheered as Ruth approached a microphone.

A dozen years had passed since the slugger had retired from baseball. It was April 27, 1947, and tens of thousands had gathered for Babe Ruth Day, a ceremony arranged to honor the all-time great while welcoming him into his new role in America's pastime.

In the Bronx, all eyes were on the Babe. Countless additional baseball fans listened in from across the nation, as audio of the pregame ceremony was being piped to each big-league ballpark in action that day. After all, Ruth was battling cancer at the time and at 52 years old, his health was rapidly deteriorating.

Those congregating around Ruth on the field looked on, admiring the icon as he slowly passed by, but the exuberant applause of a young boy donning his own baseball uniform will catch your eye.

Larry Cutler was just 15 years old when he was selected to introduce Ruth with a speech of his own in front of the baseball world that day. The Bronx native and American Legion standout was asked to speak on behalf of every young ballplayer across the country, the final voice heard before the legend began to make his address.

Over seven decades later, Cutler has yet to witness what his speech looked like on film. Not only will the 88-year-old be given that opportunity, but on Thursday exclusive footage of the ceremony dedicated to one of the best in baseball history will be available to the public for the very first time.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Babe Ruth's inaugural season with the Yankees, New York Sports Tours has created a virtual experience where baseball fans can get a glimpse of the Babe while interacting with the then-teenager Cutler about the moment he introduced the Hall of Famer.

"Our mission is to preserve and bring to life the history of sports in greater New York," said Kevin O'Keefe, president of New York Sports Tours. "As part of that mission, we work to uncover original stories. Not just stories that are entertaining, but of people, places and events that through sports have helped shape culture, society and beyond."

Since its conception two years ago, NYST is known for its unique, three-hour tours around New York City. While mini-documentaries packed to the brim with archival footage flash on a screen in a luxurious mini bus, patrons are escorted to 70 different landmarks across the city, each representing meaningful moments in New York sports history.

Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, however, plans change. On Thursday, starting at 6 p.m. ET, attendees will get a chance to watch exclusive coverage of Babe Ruth Day virtually while also transporting back in time to the earliest years of Ruth's career in the Bronx.

O'Keefe explained that while COVID-19 has kept baseball off the field up to this point in 2020, a peek into history will serve as an outlet, encapsulating the sports' resiliency dating back to two World Wars, the Great Depression and other domestic tragedies.

"The fact is baseball has, you know, stopped playing now and I think people do need an outlet," he said, almost speaking MLB's return into existence. "We try to present history so it's interesting to [everyone, even people] who are young."

As the story goes, Babe Ruth Day was held, in part, to introduce the Babe as a new director of baseball for the American Legion, an amateur baseball league that's produced countless future All-Stars and Hall of Famers.

Ruth passed away just over one year later from cancer, in August of 1948, but he had every intention of returning to the game he loved for the long haul to help guide the next generation of ballplayers to success.

"This baseball game of ours comes up from the youth," Ruth called out during his speech, explaining the pronounced raspiness in his voice from his physical state felt as bad as it sounded. "You got to let it grow up with you. And if you’re successful and you try hard enough, you're bound to come out on top, just like these boys, have come to the top now."

Neil Amdur – who was the sports editor of the New York Times for 12 years – recalled sitting in the stands while Ruth's "unmistakable" voice echoed across Yankee Stadium. He explained that even if he was just eight years old at the time, seeing Ruth in person has stuck with him for his entire life, a moment forever engrained in his memory bank.

"What remains with me is the sort of the imagery of the moment," Amdur spelled out in a phone interview. "The Babe on the field [wearing a] camel hair coat, his raspy voice, his moment of delivery and just the aura of his presence. And my sort of awe, at having been a party to this, which is irreplaceable. At times, when I think back, I kind of say to myself, you know, was this all real?"

That puts into perspective what must've been going through Cutler's mind as he stood just paces away from an almost supernatural figure, a man young baseball players all around the world idolized.

Cutler's first cousin is Ralph Lauren. At this point of their childhoods, after speaking in front of a sold-out Yankee Stadium, it's safe to say Larry was the star in the family.

Although he didn't get a chance to talk one-on-one with Ruth during or after the ceremony, Cutler remembered exactly what the Babe had said. In fact, as the AP's Jack Hand wrote the following day in '47, it was perceived that part of Ruth's brief speech was directed specifically toward Cutler.

"You have to start young," Cutler recalled Ruth saying in a phone interview this week from his home in Colorado, pausing after every word for emphasis. "Learn how to hit, learn how to field, all those things. And that had an effect on all of us."

Cutler went on to have quite a successful career in baseball. Although he never reached the Major Leagues, he was a star at Taft High School in the Bronx before leaving his mark on the City College of New York baseball team. He remembers to this day how his head coach would refer to him as "the best second baseman we ever had."

He went on to play pro ball in the Chicago White Sox' system, thinking of how he earned the nickname 'The Mayor of Dubuque' during a handful of years playing Minor League ball in Iowa.

Even at 88 years old, Cutler's memory hasn't lost a step. Not only is he able to tell you his batting average as a college ballplayer in 1954, but he can rattle off which years his New York Yankees won the World Series – including the Bombers' five-peat stretching from '49 to '53 – back when his playing career began to blossom.

"I had a knack for hustle and winning," he said. "I guess I learned that from being a Yankees fan."

As New York Sports Tours illuminates in its exclusive video, Cutler is seen standing next to MLB's commissioner Happy Chandler at the mic. With his baseball cap's brim low on his forehead, Cutler looked down at a piece of paper in front of him – as the baseball world waited with bated breath – and delivered the following address:

Thank you, Mr. Chandler. I guess there are thousands of 13-year old fellows like myself in this country who have heard about Babe Ruth ever since the first time they learned there was such a game as baseball. It’s a great honor to be here. Just to be able to tell Babe Ruth how proud we are to have him back in baseball. Back where he belongs. To know that Babe Ruth is going to be with us kids, well, that’s the biggest and best thing that could happen in baseball. From all of us kids, Babe, it’s swell to have you back.

When asked now what he remembers from his speech, Cutler couldn't recall the intricate details. He was, however, able to summarize those precious moments in one powerful sentence.

"It was about the great game of baseball."

Learn more about NYST's live virtual tour experience (for the evening of Thursday, June 25) and access registration for the event by clicking here.

To keep up with all of Inside The Pinstripes’ coverage, click the "follow" button at the top right-hand corner of this page.

For more from Max Goodman, follow him on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. Follow ITP on Twitter @SI_Yankees and Facebook @SIYankees