On October 1, 1932, in the third game of the World Series at Wrigley Field, Babe Ruth faced the Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root in the fifth inning. Ruth made a gesture. Then he hit a home run.
Whether he pointed to center field to call the home run is disputed. Two home movies of the moment exist, and they are inconclusive. Root denied the story for the rest of his life. In a 1942 account, Ruth himself said: “I know I didn’t, but it made a hell of a story, didn’t it?”