HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Arkansas — Hot Springs is featured in a new music video posted today [Wednesday, August 16] on YouTube marking the 75th anniversary of the death of baseball immortal Babe Ruth on August 16, 1948.
The video is available at https://youtu.be/AOuh60tuR7A
Ruth was a regular visitor to Hot Springs in the early years of the 20th Century when Major League Baseball teams trained in the city each spring and Hot Springs became known as The Birthplace of Major League Baseball Spring Training. An eight-foot bronze sculpture of Ruth at the entrance to Hot Springs’ Majestic Park baseball complex is one of only three like it in the world. It was dedicated earlier this year and is featured in the music video created by nationally recognized baseball historian Tim Reid, who has served as a consultant to many of the baseball attractions present in Hot Springs.
Reid said the video, which features a music track titled “Majestic” by Nashville keyboard player, Perry Barton, includes three photos of Ruth in Hot Springs: one at the original Majestic Park, where Ruth Honus Wagner, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and other baseball immortals trained and played; one at Whittington Park, where Ruth in 1918 smashed a documented 500-foot-plus home run into the Arkansas Alligator Farm, and one at the Happy Hollow amusement area where early 20th Century visitors had photos of themselves made while wearing comical attire. Also included is drone footage of present-day Majestic Park, whose main playing field is named after Ruth. Reid said the video closes with a great photo of the crowd cheering at the unveiling of the Babe Ruth statue on February 6, Ruth’s birthday.
“This video is another testament to the important role that baseball played — and continues to play — in the life of Hot Springs,” Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said. “We hope it brings still more visitors to the city to see and experience the Historical Baseball Trail, see our wonderful mural at the intersection of Bridge Street, Broadway and Convention Boulevard, and enjoy the great facilities at Majestic Park managed so well by General Manager Derek Phillips and his team.”
For more information call Steve Arrison at 501-321-2027.