8/11/1929 - Ruth hits #500
Today in Sports History: August 11th
Babe Ruth becomes the first player to ever reach the vaulted 500 home run mark. The 500th longball of his career came at the Cleveland Indians' League Park; it was a towering blast that he hammered onto the nearby street in right field. The 500-club didn't get another member until 1940, when Jimmie Foxx joined the hit parade. Ruth would go on to hit another 214 home runs, a record that stood until Hank Aaron broke it in 1974.
8/11/1961 - Spahn wins #300
Warren Spahn wins the 300th game of his big league career. Spahn missed three complete seasons when he took part in World War II, earning himself a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, yet he would wind up with 363 victories, still an all-time high for left-handed pitchers. Spahn won 20 or more games a sensational 12 times -- including in 1963, when he went 23-7 with a 2.60 ERA at age 42 -- and completed more than half of his starts (382 of 665).
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