George Zachary Jr. shows pictures of his uncle, Thomas Zachary, top center photo, and his Washington Senator baseball teammates Sunday, Sept. 6, 1998, at his home in Eli Whitney, N.C. Zachary threw the pitch that Babe Ruth hit for his record 60th home run of 1927.ASSOCIATED PRESS

The pitcher who tossed Babe No. 60

Web posted September 9, 1998

Associated Press

GRAHAM, N.C. -- Tom Zachary is forever linked with the Babe, shadowed by No. 60.

Yes, Zachary had a solid career, winning 186 games in 18 season, including a 12-0 record in 1929. But that's all incidental.

Zachary threw the pitch that Babe Ruth hit for his record 60th home run of 1927, a mark surpassed by Roger Maris in 1961 and on Monday by Mark McGwire.

``The home run seemed to overshadow a lot of other things he did,'' said his nephew, George Zachary Jr. ``If he wouldn't have given it up to Babe Ruth, you wouldn't hear his name today. They relate to it. People would rather hear about the home run.''

The fateful pitch came on the next to last day of the 1927 season. The Washington Senators left-hander threw a high curve, and Ruth reared back into his famous swing. He popped the ball into the right field seats in Yankee Stadium, and into history.

The January 1928 edition of Baseball Magazine recorded Zachary's feelings.

``He never hit a worse ball in his life nor one that would be more difficult to drive into the stands,'' Zachary said.

When Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961, Zachary appeared on ``The Ed Sullivan Show'' to talk about Ruth. He always argued that Ruth's 60th homer was a foul.

``He had a little brassness about him,'' George Zachary said.

Zachary was born in Graham in 1896 and attended Guilford College before jumping right to big leagues in 1918. He walked into the office of the great Connie Mack and bragged about his ability. Mack offered him a contract with the Philadelphia Athletics that day.

Described by some sports writers as a man with a ``10 cent arm and a million dollar head,'' Tom Zachary built an impressive career.

He played on championship teams in 1924 with the Senators and in 1928 with the Yankees. He was traded from Washington to the Yankees earlier that year, joining Ruth.

He also played with the St. Louis Browns, the Boston Braves and Brooklyn before retiring in 1936. Zachary died in Burlington in 1969 at 72.

George Zachary is at a loss to explain why three players have hit 50 or more home runs this season, and that two of them -- McGwire and Sammy Sosa -- have made history.

``It's an unusual home run year,'' he said.