Babe Ruth would eventually go on to become arguably the greatest player in baseball history, a right fielder who absolutely shattered the previous home run record, and whose single-season and career home run records stood for many years after his death. However, in the mid 1910's, he was just another young pitcher on the Red Sox. Here, he is seated alongside (left to right) fellow pitchers Ernie Shore and Rube Foster, and backup first baseman Del Gainer. Like Ruth, Shore and Foster were effective pitchers who helped lead the Red Sox to back to back World Series titles in 1915 and 1916 - together, they accounted for 109 wins in those two seasons. But, their pitching careers didn't last much longer. Shore was ineffective after 1917 and out of the majors by 1920, and Foster was done after 1917. Ruth's last season as a regular pitcher was in 1919, after which he was to the Yankees, with well-known ramifications for both teams. As for Del Gainer on the far right, he was likewise done with baseball by the early 1920's.
Babe Ruth and Ernie Shore, when referred to together, are best known as having thrown one of the most unusual combined no-hitters in baseball history. On June 23, 1917, Babe Ruth started against the Washington Senators. He walked the first batter he faced, and then argued with the umpire over the calls. After being ejected, he punched the umpire on his way out. Shore came on in relief, the runner was caught stealing, and Shore pitched the remainder of the game without allowing a baserunner.
Incidentally, although their careers ended far sooner than Ruth's, Shore and Foster both outlived him by a significant margin - Ruth died in 1948 (a year after Del Gainer), but Shore died in 1980 at the age of 89, and Foster in 1976 at the age of 88.
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