A Legend Comes to Town…

Dayton, the Gem City, is perhaps most well-known for centuries of innovation and industrial prowess, but that’s not all. Over the last two centuries, Dayton has grown its fair share of successful ball players too. In the late 1800s, Daytonians like William “Steamboat Bill” Otey and Daniel Bickham played professionally for teams in the major leagues. Throughout the 1900’s, many more Daytonians like William “The Rocket” Clemens, Howard “Ducky” Holmes and William “Dutch” Ussat earned the opportunity to play baseball in the major leagues for teams like the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees. Perhaps some of these local grown stars were inspired when legendary players like George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Jr. would visit Dayton during various publicity tours. Pictured here is “The Bambino” standing outside the Hotel Moraine in downtown Dayton, circa 1938. This photograph is from the William Preston Mayfield/Marvin Christian Collection at Dayton History.

To see other historical images from our collection, search our Digital Photo Archive.