Ruth's Competition in his early years

It's well-known that the Babe exploded onto the scene, dominating the home-run category like no one before or since. When he first hit an eye-popping 54 in 1920, nearly doubling the all-time record he had just set as a part-time position player the previous year, his nearest competition had a measly 19. And in 1921, when he upped it to 59, second best was only 24. 1922 was the first year some other players got into the long-ball act, with Rogers Hornsby hitting 42, Ken Williams 39, and Tilly Walker 37. I did a little research, curious to find out what players not named Ruth hit the most homers through the 1920's (It wasn't until the late 1920's or 1930's that big-name sluggers like Ott, Foxx, Gehrig, Hack Wilson and Greenberg got into the act).

Through 1922, Tilly Walker of the Philadelphia A's led the way with 77 HR's in 1920-22. He was already 34 years old by then, though, and retired the next year. Behind him at that point were Ken Williams with 73 in those 3 years, Hornsby with 72, and Cy Williams with 59. These three then comprised the top three competitors to Ruth throughout much of the decade. Hornsby, of course, is a well-known hall-of-famer, 2nd to Ty Cobb all-time in career batting average. He was no slugger early on, averaging only 7 HR's/year from 1916-20. But with the advent of the live ball, he adapted with the times and cranked it up. The other two guys, though, Ken Williams of the St. Louis Browns and Cy Williams of the Phillies, are no hall-of-famers, and are deserving of more attention.

Cy hit 41 in 1923, giving him 100 for the 1920's to that point, just behind Ken Williams' 102 and ahead of Hornsby's 89. Through 1924, it was Cy with 124, Ken with 120, and Rogers with 114. Hornsby took the lead (and held it for the rest of the decade) among Ruth's competitors with 39 in 1925 for a 1920-25 total of 153 (K. Williams, 145; C. Williams, 137). Gehrig busted out as the first REAL competitor to Ruth with 47 in 1927. Through 1928, 8 long years after Ruth had burst through with 54 in a single year, 35+ homers in a season had only been achieved 6 times by five players not named Ruth (Hornsby twice, Ken Williams, Cy Williams, Tilly Walker and Gehrig).

Anyway, through 1929, the totals for the entire decade are as follows: Horsnby, 250; Cy Williams, 202; Ken Williams, 190. Those totals are a far cry from Ruth's 467 for the decade. But these three, in turn, are a good bit ahead of the next highest: 146 each by two of Ruth's teammates, Bob Meusel and Gehrig (who compiled 145 of that in just 5 full seasons).

Cy Williams retired in 1930 at age 42 with 251 career homers, third all-time on the list at that point behind Ruth's 565 and Hornsby's 279. Ken Williams retired in 1929, 4th on the all-time list at that time with 193. The even livelier ball of the 1930's meant that Gehrig, Foxx, Ott, Wilson, Al Simmons, and Greenberg soon flooded past these forgotten Williamses (unrelated to each other). But one claim can never be taken away from these unsung Williamses. They will forever stand first and second on the list of homers by players born before Ruth (Hornsby was a year younger than the Babe).