Recognizing that time Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig played in Lindenhurst

You probably didn’t know that Yankees baseball legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig played on Long Island.

So the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is making sure you do, placing a historical marker this week at the exact location in Lindenhurst where the sluggers played a barnstorming game in 1930.

Hall of Fame officials placed the marker at the South Second Street spot where the baseball Hall of Famers played against Addie Klein’s Lindy Nine on Oct. 18, 1930, in front of 4,000 fans.

“It doesn’t get any bigger than Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and to recognize the place where they played in our county is meaningful for everyone who can read the sign and appreciate the incredible history we have right here on Long Island,” said Chris Vaccaro, president of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame.

The game was played at Meridale Park, a baseball diamond that was located on the north side of Montauk Highway at Second Street. The site is now home to a Verizon building.

Ruth and Gehrig played on a team of major leaguers.

Noting a report in the Lindenhurst Star, the Lindenhurst Memorial Library notes the Ruth-Gehrig team defeated the Lindy Nine, 10-4. Ruth broke a 4-4 tie in the ninth inning with a monstrous two RBI blast; the ball landed in back of the Old Homestead Inn, the newspaper report said.

“The most famous ballplayer in the world just grinned as he trotted at a slow pace around to third base where he halted, not wishing to continue on to home plate, apparently satisfied with the triple.”

Ruth pitched the last two innings and took the win. Gehrig had three hits.

After the game, the pair had a drink at the Plaza, a hotel, bar and restaurant on Montauk Highway, according to the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame.

Vaccaro was joined by Lindenhurst Mayor Michael Lavorata for the unveiling of the historical marker, as well as Lindenhurst Village trustees, members of the Lindenhurst Historical Society, and Town of Babylon councilman Terence McSweeney.

Other Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame historic markers are placed at the location where the Long Island Ducks play in Central Islip, where Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski played high school baseball in Bridgehampton, and where Baseball Hall of Famer Satchel Paige pitched in Riverhead in 1950.

The Lindenhurst Village Museum at 272 South Wellwood Ave. has a permanent exhibit commemorating the Oct. 18, 1930, event. It includes an original poster advertising the game, photos from the game, a baseball autographed by Ruth, and artifacts and equipment from the Lindenhurst ball club.