The Boy from Left Field — Tom Henighan

When Hawk's baseball coach tells him how Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run nearby, the question arises: what happened to the baseball?

Bullies, baseball, and kids who defy the odds. Hawk, a poor, half-Native boy who lives on the street, is eager to go back to school, to play baseball, and to please both his divorced parents. When Mr. Rizzuto, his baseball coach, tells him how the great Babe Ruth, playing on nearby Toronto Island in 1914, hit his first professional home run, the question arises: what happened to the baseball? Did it land in the waters of Lake Ontario and disintegrate over time? Or did someone fish it out?

This is the story of a quest for a lost baseball treasure, and of a boy finding his own family roots and a place in the big city. A lively tale, it shows how kids who seem powerless can work together to take on some of life's daunting challenges as they deal with schoolroom bullies and street gangs.