Built in 1890, the elegant, 500-room Eastman Hotel was a hub for the baseball community in the early 20th century. Here Babe Ruth flipped a coin to settle and win his 1921 salary dispute with the Yankees. In 1925, Walter Johnson received a hero’s welcome upon returning to town after his World Series triumph and awed guests on the veranda by pitching on the hotel lawn.

Ruth trained here nine times and became a very familiar face around Hot Springs.

“Bucketfoot Al” credited the hot water baths and mountain trails of the city with saving his baseball career.

This menu was for the opening dinner of the 1910 season which would run till June when the hotel would close. The Eastman was eventually demolished in 1946. 

Courtesy Private Collection.