*Babe Ruth Thread*

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Well I'll say this much, Cub fans were not as bad in that 1932 WS, they threw lemons..............Card fans threw bottles in 1928.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Yes the Bam was booked and then released after posting bond. He was in violation of the California Child Labor Law.
His crime, while doing his stage act he invited some children on stage then put them to work............playing catch with him, shame on you Babe. I alway thought you loved kids.

[hellborn]

Well I'll say this much, Cub fans were not as bad in that 1932 WS, they threw lemons..............Card fans threw bottles in 1928.

Interesting that Babe was in LF against the Cubs...I read years ago that Bob Meusel had to play the "sun field" to save Babe's eyes, maybe that rule was still in effect in '32. I think the lemon thing with Hack went back to his dropped flies in the WS against the A's.
Pop bottles is pretty harsh, a bunch of fans would be headed for the slammer if that happened nowadays!

[hellborn]

Yes the Bam was booked and then released after posting bond. He was in violation of the California Child Labor Law.
His crime, while doing his stage act he invited some children on stage then put them to work............playing catch with him, shame on you Babe. I alway thought you loved kids.

Maybe Babe was firing his best fastballs and the kids got beaned??

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Interesting that Babe was in LF against the Cubs...I read years ago that Bob Meusel had to play the "sun field" to save Babe's eyes, maybe that rule was still in effect in '32. I think the lemon thing with Hack went back to his dropped flies in the WS against the A's.
Pop bottles is pretty harsh, a bunch of fans would be headed for the slammer if that happened nowadays!

No security back then. Read another article with Babe showing his way with people even hostile card fans, he did some crowd control. Picked up one of the bottles and reared back appearing to toss one back their way, many ducked. He then tossed the bottle aside, now they stand up and cheer him.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Interesting that Babe was in LF against the Cubs...I read years ago that Bob Meusel had to play the "sun field" to save Babe's eyes, maybe that rule was still in effect in '32. I think the lemon thing with Hack went back to his dropped flies in the WS against the A's.
Pop bottles is pretty harsh, a bunch of fans would be headed for the slammer if that happened nowadays!

What I don't understand, why would so many people bring lemons to a baseball game.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Here he banters with the Card fans. Known for that, in the outfield he would often carry on conversations with fans. After the game he said he was really having fun with them, said he told them, I'll hit two today, well I got lucky, I hit three.

Also a description of the running catch along the grandstand to end the game. The NY Times describes him running threw a blizzard of progams and bits of papers his way on that catch, trying to block his vision, distract him.

[hellborn]

Here he banters with the Card fans. Known for that, in the outfield he would often carry on conversations with fans. After the game he said he was really having fun with them, said he told them, I'll hit two today, well I got lucky, I hit three.

Also a description of the running catch along the grandstand to end the game. The NY Times describes him running threw a blizzard of progams and bits of papers his way on that catch, trying to block his vision, distract him.

Maybe this helps explain lower fielding percentages in the past, along with gloves with no pockets?

[csh19792001]

Does anyone find it implausible that Babe Ruth was only intentionally walked TWICE in 167 World Series plate appearances? I mean, sure, strategy was very different in Babe's era, but Cmon...

Consider that Barry Bonds was intentionally walked 21 times in 208 postseason PA's, and SEVEN times in the 2002 World Series.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

It had to the different strategy in those times. They would have to be just as scared of Babe as they were of Bonds, or anyone, the IBB was not much part of the game.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

This was from the "Quick pitch" game.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

More from that game.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Earlier in that same game. Card pitcher Sherdel with two strikes on Babe "Quick pitched" Babe. It was a strike but the ump disallowed the pitch. That pitch was legal in the NL but "before" the WS started it was agreed it would not be used in the WS.

The Cards were irate but had no case, Babe was still at bat.

Babe got under the Cards skin even more by walking to the mound and mock applauding them, laughing. Stepped back in and he and Card Pitcher Sherdel had more words. Ruth followed with his second homer over the pavillion in right field.

[Bill Burgess]

The Babe and Fame.

I think most people realize that Babe Ruth was one of the most famous people who ever lived. And that being so, he was also one of the most photographed people ever. Here is something I wrote about him in my Babe Ruth Rare Photos thread.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------My Sincere Eulogy To Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth was many things to the game of Baseball. Its mightiest slugger, most loved player, most famous celebrity. He was the most-photographed athlete of all time. He made the most money/caused all players to make more money. He filled ballparks with more fans, created more new fans, hit the hardest/longest home runs, created more home run records than anyone else. He created more records than anyone besides Ty Cobb.

Babe Ruth created the best/greatest hitting stats of any player. His hitting stat record had the most productive, graceful decline ever, with the lone exception of steroid abuser, Barry Bonds.

He probably also drank the most beer, ate the most food/hot dogs, drank the most soda, tipped the best to service people, appeared at more charity events, visited more kids in hospitals, raised the most hell, had the most fun, patronized the most brothels than any athlete before or since. His death caused more pain, more sense of loss than any other player's.

More words have been spoken about Babe Ruth than any other several players combined. More books have been written about him than any other player, by far. Over 100. He will no doubt continue to be the most discussed baseball player in history. He was the most influential player in terms of changing the way the game was played. And in that respect, the game's most important player. After Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth is the game's Most Decorated Ballplayer. He probably inspired more kids to take up baseball than anyone else. Along with Jack Dempsey, Babe may have been the most famous athlete of his time. And Dempsey's sport, boxing, was much more universally known/practiced.

His very name has become an adjective - Ruthian. He is the common yardstick used to compare a great player to a sport. Hence, Tiger Woods is the Babe Ruth of Golf. His name is used to imply great size/power.

Babe Ruth will be remembered the longest of any player the game produced. He will be universally remembered as the most important player who ever played baseball.

Since the 1970's, Babe has been widely recognized as the game's best/greatest player. It is by no means unanimous, but his consensus of support cuts across all categories, and may never be reversed. On Baseball Fever, Babe's support has consistently polled about 58%, with the remaining support divided among Cobb, Mays, Wagner and others.

So, I tip my hat to Babe Ruth, one of the greatest/best players the game ever produced. Here's to YOU, BABE RUTH!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, down through time, there has been lots of famous people. Most-photographed people are a function of Most Famous. Here were a few.

Jack Dempsey, Bobby Jones, Muhammad Ali, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Jesse Owens, Mickey Mantle, Jim Brown, Wayne Gretzsky, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and collectively, The Beatles. All were massively famous and hugely photographed. But, in my considered opinion, with the exception of The Beatles, not as famous as Babe Ruth!

One of the most relevant factors in the Babe Ruth case was his coming to New York. For the Babe Ruth case to explode as it was destined to, he HAD to come to New York City! In fact, the New York media had embraced him as its own even before he got there. They had treated him as a home player, as opposed to an enemy player even when he was a Red Sox. When the Red Sox sold him to the Yankees on January 3, 1920 for $100K, using Fenway Park as collateral, the New York media behaved as if he were a conquering hero, who bestrode & conquered. They treated him as Rome did Caesar returning from Gaul. They may as well have thrown him a ticket tape parade down 5th Avenue as they would a returning victorious army from war. That is how the New York City media geared up for Babe Ruth coming to play for a New York team. And oh, by the way, it would NOT have been different if The Babe had arrived to play for the John McGraw Giants. In fact, it might have been even more lavish a welcoming reception.

In fact, when Babe Ruth arrived in New York in 1920 to play full-time for the Yankees, the Giants had always been the premier baseball team in town. Babe Ruth and Babe Ruth alone changed that hard-to-change fact. All through the 1920's, the Giants had been just a good a baseball team as the Yankess were. By 1927, the Yankees might have finally gotten the edge, due to the arrival of Lou Gehrig. Two superstars made the difference and tipped the balance of power in favor of the Yankees.

Before Ruth, the Giants had the same things the Yanks came to have. They had the largest, most historic baseball ballpark, the Polo Grounds, in the largest city, the most famous, successful manager, John J. McGraw.

New York and New York alone could have hosted such a fame-fest. They alone had the connections. Just to impress one with how much more attention they could lavish on a person or an event, just try to take in this one fact. In the 1920's, NYC had over 20 newspapers. Boston didn't even have 10! Most baseball cities had 3-4 daily newspapers. NYC had maybe 25!! Here were a few.

Herald-Tribune, Morning Telegraph, Press, Morning Sun, World-Telegram, Sun, Evening Post, Journal, American, Daily News, Evening Sun, Times, Evening Post, Graphic, Mail, Globe, Mirror, Associated Press, United Press, International.

And all the newspapers, telegram wire services, and news outlets were running overtime to accommodate the Babe Ruth bandwagon. All were making money by running stories on him. He was the hottest thing going. And he loved it! He ate it up. Few people were as open to working with the media as he was. Few ever were after him. When a kid asked for him in a hospital, he went. When a news organization hosted an event to raise money for a charity, he accommodated them. They would normally have him sign baseballs, bats, miscellaneous items. His autographs are the most common even today. One of his quips was, "What?! Someone still doesn't have my autograph?" He must have signed literally thousands and thousands of baseballs and bats.

Babe was so famous, he actually became famous for being famous! Everyone in America knew his name, even if they knew nothing about him. They might not have known who he was but they at least thought he had something to do with sports in some way. And his fame went beyond America's borders. His fame transcended not only his sport but his country. The Japanese used his name in WWII. They would yell, "**** Babe Ruth" to show their disdain for all things American.

Babe Ruth was possibly the first American superstar entertainer. He was a social phenomenon. The only social phenomenon that would be comparable was the Beatles around 1964-67. Beatlemania. Babe clearly eclipsed the Elvis phenomenon. Michael Jackson might have approached that level of fame but only briefly.

The sports writers didn't think the Babe was the greatest player. They reserved that for Ty Cobb. The sports writers who went on record supporting Cobb as greatest player were: Harold Seymour, John Hutchens, Fred Lieb, Damon Runyon, Heywood Broun, William B. Hanna, Dan Daniel, Jack Kofoed, Tom Meany, Ken Smith, John Drebinger, Harry Grayson, Joe Williams, Boze Bulger, Tommy Holmes, Bill Corum, Wilbur Wood, James Harrison, Paul Gallico, Arthur Daley, Barney Kremenko, Ward Morehouse, Wilton Farnsworth, Rud Rennie. That's 25.

The NYC sports writers who supported Babe as the greatest player were: Buck O'Neil, John Kieran, William McGeehan, Granny Rice, Frank Graham, Joe Vila, Bill Slocum, Christy Walsh, Mark Roth, Jimmy Cannon, Ford Frick, Marshal Hunt, Si Goodfriend. That's 13.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

The Babe and Fame.

I think most people realize that Babe Ruth was one of the most famous people who ever lived. And that being so, he was also one of the most photographed people ever. Here is something I wrote about him in my Babe Ruth Rare Photos thread.

Wow, Bill, I never thought you of all people would would make such overstated assertions. One of the most famous poeple who ever lived? Seriously? As for the most photographed I believe Muhammad Ali holds that title.