Babe Ruth Enticing As Ever
LiveAuctionTalk.com
Photo courtesy of Hunt Auctions.
Babe Ruth’s body, balance, and brain came together with perfect timing to create a massive swing. If the Babe got anywhere near a baseball there was a good chance it was gone.
He swung the heaviest bat and after hitting his sixtieth home run in September 1927 Babe’s record stood until Roger Maris passed him in 1961 with the help of an extended season.
“If it wasn’t for baseball, I’d be in either the penitentiary or the cemetery. ”
George Herman Ruth, Jr. was six foot two, weighed 198 pounds and was all muscle. He had huge biceps and could eat more and hit a baseball further than anyone else.
He would stop along the road when the Boston Red Socks were traveling and order half a dozen hot dogs and as many bottles of soda. He would gobble them down, belch a few times and then shout, “Ok boys, let’s go.”
In 1919 he was shifted from pitcher to center field so he could hit more often. That year he earned 29 home runs, more than any player had ever hit in a single season.
“I only have one superstition,” he said. “I make sure to touch all the bases when I hit a home run.” Ruth never let the fear of striking out stop him. He said every strike brought him closer to the next home run.
He was sold to the New York Yankees in 1920 for $125,000. His first year with the team Ruth hit 54 home runs. It was also the first time in baseball history, more than a million fans turned out to see him play that season. No star ever dominated the game like Babe Ruth.
The Red Socks never recovered after losing him. They would not play in another series for more than a quarter of a century.
Babe Ruth was called The Bambino, The Sultan of Swat, Wali of Wallop, Behemoth of Bust, etc. He made more money than any other player and also spent it all. He drank bourbon and ginger ale before breakfast, changed silk shirts six and seven times a day and was a favorite customer in brothels all across the country.
“If it wasn’t for baseball, I’d be in either the penitentiary or the cemetery,” he said.
With the help of a business manager Ruth became baseball’s first big pitchman. He peddled everything from candy bars to Girl Scout cookies. He promoted cigarettes when he only smoked cigars. He pitched cotton underwear when he only wore custom-made silk undershorts.
When Ruth was playing in town banks and stores closed their doors at game time. Children lined the railroad tracks hoping he would wave at them as he passed.
It all went to his head in 1922 when he threw dirt in an umpire’s eyes and rushed into the stands to chase a heckler. The home crowd booed him and he stood on the dugout roof shaking his fist and screaming, “You’re all yellow.”
Ben Johnson, president of the American League, suspended him. There was never a player quite like Babe Ruth.
On Nov. 9, 2019, Hunt Auctions featured a selection of Babe Ruth items in its auction.
Here are some current values.
Babe Ruth Photograph; sepia toned; Ruth hitting his All-Star Game homerun; circa 1933; 7 inches by 8 ¼ inches; $1,410.
Autographs; Ruth and Lou Gehrig; in framed display; 20 ½ inches by 23 inches; $5,288.
Ticket Stub; opening day; between Yankees and Red Sox; 1923; $7,637. Mutoscope Crank Machine; with Babe Ruth flip reel; vintage cast iron; showing Ruth in action; 63 inches tall; $8,225.
Signed Baseball; Wilson Official League; signed in fountain pen; circa 1920s-30s; $8,813. Baseball Bat; Ruth professional model; game-used; 35 inches long; $94,000.
