The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-09-27
By wEsTBRooK PEGLER

(Leased Wire to The Age-Heratd)
 NEW YORK, Sept 26.-If ever fellow sailed up to the brink of the chutes on bearing rollers with fine running start to carry him down and down, his name was the famous name of Ruth and the time was just a year ago. At that time, Miller Huggins, his boss, couldn't say any most prudent thing he could, which was nothing at all, Ruth being giant and Huggins needing step ladder to climb curb.
 MT. Huggins never was 6 garrulous mn, even when he managed the St. Louis Cardinals, a job which In his day might have provoked stucco saint to steady conversation il be- ginning with blasphemy and growing warmer.
 Something has happened. however, to MT. Huggins, traceable to some thing which happened first to MT. Ruth. The conversational turnfp has become gusher of sensational praises, needing only some casual mention of Babe Ruth to be set go- ing in a discourse which begins With mild hysteria and soon fathers into shrill screams of uncontroHaoIe en- thusiasm. If one didn't know better one might take MT. Huggins for an auctioneer. trying to sell Babe Ruth:
 "Greatest ball player in the busi- ness," Is one of MT. uggins' preIlml- nary phrases concerning Babe huth and soon thereafter he becomes ln- coherent and Is led away to the cave where the players squat their bats' roaring and mouthing stupendoes superlatives about the man or whom the best he could say was just noun ing at all. c.,
 MT. Ruth himself, of course, IS much changed. He has only recently haan adiudred the most valuable ball player in the American league ana only failed to win the same dlstlnc- | tion in both leagues because ne doesn't belong to the other one. Physically, he is drawn tight across his lower middle, zone which last wear protruded and wobbled with 1 gently undulating movement as ne walked and Tapped violently when he tried to run.
 Babe Ruth's batting and fielding averages, his home runs and ms ms unanimous selection for the Sl,ooo nrize as best man in the league Will | have to stand as the detailed story | of his regeneration, for he IS no Bryan, and his discussion of what ne did this season and how he dld IL, IS Limited to the phrase: T dunno. Hugeins says Ruth discovered hlS character that night late last fall when he hoisted a glass of some thing at a little dinner down town and over it's brim said: Boys, this | Ia the last drink" He quit every thing, went to his acres at Sudbury, Mass, and put in the steady daily round of chores were better than bout of spring training in a camp. But even Huggins himself can't see the change that Babe Ruth brought upon the whole team of Yankees for he himself Is a much changed as Ruth. MT Huggins, now. as com pared with the solemn, half-fright- ened little executive who always seemed startled when one of his orders was obeyed, Is positively giddy. He has cracked jokes this season in the presence of witnesses. | Erin Ward, the Yankees second baseman, was about to lose his job last spring. He Is one of the young 1 players who fell under the influence of Ruth in 1921 and reflected Ruths conduct in his own. Still under the Ruthian spell of 1923, young Ward has become one of the best infielders in the major leagues and is consid- cred by many to be better than Eddie Collins of the White Sox.
 Ruth says he doesn't specialize in home runs any more but he expects to lead both leagues in this product, even without specializing.
 "Ill get a couple more before the season ends" he said Tuesday, "and that fellow" referring to Cy Will Hams of the Phillies, wont get any