Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-31
The National PIaxboy.

The National PiaXboy.
THE national pastinde seems to
have produced the best known
of the living American athletes.
i was driving through lower
Long Island with him In the
dusk, going duck hunting, when we lost
the way. Another car was passing slow
ly. He poked his head out of the win
dow and doomed, Which way to
Hampton Bays2"
Right ahead Mr.. Ruth" came the
prompt reply. It was hardly light
enough to distinguish the features Of
base balls play boy. The chauffeur of
the other car must have recognized him
chiefly by his voice.
He was graduated from st. Mary's IN
dustrial School in Baltimore, an institu-
ton for boys that nobody seems to want
excepting the Christian Brothers, with
the name of George Herman Ruth. After
which he was sent out to learn the
trade of cigarmaking. He was not par
ticularly expert at this, so one more
bad cigar was spared the nation and
a national character was substituted.
At the Christian Brothers School, the
Babe showed interest in his real voca-
ton, which was the national paStime.
But even there he was of to bad start
for he began as q left-handed catcher.
From there he went to the Baltimore
Orioles as q left-handed pitcher and
was acquired by the Boston Red Sox in
the same capacity.
AS a pitcher, Babe Ruth achieved
some records that still stand for pitch
ers, left-handed or normal. But all of
this time he really was burning his real
light under an opaque bushel. Poten-
TALLY he always was what he Is today,
the greatest all-around base ball player
that ever lived, and do not except the
Cobbs, the Speakers or the Hans Wag-
uers.
The Babes personality and his hitting
records dim the important fact that
even If he did not have the home-run
records for all time and eccentricities
hat kept him constantly in the limelight
he would still be the greatest all-around
base ball player the game has known.
The hardest critics will admit that he
never in all his career has pulled a
boner" Instinctively, he always makes
the right move on q base ball field, even
in the days when he was prone TO Ats OF
moodiness. Base ball Is instructive to
him.
But for the sake of the gate receipts
Of the national pastime it Is fortunate
that the Babe has what the boys call
/ COtOks tALAb LAG - 6AAG AAAOoS WIN A0A oNAA
lete In all Of the sports. This was dis
covered at the time when base ball was
threatened with terrific financial
debacle.
/ It was at the time when the discovery
was made that world series had been
| fixed. At that time I got hundreds Of
letters from persons who said that they
never would go to see another base ball
game. They were through. The game
was as crooked as any professional
sport could be.
At this low ebb of base ball Babe
Ruth had been accumulated By the
New York Yankees for the hitherto
unheard-of sum of $4,000 and
started to break all home-run rec
ords Of all time (and before they
livened up the official base ball) and
incidentally began to break into all
of the front pages.
He brought them back to the baSt
ball parks, and he brought new Gus
toners. There was something so alb.
solutely sincere in the gesture of thu
Babe swinging with vehemence at thu
spheroid that restored confidence IL
the national pastime. Banging the bal
TO the far horizon or striking out witt
q vehement grunt, there was no doub
about the Babes sincerity. The pur
chase price was Tidiculously low. Ever
ten times the amount would have mad
him . bargain