Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-08-17

records during the series, which,
however. was won by the st. Louis
Cardinals where Grover Cleveland
Alexander struck out Tony LAYER,
in the final game with the bases
full.
And during the winter-at tradi-
tional signing ceremonies with
Owner Jacob Ruppert-the Babe
upped his stipend to $4,000 q year.
It was hot news for sports writer's
who had spent the winter jawing
with the Babe while he tossed
medicine balls In Art McGovern's
gymnasium.
Set Record In 1877.
On September 80, 1927, two days
before the seasons end, Ruth, wrote
his most famous record into the
books. It was in the. eighth inning
that he poled one Of Tom 1acharys'
offerings into the bleachers for his
Goth home run Of the year-a mark
that may never be broken.
All America was Watching that
September as the Bambino put on
a magnificent squirt, driving out
II homers in the race to surpass his
own record of SO. With only four
games to 60, he smashed two home
runs against the Washington Ma
tionals.
Ruth fell six short of that mark
in 1928, but he still had seven pro-
ductive seasons ahead Of him, In
Guiding q fat 1878 batting average
and 46 home runs in 1881, when he
was SO years old. When he came
to the end of his career in 1885 he
had q lifetime average Of .342
And he had drawn more bases on
balls than any batter before or
since (2,056) and struck out more
times than any batter 1880.
5OS-Foot Homer.
| Wherever baseball fans congre-
gate there are arguments over when.
where and how far was the Babes
longest homer. Most authorities
now agree Ruth uncorked his best
shot in an exhibition game between
the Red Sox and Giants in April
1919, at Tampa, Fla. The diamond
. was laid out in the infield Of the
Fair Grounds race track, where the
Giants trained.
The ball Ruth clouted sailed over
group Of exhibition buildings and
over the fence into the backyard
of a nurses home adjoining a hos
pital. After the game some Boston
writer's measured the blow and found
it was SOB feet from home plate to
where the ball hit the ground.
Babe hit one In Detroit in 1925
close to 500 feet. 1t bounded into
the street and a small boy on a
bicycle gathered 1t up as souvenir.
Drives ranging up to $50 feet were
not uncommon for the big fellow
when he stepped into one right.
Despite ankles that appeared too
fragile to support a bullying torso,
Ruth was a rugged competitor. sell
dom missing more than 10 or II
games a season. His batting power
was such that many fans forget
he was a fine outfielder who threw
unerringly to the right base.
Had Baseball Instinct.
Ed Barrow, the man who con-
verted him into an outfielder, had
this to say:
There never has been anybody
like Ruth and there never will be
and not only for his home-run feats,
either. The Babe was a wonderful,
natural versatile ballplayer. He
could do everything on the diamond
and do it well. He had what is
called baseball brains. He never
made a mistake ON the ball field
He knew instinctively just what to
do"
II he let himself down once in q
while, Babe never let down the fan,
either kid or adult. He was always
ready to give his best to those who
idolized him. He insisted on play
ing in every tankwater town exhibit
ton game, because that's what the
people are paying for"
First Wife Died in Fire.
In February, 1929, Ruth's first
wife burned to death. She was
Helen Woodford Ruth, a former
waitress from Texas, whom Ruth
married when he was 10 and she
was Is. When the rising Ruth star
was Pickering in 1922 she had been
helpful in steering him right and
with Christy Walsh, former news
paparman who became his man
ager, convinced him he should buy
an am annuity and establish q = trust
BY the time Mrs. Ruth died,
the trust fund had swelled to $780,
600 and the annuity eventually
yielded $4,000 monthly.
The Babe was left with Mrs.
Ruth's adopted daughter, Dorothy
Helen. Later in the year, he mar
ried Mrs. Claire Hodgson, a for
mer Ziegfeld Follies girl, and in
October, 1880, they adopted Dor
othy Helen, then 9, and Julie Hodg-
son, 5-year-old daughter of his new
wife.
The year 1929 brought the first
tangible hint that a great Baseball
machine was running down. That
was the year the doctor told the
Babe he had a muscular heart
trouble" After that the slugger
periodically bobbed up in hospitals
for checkups and each time there
was the "heart-trouble" rumor.
Managerial Ambitions.
After Joe Mccarthy became man.
ager-of the Yankees in 1881 Ruth's
managerial ambitions expanded
even as his value as a player began
to fade. When it appeared he was
through as a competitor, Ruth was
offered the managership Of the
Newark Bears of the international
League. But Ruth had the kind Of
pride that demanded a major league
post or nothing.
Finally, it was believed the Babe
tried to put Mr.. Rupert on the
spot In q showdown Of Ruth VS..
Mccarthy for the Yankee man
agerial post. Mr.. Rupert stuck by
Marse Joe.
Ruth's last year with the Yam
KEGS was 1884. He still was earn