Babe Ruth FBI File

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Mr. Alan J . Weberman

6 Bleecker St r ee t

WASHINGTON D.C. 20535

June 8 1978

New York New York 10012

Dear Mr. Weberman:

Reference i s made to your undated l e t t e r which wasrece ived by the FBI on March 22 1978.

Based on· t he informat ion you prov ided a searcho f our records has been conducted and documents pe r t a in ingto Mr. Ruth have been loca ted .

Accordingly your Freedom o f In fo rmat ion-Pr ivacy

Acts reques t has been reopened and i s being held in chronologica lo rde r according to ts date o f r e ce ip t . ·

Sincere ly yours

~ - - - ~ / ~ k ~ j . L LAllen H

McCreight ChiefFreedom o f In format ion

Pr ivacy Acts BranchRecords Management Divis ion



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O.li FICE C IF ·rHE DIRECTOR


FEDERAL BUREAU OF I NVESTIGATION

Mr. Alan J . Weberman6 Bleecker S t re e t

WASHINGT ON, D .C . 2 0535

June 17, 1977

New York, New York 10012

Dear Mr. Weberman:

In response to your Freedom o f Informat ion-PrivacyActs FOIPA) reques t rece ived on June 2 , 1977, a search o f

the index to our c e n t r a l records system revea led no in fo rmat ionto ind ica te t h a t Babe Ruth (George Herman Ruth) had been thesub jec t o f an i n v es t i g a t i o n by the FBI.

I f you be l i eve Mr. Ruth s name o r h is a l i a s may havebeen recorded by the FBI inc iden t to the i n v es t i g a t i o n o f o therpersons o r some organ iza t ion , p l ea se advise us o f the d e t a i l sdesc r ib ing the spec i f i c inc iden t o r occurrence and t ime frame.Therea f t e r , fu r the r e f f o r t w i l l be made to l oca te , r e t r i e v eand process any such records .

S incere ly yours ,

Clarence M. Kel leyDirec to r



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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRI CT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLOMBIA

i JOHN M. CATHCART ,

P la intiff ,l

I v. Civi l Act io n 76-953

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IJ USTICE, e t a l.

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JAMES - , • - • - ; • - I •. 4 · : r

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

Washington , D. C.

Ju ly 28 , 1976

The above - e n t i t l ed matte r came on fo r a s t u s

con fe rence in open cou r t , beginning a t 9 :45 o c lock a . m. be fo r e

THE HONORABLE JOHN H. PRATT ,

Uni t ed S t a tes Dis trict J udge .

APPEARANCES:

Counsel fo r P l a i n t i f f :

TINOTHY H T H ESQUIRE

Counse l fo r De f endan t s :

LYNNE E. ZUSNAN , ESQUIRE_____- o_O_o_-:__ _

DEN N I S K. BO SS R D C. S. R



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P R 0 C E E D I N G S

., j DEPUTY CLERK : Cathcar t versus Depar tment of J us t i c e

• v l Action 76-953.

4 Mr. Sm i th fo r the p l a i n t i f f , Ms. Zusrnan f o r the de-

5 fendan t .

fj MR. SMITH: Good morning , Yo ur Honor.

i THE COURT: Yes , s i r .

8 MR . SMITH: I m Tim Smith , rep re sen t ing the p l a i n t i f

) THE COURT : What s the s t a t u s ? Have you been g i ven

10 ny i nformat ion a t a l l ?

11 MR . SMITH: No , s i r .

1: We have a motion under Vaughn v . Rosen pending fo r

10 s p ec i f i ed showing o f what documents fa l l with in the r eques t ,

14 nd t he Governmen t has a motion to s t ay pending our response

1;. l long with a f f i d a v i t s t h a t are on f i l e .

i I THE COURT: I s your r eques t confined to the J us t i c e

J l epartrnent , o r t he FBI ?

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MR . SHITH : t i s c o n f in ed to the FBI.

THE COURT: Confined to the FBI?

MR. SMITH: Ye s , s

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THE COURT: t concerns not one person bu t I t h ink

[

orn e seven o r e ig h t .

MR . SMITH: Seven yes

eceascd f i f t een yea rs o r mor e .

s i r , each o f whom has been

iTh e nec e s s i t y i s for a s t ory t ha t i s in prep a r a t i o n ,



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have made .

MR. SMITH: Well she has t o ld us t h i s

I b e l i eve th e re i s a record of how many files - -

THE COURT: Maybe she wi l l t e l l you.

to order the Jus t i ce Department do it.

Can you tell him what you have already

MS. ZUSMAN: The only informat ion t ha t

t h i s po in t i s th a t the seven names l i s t ed in the

can a l l be found in the FBI 1 s main index .

1 5

morning , and

I am not going

found?

t he re i s a t

FO I request

JO THE COURT: In o ther word s , t he FBI has f i l e s on eac

1 I one o f these peop l e , i nc lud ing th e former pres iden t o f the

1: United Sta tes . I mean t h a t would not be very helpfu l informa -

13 t ion , would i t ?

].,J. MR . SMITH : Well , it would be very he lp fu l to us t o

15 know t h a t t he r e a re f i l e s on Babe Ruth a nd Humphrey Bogart

l G and so fo r t h which has been the subjec t o f su rve i l l ance be-

J7 c aus e of po l i t i c a l be l i e f s .

18 MS . Z U S ~ f f i Having tha t name in the fil e i s no

10 guarante e t h a t i t i s the same part icu l a r pe r so n.

THE COURT: Herman E. Ruth , there i s only one .

n MR. SMITH: I want to make a confess ion . I have

been s i t t i ng here , and my eyes have been wander ing d own to

:_ ;J th e pod ium a n d I cou l d not he lp but no t ice tha t counse l has

:.. 4 a list.

Our c l i e n t badly need s to know what re source s to



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FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

WASHINGTON D.C. 20535

Ju ly 21, 1978


6 Bleecker St ree tNew York, ew York 10012

Dear Mr. Weberman:

This i s in response to your Freedom of Informat ionPrivacy Acts FOIPA) reques t for f i l e s on George HermanRuth aka Babe Ruth.

As s t a t e d prev ious ly in our l e t t e r dated June 17 ,

1977, a search of the index to our cen t ra l records sys temrevea led no in fo rmat ion to i nd ica t e t ha t Babe Ruth George HermaRuth) had been the subjec t of an inves t iga t ion by theFBI.

However, a search of re fe rences to Mr. Ru t h s

name surfaced three i d e n t i f i a b l e documents. The por t ions

of the documents pe r t a in ing to Mr. Ruth have been processed

and are being re leased to you in t he i r e n t i r e t y .

I f you be l ieve Mr. Ru t h s name or hi s a l i a smay have been recorded by the FBI i nc iden t to the i n v es t i g a t i o nof other persons or some organ iza t ion , p l eas e adv ise us

o f the de ta i l s descr ib ing the spec i f i c inc ident or occurrence

and t ime frame. Therea f t e r , fu r the r e f f o r t w i l l be madeto l oca t e , re t r i eve and process any such records .

The search for informat ion in response to yourreques t was l imi t ed to those records in our c e n t r a l records

system which are mainta ined a t FBI Headquarters , Washington,D. C. During any s i g n i f i c a n t FBI cr imina l or i n t e l l i g e n c ei n v es t i g a t i o n , a l l subs tant ive in fo rmat ion developed byone or more f i e ld o f f i c e s - i s repor ted prompt ly to ourHeadquar ters where t i s compiled in a s ing le in v es t i g a t i v e

f i l e . I t i s from such a f i l e or f i l e s t h a t the enclosed




records were cop ied . I f you be l ieve add i t iona l f i l e s o f

a minor natu re e x i s t which may be responsive to your i nqu i ry

and which were never repor ted to Headquar te r s you may

wri te d i r e c t l y to any f i e l d o f f i c e for those mate r i a l s .

Enclosures 3)

' W : ~ ~ < ~Allen H. M c C c e i g h C ~Freedom of In format ion

Privacy Acts BranchRecords Management Divis ion

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TOWN OF MORRISTOWN DETECTIVE BURE U

NEW JERSE

DEP RTMENT OF POLI E

Hon. J d g ~ Hoover Direc to r

Federa l Bureau o f Invest iga t ion

Washington D. C.-

z ·X\k n I I i

Dear Direc tor :

September

·

Enclosed please f ind a photo with am e ~ ~ { ~ f my r ecen t appearance on Sta t ion WE F ~ e w York witha ~ · ~ u t h in connec t ion wi th a bciy s program-.

I thought you might l ike to add t h i sto your co l l ec t ion on the other hand t might give some onean idea to use in connect ion with t h e i r .Juvenile work

With bes t persona l regards I remain

f

Very t r u ly -yours

FR.AB



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T.lillY BOTH WOR FOR KIDS

At- a r ecen t broadcas t on the Sul tan o f Swat ' s

popular Here 1 s Babe Ruth1 rad io show, the

Babe, who i s devot ing a l l h i s t ime to promul-

ga t ing f a i r play and good sportsmanship in the

youth o f the na t ion shakes hands wi th h i s guest

o f honor, Chief Fred A ~ Roff1

o f the ~ o r r i s t o w nN·,J, pol i ce department , who,· l ikewise , i s devoted_

to the cause· o f y o u t ~ . Chief Roff i n s t i t u t e d the

famous Morris town Pol ice Junior Legion of Honor,

with a membership of over 500 boys, which has

solved most ? f - t h e juveni le del inquency ~ r o b l e m sin t ha t t o l f n ~ and in sp i red the boys to make of -

themselves model c i t i z e ns . A team o f boys from

the Morris town Junior Pol ice are l i ned up to

hur l some f a s t baeeba l l ques t ions a t the Babe,

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CU RRE N T I I O G R.A I 'H Y

to it in le$ '- than· a week ""Mammy

o · }.tine . hi:; worst record. he says---be De'\'l:Tu ~ in g t : n i n ~ off one note..

but in practice. he doe.c 'ltith mu..<:ica.I pbra._<;d:

just ahout exactly -·hat Joycr did - .;th -..·ord_c;he breaks. them up. YK>lently r e a r n . . n ~ f f i theirsrructure and accustomed order. and put:; thantogether into f ~ ~ t i n ~ De'o\ :runerns.. Pee R r f r r n ~ c u""ee R u s ~ l l make-s a. clarinet sound like a Band Laders 1 :12-13+ J1 '44-

uniQue and marvelous insrrwne-nt th3.t 1M: in - Cosmopo litan 113 :42 K '42el ed for his ov;"TI ruggedly indi\;du:alistic Pic 15 :29 M r 28 '44 por

purposes. He is by rurm hi.b.riou.s and tra.gic; ~ Y F. and Smith, C. E. eds. Jazz-he a n express the h a n oi meanchoiy -.-ith men p174-5 1939

OYerwhelming directneS-S, or Jn4..ke ~ u r p r i s i n g .satirical comments comf'O:"(:"ci of incredible d i s - ~ _ .s.onance5 41ld ornate embroiderio." .A..nd Hugh / \RUTH, BABE Feb. 6, 189:r Rettred base-

Pa.nassie. the French c-ritic. "-rite-s in Hot Ja ::::: ball star.._-\.rnong all hot cla.rineti::ts. r ~ \\'ee Russell Addrc ss: 173 Riverside Dr.,_ Ne\\.- York Gtyis undlmbtffilv the ~ ""'·ho uses the soberestmelodic Hyle: shon p h n . . . ~ of uncomplia.ted,clear contour pb.yecl m an ~ v e n . mc-a 'ured tone..It i::; the son oi styk "'·hich should be- .a model10 all otheri. Another peculiarity of his ishi_.-: 'dinv' tone,. full of definite h u ~ l . - i n e s s . Curiously ~ g h e\·eo though Pt t \ \" tt fills hispbying -..;th ~ . : < d i ~ s . hi:- tooe keeps itsfini:>h :and polish. . . . Hi:: inton.atioos .are verybeautiful :and ,;brant. and his attack is o.:c e p t i ~ l l y forceful. .

George Fr:uier dc5eri"bes. Pee \ \ t t Russell.__, ~ I £ 1 1 3Ild spindly. Y.;th patent-leather hair:and a long-. :;.eamed face that reminds you of a

ciollt."T1·s. He i:: scarceh· what ,-oo would callan imprt'5Sh'e-kd.-ing ~ But that is beforehe Gl:e-s his clarinet to his ~ t h and begins topb.y. Then he is one of the most eloquent menon the be e of the earth. It is :an aged clarinetthat he pl.d.ys and it is keot sen·iceable onlythrough the judicious use of rubber bands, butin Pee \\"ee's hands it i::; an instnrrnent of surpassing- b e a u t : ~ · . The ' ~ e d clarinet . held to

~ e t h e r bv rubber bands is howe,·er, .a thingof leyend.. Actually Pee \\'ee's clarinet is oneof the most v.·pensin instruments made., andhe takes as good care of it as if it were hischild. sometime-5o tal-ing his O'\nl overcoat offto llt. 'Id.p around it on a particularlY cold daY.There are a host of similar anecdotes aboirt

~ e t : \\·ee "llt."hich may be just as .apocryphal,smce he neYer bothe-rs to contradict themafter aJL they make ~ o o d vublicity. As

C h a r l ~E Smith puts it, "Off the stand helooks like the sort of -oerson about whom -anec

OOte;:. are told. -an attitude he insnires -whetherhe -..;ns it or not. One ston· told about himconcerns the Oticago EL on V:·hich tokens werethree for. a ouarter. Passin_g- through the gate.Pt t \\"ee paid a <Juatier each time, pocketingthe tv.·o tokens c h a n ~ e . Gradualh· theY ac cumulated and he talked it over With an ac

Q t t ; ~ . i n t M ~ - C e . He explained ho-w he ~ t the tokt t t ~ . and said. 'K ow what do I do ...--ith them?' ...

Ptt \\ 'ee Russell '9:4..' married to Marv S.GWoff on March I 1, 1943. She also

from a musial f3.miiy: her l.Dlcle, Eugenef'lotnikoff. - :lS rondoctor of the Imperial

at Moscow until the Rus.:-ian Revolut K r ~ . : her brother. Herman Olalo:ff, is a com

tl05er. • Out of the hundreds of records which~ t t \;.:ee h:a.5 made; -.;-ith various bands. and

T~ _ • _ : t e

..n:member with snecial affection "Hdlo-&....<..:IQ • Home Cooking., ""The Eel 'Ernt:.r...-e.:a.hk You . (on ~ a d o r e , and. "So-e~ \0 a Shylock . ('9.;th Tack Teagarden).~ ~ , 0 a Shylcx:k" .aDd 4:'rn Through\ \ tth L o . . ~ ~ are amoo.g his 0'9.. 11 compositions:he ~ . ( ( ( ) out of the latter, and managed

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\ \Den Japanese soldiers .attempted to stormthe l.inited Sutes Marine Jines on CapeGloucester, l\e\1.· Britain, in April 194-4, they-charged to their deaths with the battle cry,"To hell with Babe Ruth " Strange as itsounded to other ears, it reflected the Babe'sstatus as a national hero and as a symbol ofthe Unite-d States, undimmed by his retirement. Kine years earlier :Matsutaro Shoriki.a Tokyo newspaper publisher, had beenstabbed bY a member of the secret \Var l ihGods SoCiety for sponsoring the successfulbarnstorming tour of Ruth's baseball teamin Japan. Evidently the KipJ)Onese patriots re sented the arousing of Japanese admirationfor the Babe and enthusiasm for the Americangame be played.

After the celebration of his fortie;th birthday on February 6, 193-4, Babe Ruth discovered that he was a year younger, havingbeen born in Baltimore, Maryland, on FebruaT}·

6, 1895. His birth name ' l \45 nportedl.rGeorge Herman Ehrhardt. Just '9..-hen andwhy the Babe's name became Ruth is notclear, but he has called himself George Herman Ruth throughout his career. "'His trueantecedents- that is, his father and mother-apparent ly llt.--ill alw:ays remain misty 3ndunexplored," sa-}'S Paul Gallico. Ruth is oftenreferred to· as an orphan, but this the Babedenies: "l.fy folks lived in Baltimore and myfather .....-orked in the [waterfront] district

"9.'here I was raised." he saYS. "'\\ 'e were verypoor. And there -..·ere times when we neverknew '9.'here the next meal "-as coming frQm.But I ne--.·er minded. I '9.45 no v . · o r S ~ : off

than the other l..-ids with whom I plaYed andfought." It -..--as with considerable reiuctancethat -the unruly George went to li-ve at St. 'Mary's Industrial School, an institution staffedby the Brothers of a Catholic teaching order.One of the staff, Brother Gilbert, took aparticular interest in the big, black-hairedseven--year--old and helped him to -adjust him£elf. ..Once I had been introduced to schoolathletics.." Ruth recalls. I was satisfied. -andhappy. Even as a kid I -was big for my years,

• and becauS' -of m}' size I used to get most-any job I liked on the team. . . • I t -..--as allthe same to me. All I "lll.-anted ~ - a s to play.I didn't care much -v..·bere.'"'

A t eighteen Ruth -was "as funny l-ookinga kid as ever ROt a trouncing for cuttingclasses to go fishing" a n d an outstandingballpl.d.yer. Brother Gilbert -..Jote to JackDunn, manager of the minor league BaltimoreOrioles baseball team., suggesting that Dunncome and see this promising youngster. After

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nm in the Y.-or-ld c\'·er brought a grata kickthan that " says Ruth. His salary -."3.5 going

up, too. The Red Sox, .V.•ho had sttrted himin 1914 at $1.J(Xl, almost trebled that amountthe follov;-ing yt2r, •·hen his contract called

for $3,500. (E'"-en the m o ~ t accurately reportedsalary : f i g u r e ~ do not nece 'sarily give a complete picture of a player's baseball income,eYen apart from other sources. The players on

:a_ \\ 'arid Series: team. for instance, share a

percentage of the profits which usually figuresout to a considerable sum. Exhibition gamesbring in more. Bonuses are used as a method

of payment according to muiL The c o n ~tractual amount, therefore, is to be regarded

only as base pay.)

In 1914 Ruth's contract v.-a.s sold to the,..·orld champion Boston Red Sox (AmericanLeague) for a reported $2,901. Cal1ed on toplay in only f in games during the season.

Ruth pitched four, v.-inning two and losingone, batting .200 and fielding l.<XXI. Thatsummer, when the pitcher '¥. '3.5 nineteen (but,not av.-are of his true birth date, he thoughthe v.. as twenty) he married Helen V•:oodford.a sixteen-Year-old v..-aitress from Texas. Thevhad two Children v..·ho died in early infanc}·.As might be expected of an underpri ..rileged

boy suddenly caine into money and public

notice, Ruth led a ·wild and e:xtra'.-agan1 life,getting into v < ~ . r i o u s sorts of trouble. Being,as he puts it, ..cursed with an iron constitu

tion.. . . I could commit those excesses •

BABE RUTH

a half-hour observation of Ruth's pitching,Dunn offered to sign him to a contract, paying

him $600 for a six-months season, and tookout papers as his guardian.. \ \ ~ e n the eager

youth reported a t the Oriole clubhouse in

1914, the team's coach took one look and ex claimed. ' '\Ve11, here's Jack's newest babenov: " And "The Babe" Ruth became :andremained, to all but a fev.· intimates., for the

-rest of his highly-publicized career.

I t might be expected that a young manmaking his professional debut v.:ould feel acertain nervousness; but not the Babe. Hisself--confidence was justified before the month'9.---as up, for, though Durm had not startedhim in any regular games., Ruth pitched and

~ · o n an exhibition game against ConnieMack's ... Philadelphia Athletics. then at thetop of the K ational League. His salary as

pitcher-outfielder '¥>ith the Orioles (officiallythe Bahimore-Prm-idence Club of the International League) v...s doubled; :U the a1d

of another month, it •-as increased to justthree times the amount originally agreed on.During this season the young s o u t h p a ~ · ..played in forty-six games., of .,.·hich he pitchedn ~ : e n n · - t l ' o · o winners. nine lo-sing games. andfour t ies; he baned 231 a.nd fi-elded .964; his

pitching a....-erage was :J Y).~ V i t h the Red Sox.- Ruth savs., 1 reallybegan to learn a 1in1e bascbotll. . -. . I didn't.thinl: mu-ch of becoming- a . . s l n ~ e r . I lil..:t'dt:o hit . . . but it ...,._s pitching tkl t tool.:m,- time in Bo-ston."' .-'..fttl p b y i n ~ : f o ~ · - t .. o

gimes d u ~ the 19_15 sason. of ~ · b i c : h be- •pitche-d t h n T \ ' - t l l . ~ l ) : h l t " n l •·OIIl. nx ~ -Ruth mtercd ooe '\\.o-dd ~ ~ -.-nh

the Ka.tiofW d u m ~ .... a piDch-h.ine-r for a. ~ of Jr"TV'l... 1 ~ k

p t n c in Dcttoit. the &bot uro:;-l.. oc t ~vat h l n c - ~ & - . t . \ ~ S--m C n • f.:.n .. ~the imtr-..rn.I T ) Ca:U-m .n ~ h i ~ c - o . . a ' - f ' & ~ J . r tu ..,. • ~ -

p a , - . ~ h t - d - . : - r n . " t - < - . c · ~ ~ a. ..,..,...., ~& ;... h d r p a r t ~ ~ . J : :\.oc ..._...

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... ithout apparent harm for a n n m ~ of

years."

From 1916, when Ruth pitched and wonthe longest game in \ \ orl d Series history(:fourteen innings, against Brooklyn) to 1920.the Babe played for Boston a.s pitcher-out

fielder and. in 1918, a.s first baseman. (In thatyear, too, he pitched "and --.;on n ·o Vv'orldSeries games.) By then he ..,;-as getting :asalary of $7,0CXl; the follov:-ing year it was$10.000. Although Ruth's pitching avengewent dovm 135 points during this period, hishome runs increased; and in 1919 he led

the league '9.-ith tv.·e:nty-nine of them. Thisbrought him to the attention of Colonel Ruppert. owner of the K ew Y ark Y ankee:s. -,.·bobought him in January 1920 for .$125.000..\\Den a player is sent to" -another team he

gene:nlly gets a. bonus .and an incn2.se mg.la.I}·; Ruth's incre2.5C -.-...s a fb.t 100 pert t n L It -..""15 -..;th 1})(: YankttS l.h:olt &beRuth t .epn his -spccucub..r and SCil.Ddal~ ~ are-er- as a rg_tiooaJiy and ~ v t : : : n in-ttmaUocally lroo•-n ~ i t y .

- I t ,..-onld be an unta.rd()Q2_bk b o n . . . asJohn ~ )JcGo,-c-rn said in DWgNV:s Di.s-

rD't:'t F S Cr -..o .-rite- lin deui1] of &be'sachi("'\""'C'IDC l.h a:s a. b a _ _ ~ pbn:r . Every

s c h o o l t ~ - and pn.::t).."1lly elm. adult in~ ~ 1 - h i ~ an:u:in& his· ~ - . - Tlw- ~ ~ ~ l r r <kvotes t w ~ t ) · u . r ~ irDo ot :me pntr t to just the ba.sehallW N 1 ~ ; . ~ or all of -.-hich

...uil y.._. -..:ution a fo he. kd th

. ~ - : ¥ ~ ill hc..rnc- r u u ~ from i91:)~ e . _ t ' i , _ ) ~ tk ~ ... in in 1925) .and .IJ-um. ~ ~ t ~ . . : o C J t ' l . . Jlj(jl. He pbyed i n ~~ \ \ uri. ltCil) and most often ona.- • de l . r s.n._nl times). Pitchers· ~ -.. - ~ to nsl: «me of his deadl}'



URREHT J IOGRAf>HY 45

c l o u t ~ that they passed him by 2,056 times.the world's record for b a s e ~ on balls. In 1923the American L e a g u ~ : voted Babe Ruth theirmost valuable player. From 1926 through1931 .and again in 193.3 and 1934, he ' l l 'aS

picked for the League's all-star team. Byany standard he :a::: tht: greatest home runhiner in history, and-a typically Ruthiantouch--he als-o holds the ·world's record forstn""king out 1,330 times.

By the bme Babe Ruth joined the Yankees.,he had already acquired an unusllill hold over

the public. such that a baseball crowd whichhad reacted fairlv casualh· to borne runs bvother players wOuld bec(;me, in the word-sof the great pitcher \Valter Johnson, ..socrazy with excitement that they were readyto tear up the stands if Ruth drove out ahome nm [even) when the game V."a.S alreadywon and there V.d. ' nothing panicularly atstake.... f the opposing pitcher tries toslip Babe fnc transponation to first [a baseon balls] thl')· take it as a personal insulL . . .The crowd has become so accustomed toseeing him knock out home runs that theyexpect it from him, and they don't gi....-e himcredit for his remarkable hitting otherv:ise.

Pan of the explanation for the Babe'sunprecedented box--office draw ' 45, of course,the incredible frequency of his home u s-

fifty-four in 1920, fifty-nine the next )'ear,

and then it :fluctuated about the forties., risingto sixty in 1927. But much, perhaps most, ofhis popularity v.·as due to his emotional appealto the fans. ..He played ball," writes PaulGallico in Fa.rr.I.oell to Sport, on the sameenormous scale on which he lived his life,intensely, fervently, :and "'"'ith tremendous sincerity and passion. I t v.-as impossible to'9.-a.tch him at bat v.;thout experiencing anemotion. I have seen .hundreds of ballplayersat the plate, and none of them managed toconvey the message of impending doom to apitcher that Babe Ruth did vrith the coclo:. ofhis head, the position of his legs, and thelittle, gentle v.-aving oi his bat. feathered inhis h l . 'O big paws. . . . The Babe is the onlyman I have e'•er knov;n as spectacular infailure as he is in success. Just as v.·henhe connected the result '9ta.S the most perfect

thing of its kind, a ball whacked so high,~ - i d e , and handsome that no stadium in thet=ntire country could contain it, so was hisstrikeout the absolute acme of frustration.He v.·ould sv.-ing himself n.-ice around untilhis legs -v.·ere braided. Often he would t-v.-i.stbims.e1f clear off his feet. . • . Every movethat Ruth made brought some kind of answeriTig sound from the crowd in the stands. . . .Ruth's throws to home plate from the outfield.or to a base, so accurate that the receivernever had to move a step from his positionto r e c e i v ~ them, alv.-ays brought ripples ofincredulous laughter, the 'Tm seeing it, but1 don't believe it' kind. And of course hishome runs broug-ht forth pandemonium_ .

The name of Babe Ruth appeared so oftenin the sports columns that sportsv.-ritersthought up s y n o n y m . ~ T h e Sultan ofSw-at", The King of Oout, ~ \ ' e n •'TheBehemoth of Bust. They t.r.mslated Babeinto Bambino, and then shortened it to"'B:.lm . for headline purposes. And theBambino proTided them with a constant

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f l o ~ of colorful material on Mld and off.For one thing, there was his pay, a salaryof $30,000 in 1921, $52,0CXl for each of the

f i ~ e follo-wing ya r s · $70,COJ from 1927

through l 929, and $80,000---rnore tba.n thatallotted the President of the United State: in 1930 and 1931. Nor do these figuresinclude prize money and bonuses: amongothers, Ruth's arrangement with Rnppertspecified that he '\\ aS to receive $100 foreach home run hit. Also, there v.·ere thecrowds he attracted, which justified his

huge income and, from an economic standpoint, would have justified a much higherone: V.'hen Ruth was absent from the lineup the Yankees' ball games drew only halftheir nonnal 1.S,(XX)....20,0XI weekday patrons and60,(X).)..70,000 on Saturda,·s and Sunda,·s.The Yankee Stadium is still knov."'l a..s ··TheHouse that Ruth Built,., and right field isstill called ..RuthYille... There were his innumerable free appearanc-es for charitableorganizations, especially the Knights ofColumbus, to which he belongs. There-v.·ere the Babe's other and profitable activities: the :fiye motion-picture shorts andtwo features, one with Anna Q. Nilsson,in which he starred; the magazine andwidely-syndicated nev:spaper articles underhis name; the books. B a b ~ Rvth .s (}-.1.'11

Book of Bas .ball (1928) and How to PlasBaseball (1931),

"'";th...George Herman Ruth.,

on the title page.Another source·of income for the s t a r

and one ·which sometimes got him intotrouble ""-ith the baseball powers-that-be-was his 'barnstorming in exhibition g;unesand vaude,-i.lle tours. Then there wereradio broadcasts and endorsements of commercial products. ~ V a r i o u s sporting goodsand a. candy bar used his n.ame----a.nd -paidgenerously for the privilege. These financialdetails were handled by Christv \Valsh, ashrev.·d Irish sportswriter who mWaged Ruth'soutside acti-..-ities., S: -ndicated his articles., andsp,Iit the profits with him fifty-fifty. (In 1924,v.,th the help of ...Mrs. Babe..., \Valsh accomplished the incredible feat of persuading theo::travagant and al'o\ <l)'S debt-ridden Ruth todeposit all the money thus earned in a trust

fund to protect his future.) There'W 3.S

onlyone commercial exploitation of Ruth's famefrom which he drew no profit: an enterprisingproducer clipped newsreel shots of the &bein action and strung them together into t-woshorts, B a h ~ Rvth: O<L He Maku His

C l 1 t ~ - R - u . n s and Over t h ~ F t n e ~ using $COle5

from photographs of practice sessions -andearly games.. In 1920 RUth sued EducationalFilms., IDe: for an injunction and damages:but the :application 'Kd.S denied bY the K ewYork Supreme Court, Appelld.te Division., onthe ground that the public's interest in theplaintiff's current accomplishments ... broughthis past activities within the field of permisSible news C6Ver6ge. ..

There are some men to -v.·hom has bet::ngiven the faculty of living all their lives inne ...•sprint. They have a natur.il attractionfor headlines.... As for George Herman Ruth,

""'the only ¥.-ails be has ever known have bet::nthe parallel columns of the newspapers. '\\.hatever be did seemed -always to havesomehov.· a dramatic touch. In the summer



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U l l EHT I I O G R A P H Y

R U T ~ BABE-Continurdof 1920 a. man died of e......::citement "'-atchingthe Babe hit a ball into the bleachers. In1921 the slugger was so unmanageable that theYankees' manager, .).1il1er Huggins, upheld byCommissioner Kenesaw ).fountain Landis ......sa..spended him from playing for a time. During the 1m season George Herman Ruth gotinto about as much assorted trouble a.s a mancould without being either imprisoned or excommunicated· as a result. H e committed thegravest sin in baseball, lea..,-i.ng the field tochase a patron whose remarks he had resented; he drank too much. gambled far tooheavily, fought with J ndge Landis and everyone else in authority, and ran into varioustraffic charges and civil suits; he even playedbad baseball. At the. annual dinner of theBaseball \Vriters Association. New York StateSenator Jimmy \Valker (later the mayor ofNew York) made a personal but public pleato Babe Ruth to reform and make himselfworthy of the dirty-faced kids in the streetswho worshipped him--not to shirk his greatresponsibility to the youth of the nation.And ..Ruth robbed it of a.ll cheapness, of allsensationalism or everything that v.-as vulgarlymaudlin,. by getting to his feet and with tearsstreaming do Yill his big ugly face, promising

the dirty-faced kids of the nation to behave,for their sake.. .-\nd then he kept his promise.H e v.--as never in trouble again. • . . X or didit make him the less a picturesque character, because he never went sissy or holyon the boys. He retained all of his appetites.na gusto for living. He merely toned themdown ' Everyone read about the great reformation. and evtryone loved Babe for it.

Return.ing from spring training in the Southi.n 1925 Ruth, who ordinarily ate some tendaily meals P.unctuated V ~ i t h bicarbonate of$Od:a. felt the need of a snack. By one report.it consisted of ten or twelve railroad stationfrankfurters, washed down with eight bottlesof soda pop. The result was a case of acutestindigestion, one which caused the trip to beinterrupted and the stricken man brought hometo New York City and rushed to St. Vinc01t'sHospital There a baseball player lay closeto death. and an entire IUtion held its breath.worried and fretted. and bought every edi

tion of the newspapers to read the bulletinsas though the life of a personal friend or amember of the family was at stake • • Evenin England the penny papers watched at hisbedside. That s fame. \Vhen Babe re covered. the country--one might alma5t saythe world-breathed a great sigh of relief.And. .Uthough his play-ing season was shortenedby his illness, Ruth had time to clout tv•enty-6ve home runs before it came to an end.

There are N O stories about Ruth, bothattested to by reliable w i t n e s ~ s . which neatlysum up the qualities that made him a belovedfigure. One occurred in 1926, v.·hen a. child.named Johnny Sylvester lay seriously weakened after an operation.. Lea.rning that BabeRuth ...,.-as Johnny's particular idoL the doctordecided--perhaps -with the help of some alertnewspapermarr-that a. visit from his heromight give the child the will to live. So theBabe carne and chatted.. gave J ohnn.y an autogr.a.phed bas.eb:Ul and then, before he left forthe stadium, promised to hit a home run that

\

afternoon and dedicate it to Johnny. And hedid.

Perhaps the most impressi,·e ~ ; n g l e actionof Ruth's career was seen in the 1932 \VorldSeries, the last in which he ever played. TheYankees were opposing the Chicago Cubs onthe latter's home grounds. The Cubs were deliberately «riding the Babe-insulting andreviling him---to make him lose his head; theChicago hn.s were obv·iously hostile. When

Ruth, who had already hit one home run.came to bat again and missed the first pitch.the crov.·d hooted him; when he missed thesecond, they laughed and booed as he calmlyheld up two fingers to indicate that thosewere only tv,;o strikes. And then, before thethird strike. Ruth pointed dramatically to thecenter-field flagpole. showing that he woulddrive the n e . : ~ t pitch out of the park at thatpoint. And---incredibly-be did.

After the tragic death by fire of Babe Ruth'syotmg wife, from whom he had been separated,he couned the widow, Oaire Hodgson. who'>lta.S a former Ziegfeld girl. They were married three months later. in .A:P.ril 1929. Theceremony was performed at a 6 :30 a m nuptialmass, in order to avoid a crowd. but nonetheless some 150 strangers crowded around afterwards to congratulate the national hero, (and

during the giving of the ring a photographer'sflashbulb popped.) X ext dav the newlv married Babe opened the Y anke es' season ·with ahome run. Ruth adopted his wife's daughterJulia. then thirteen. five vears older than hisov.ll Dorothy. The secori"d ~ I r s . Ruth provedto be an excellent manager who persuaded herhusband to save, '"'kept him from going backto his old ways,.. and nursed him tenderlvthrough his illnesses. real and exaggerated. -

In 1932 baseball began to feel the depression.All salaries were cut dov. TI.., and the outcomeof Ruth's annual dispute with Colonel RuppertV.d.S a salary no higher than the P r e s i d e n t s ~the following year it . v;a.s back to $52.000.In 19J...I. it v.-as $35,1X)(). In this, his last vea.:ras an active plaver, the Babe hit onlv twe.nrvtv..·o home runs: Then., having rotffidedtv.·enty years in the American League. Ruth

left the •Yankees. H e had a l V ~ - - a y s expressedan ambttlon to be<:ome a club manager afterhis playing days were over, and it ,...,.·as e.xpected that such a position would be offeredhim. No such offer came, hov.-ever. InApril 1935, Ruth joined the Boston Braves(not of his old league, but of the XationalLeague) a;> vice-president. assistant manager.and part-t1me player with a. reported salarvof $30,((K). After ninety-seven days wi.th th.eBr4.ves. for whom he hit six home runs. Ruthleft the club because of a bad cold. a \eg in -j?ry and endless bickCring. In 1936 he pub-hshed a pamphlet of baseball advice. Hiscoaching of the National League's Brookl"\ll~ g e r ~ in 1938 \\d.S the Babe"s last attempt "atprotes:>wnal baseball. He: drew more attention from the fans than the Dodgers andtheir opponents combined. but a reported

secret clause in his contract provided that Ruth•- aS never to become manager of the Dodgers.

\Vriting in the J:muary 19-H issue of ridayEd Hughes. explamed bas< ball management's..blacklist of Ruth as due to resentment be c ~ he had '"'almost automatically raised the



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C U R R EN T B I O G R P H Y 47

pay of e\.·ery ballplayer in the land..,. I t is _ ~ T H , GEORGE HERMAN S u Ruth B.fa.ct that other players "¥t.'ould u ~ his s : . l a r y ~:s. a. )"4.rdstid:-would say to. h e i ~ employers, HS, CURT June 29, 1881- Musi<;nlogist

m not Babe Ruth, but m .'IAorth three-- dd . h. 1781 Riv 'de Dr K v.·York Gr.·quarters (or one-half or one-thJTd) what he re.rs. e:r5l •• e .

·is to the club, so I should get three-quarters Dr. Curt Sachs., one of the grt:at living Ger-or (one-half or one-third) of his salary..... man musicologists, ·who has received rdugeRuth V> a.S, says Hughes, ..a one-nun union and vener.ition in .'\merica., ddines his .field asv.:ithout rcalizJng iL He forced the magnates "'the backbone of all musiGi.l knowledge. Vlhat

to shell out players' "-ages commensurate philology and hlstorica.l n:search do for Iiter'\\'ith the gate receipts they helped to v:eii." 2-ture, musicology performs for music... Its.Asked by Hughes for a statement m the special subjects of research-the .·historic:almatter, Ruth replied. ..I don't "'-ant to sa-}' studv of musical instn.nnents, investigation ofanything that makes me look like a bad sport. sourCes gathering and organization of ...data

You know--on accoLllt of the kids... have Dr. Sachs's life '9.'0rk, for which beAnd the Babe is in a paradoxical position. has won international renown,

He is still tht: idol of children who could ~ · e r Cun Sachs ¥.-as born in Berlin on Jnne 20,possibly ha'\·e seen him play-50me of ~ · h o m 18&1, the son of Louis Edv."ard and Anna

were not born at the t ime-as well as of their (FrOlich) Sachs. As a youth he attended theelders, who remember the days when he .... as J..:Onigliches franzOsisches Gymnasiwn in thatmaking his records. He is still sought after city; later he enrolled at the University offor charity performances. He is still ceruin Berlin, ·\l,;bere he specialized in the history ofof the loudest m-ation anytime a crowd an and studied music history .......ith Oscarglimpses his hug-e six feet t'ol:o bulk or catches Fleischer. In 1904 he rece:iYed his Ph.D. desight of the distincti\·ely pigeon-toed mincing gree for his thesis oo the sculpture of Vertrot of his oddly slim ankles--and that is true rocchio.

even of a non-baseball crowd. And yet, al Thus Dr. Sachs's early interests were dh.jdedthough his unlisted telephone number still has between art and music, and he had already ~ -to be changed e\"CT}" fev: months because fans tered the field of an criticism before be turnedmanage to find it out and call him up so often. to research in music. He then devoted some

there is, apparently. no place forBabe

Ruth years to the intensive study of the subjectin the game he led. Since his retirement he under Hermann Kretzschmar "and Johannes

has played himself in RKO's Pri dt< o f the ~ f o J f . The .first significant result of thatrankru (I9-t2), a picturiz:a.tion of the life of study '9."aS the publication of his history ofLou Gehrig'*, his brilliant runner-up for bat- musical life at the Hohenzollem court.

ting honors. In 19-tJ he began broadcasting a \1./hile delving into hitherto unexplored fieldsfifteen-minute program over \ \ 'EAF on Satur- of music, Dr. Sachs gradually became. conday mornings and continued it in 1944; audi- v-inced that the musical instruments of the past

-ence reaction demonstrated that he is still the would reveal as much about the quality of an

children's idol. He has taken up golf and cier11 music a.s notation could about the melody.

bowling to keep dov:n his weight: he has made He believed also that the histor:y of musicinnumerable appearances at bond rallies and could he traced through a study of the musical

has talked his deep bass voice hoarse e nte r- in st nn ne nts of bygone ages. Accordingly, his

tUning sen;ce men. He can't go overseas on first contribution to that knmdedge hisa VSO tour-half a dozen doctors have ab - R ~ a k : r i k o n drr Musikinstrum-entt (a diction

soluteh· forbidden i t He can't smoke or drink an· of musical instruments), published in 1913.or tobacco 211y more.. Stanley Fr.rnk t · 9."'3.5 then considered the best authority in

"li.TOte in the 1\ew York Post in April 1944: the field. Later he met Erich M. von Hom..The Big Guy wa ' down and it ~ d . S depressing hostel, an eminent scholar in comparativeto see him

'\.dthoutthe ebullience and bounce musicology,

,..;thwhom he

colla.bo:r::ii.tedin ar

and lusty bawdiness that you al'\\d.)"S associ- ranging a new classification of instrn:mentsated _;th him. . • • 'It's hell to grow old," ha..sed on the principles of -sound production.

Ba.be Ruth said plaintiYel}". And it's hell to The system evolved by them has since been

'9.4tdt him grow old." George Herman Ruth used in the -organization of collections of in -isn't equipped to handle a sedentaD" life. He struments.

never learned to enjoy the reflective plea.sures. V/idespread recognition of Dr. Sachs's schol-

Re f fenus

Lit Digest 83 :58 0 4 '2{ por; 90 :46 Jl

arship caused e<."ttJ' important German institution of higher musical learning to seek hissen;ces. In 1919 the Berlin State Museum ofMusical Instruments entrusted him "¥.;th their

1 •26 por .Kew Yorker 2:15_Jl 31 '26 por

Kewsweek 4:17 Jl 14 '34 por

Cook, T. R ro Essays inThought p9S-104 1935

precious collections. During the same yearbe Y.d..S appointed professor of musicology at

Ga.Jlico, P. Farewell to Sport _p30-43I I-ll

.Mcxiern the Universit}· of Berlin and the following year

he 'WaS made professor of music history at"the National AcademY of Music. Severalyears later the AcademY for Orurch and School

Music offered him a professorship. Dr. Sachs;-v.Tio held the three professorships 2nd the nm

seum post simultaneously. still found time to doprivate research, making public many importm t works on his findings. He also prepared

a series of phonograph records of ancient mu sic. Two Tlww..smui ~ a r s of . M 1 L f i c ~ 'Y.TI.ich -was

Johnst"" C. H. L. Famous Americ=Athletes of Today 1938 ·

McGo\'em._T

T. Diogenes Di.scovers Usp/3-88 1933Ruth, G. H. Babe Ruth's Ov.."Jl Book of

Baseh>.ll 1928Spink, ] G. T. 1l>.seb<l Register I-ll

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'r



9 -3 ; ; ~ _ : ; - - - s - oO C T O I E R 948

bas two children, Dclos \Vilson, Jr , and Thomasl . an=

Rrl l 'US

.Aviation \Veek 48:13 Ap 19 '48K Y Herald Trib1me piS Ag 9 '48N Y Times p4-5 Ap 9 '48\\ 'ho's \Vho in Commerce and fudustry

(1946)

AuTH, BABE Feb. 6, 1895- --ug. 16, 19411Retired baseball plaver; began his professwnalcareer v.-ith the minOr-league Baltimore Oriolt".S(1914) ; l 'd.S a player '9.-ith the Americrn League

Boston Red Sox from 1914 to 1920; memberof the American League Kew York Yankees

team from 1920 until his retirement in 19.34;worked briefly for the Boston Braves as play

er, ,;ce-president, and assistant manager ( 1 9 3 ~ )and for the Brookhn Dodgers as coach m1938--both National ~ g u e teams; ~ b l i s h e da great number of baseball records : led theAmerican League in home nms (1919-24, 1926-

.31), played in the most (ten) \\'orld .Series.,.:md others. See C t ~ r r l 7 f l Biograph)' 1944 Yearbook.

Obitvary

1\. Y Times pl , l4 Ag 17 '48 por

~ Q T T EDMUND W(ARE) Feb. 5,\T88S- Botamst; educator

Addrus: b. c/o Sheffield Scif:lltific School, YaleUnivers.in·, Kew Haven, Conn.; h. 459 ProsPttt St.., New Hava1 11, Conn.; RF.D. \Voodbwy, Conn.

Edmtmd v.·. Sinnott is prof550r and chairman of the department of botanv of Yale University as well as director of \ ~ . a l e s SheffieldScientific School. He assumed the first namedposts in 19-W the latter title in 1945. As chajrman of the department of botany he has beenresponsible for much of its progress as well asfor its coo:peration 'W'ith the university's otherscience departments and schools. A scientist

•·ho belieYes, nevertheless., that science alone is

not sufficient for peace in the world but thatspiritual 1....Uues are necessary also to its sah-ation. Sinnott took office in January 1948 aspresident of the American Association for theAd•-ancement of Scit":OCe.

Bom in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on February 5, 1888, Edmund \Vare Sinnott is one oftwo sons of Diaries Peter and Jessie Elvira(Smith) Sinnott. His forebears on the maternal side are of old N ev;"" England stock, hismother b e i n ~ a desco:adant of the Re\-erendHenry Smith the first minister of \\ 'ethersfield. Connecticut; his paternal grandfather " 'd.S

Irish, hi$ }l:l.terna grandmother French. Both

of E d m n n ~ n n o t t s parents were teachers.In 1904- he graduated from high school inB r i d g ~ t e r , where his father, a Harvard

a.lumnus taught geography and geolOg)' in the}..' ormal School. Edmund Sinnott rtteived his1LA. degree in 1908 from Ha.TV<Lrd University;there he had majored in biology, had been an

assistant in botl.ny for two years,. and had beenclecto: to Phi Beta Kappa.

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Y1.lt- Cn.h.-,;try : 'e-ors B l a s u •• /

E MUN ~ O T T -. - :.... - - ... •

In 1910 Sinnott received his M.A. degreefrom Han.-ard. and in 1913 his Ph.D. degree,

~ T i r i n g for his dissertation on the reproductivestructure of the Podocarpine:ae (evergreens).During his vears of postgraduate study he ~ a svariouslv OCcupied: from 1908 rmtil 1910 andfrom 19ll until 1912 he was Austin teachingfellow and assistant in botany at Harvard,and in : 910-11 he "'-as Sheldon Traveling Fd-

1ow of Han-ard for botanical research in Australasia. Of the influences v.Tiich determinedhis choice of his lifework, Sinnott has declared

that his ovm earlv interest in natural histoJ]"was developed by Such men as Jeffrey, Fernald,

Thaxtu Parker and Castle at Hanard., andthat his' original' intention of miling z o o l ~ ·his 'field was abandoned after doing work mmorphology under Jeffrey. 'Ipe tvm yearsfollo"-ing his graduate work Smnott spent asinstructor at the Hand.Td Forestry S;chool and

the BllSSe'\· Institution. Then., in 1915 Sinnottwent to the Connecticut Agricultural College,where he remained until 1928 as profissor ofbotany and genetics. For the nu-t eleven years ·

. he served as prof550r of botany at BarnardCollege and the year after that at Cohnnhia.

· Since the year 1940 Dr. Sinnott has beoJ.connected with the faculty of Yale University.He went there. in that year, as Sterling professor of botany Uld chairrrian of the department of b o t a n y ~ which p:tsit:ions he continues.,in 1948 to bold. In 1945 he Was appointedc h a i ~ of the dh-ision of science in the universit:y as well as director of the Sheffield Sci- entific School, which Timr has descn"bed as...the first, and one of •• [the nation's1 best,scientific research centers. Lewis H. Tiffany,

chairman of the botany department at Northwestern Unive:rsit:r, claims for his fellow_ scien

tist the credit for inspiring progress m theYale botan...- department. He reJX>rts that sinceSinnott's irri\"3.1, the staff of the de_partmt=ntof botany has trebled and the mnnbe:r of grado-

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Babe Ruth FBI File