Legacy of Babe Ruth

"Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back."
~ Babe Ruth

George Herman Ruth, Jr. was born February 6, 1895 in Baltimore Maryland. He was raised in a rough neighborhood until his father placed him in an orphanage at age 7 where he remained until he reached adulthood. At St. Mary’s Orphanage he progressed with the regular curriculum, learned the skill of shirt making and played baseball.
In 1913 he was noticed and was signed to his first baseball contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1914. He played Major League baseball on three teams throughout his career: the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Boston Braves from 1914 – 1935.

Career
Babe started wtih the Boston Red Sox in 1914. The New York Yankees bought the Bambino in 1919. He was a natural hitter significantly contributing to the Yankees’ seven pennants and four wins at the World Series.

Stats
Ruth’s life time batting average was 342, with 714 home runs, 2,873 hits and 2,217 runs batted in.

Personal Life
Babe Ruth was known for his Roaring Twenty lifestyle and was famous for his generosity. He was married twice. His first marriage was to Helen Woodford who died in a house-fire. His second marriage was to actress Claire Hodgson. He had two adopted daughters.

Legacy
In the promotion of excellence Major League Baseball gives the Babe Ruth Award to the best performing player in the World Series.

Mrs. Ruth and his daughters worked tirelessly after his death to create a foundation to memorialize Babe Ruth's life and career. They purchased the property known as Babe Ruth's Birthplace and renovated it into a Museum. The women selected items that defined Babe Ruth. Over the years other baseball memorabilia was contributed. Now, the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum and Foundation also houses the archives for the Baltimore Colts.

Read more:
http://baberuth.com

Remembering Dave Niehaus

Most of the stories about Dave Niehaus this week talk about the man who worked as a sports caster, the Dave Niehaus I’ll remember was my neighbor. In fact, his family lived right next door to mine. Dave was the Dad. My best friend was Andy, Dave’s son. The Niehaus family profoundly impacted my childhood in a good way.

Of course, having your best friend live next door makes for a good situation. There were actually three of us who were best friends: Andy, Frank & me. I played like my friends. I had trucks, cars and a sand box. I changed into play clothes when I got home from pre-school. They told me, 'you're as fun as any boy.' But Mr. Niehaus said I was the pretty little girl from next door. Then he’d wink at Andy.

I don’t remember what I wore for Halloween the year we went trick or treating together. But Andy became a clown. Marilyn had made the costume; it was the “wonderfulest costume in the whole wide world." Marilyn was a really great mom. She said I could call her Marilyn which made my mom flip out. I remember thinking: Andy is so lucky to have such a nice mom.

Tomboys tend to get bumps & bruises when they’re acting out on the boy-part. Andy gave me my first black eye. He slammed the gate and I miss judged the distance…Boom, black eye. He felt really bad. I had a great story for school and recovered quickly.

I remember clearly sitting on their back porch at the table. It was Andy & me and Mr. Niehaus & my Dad. Mr. Niehaus & my Dad were talking; Andy & I were playing cards. Mr. Niehaus asked to see the cards. He shuffled the cards and had me pick one. He shuffled and lined them on the table. There was my card. He shuffled and had me pick another card. Suddenly, my card was wherever I pointed my finger in the deck. He did this several times to my squealing delight. A magician! I had a magician living next door.

At some point, the Niehaus family moved to a different neighborhood. I remember they invited us over but my mother said we didn’t have time to drive 'all the way over there.' So, I lost touch with my first best friend, the boy-next-door. But I never forgot Niehaus family.

I’m not a sports fan and while I heard the name Niehaus mentioned from time to time, it didn’t occur to me that it was the same Mr. Niehaus from so many years ago. Until this week, when they announced his passing and had photos online did I recognize my neighbor, the magician.

I wish Dave Niehaus well in his new Magical Place because he put magic into my childhood.