Some become legends long after they retire, after many years pass and they are finally recognized by the Hall of Fame for their efforts, given that instant status symbol of admission into baseball's most exclusive club.
Then, of course, there are those players who are so incredible and larger than life that even while they play they are already legends -- and with each strikeout, each hit, each home run, they only add to their prowess and stature.
I could rattle off so many names of players who have achieved this kind of hallowed glory while still active: DiMaggio, Mantle, Musial, Mays, Williams are just a few from the Golden Era.
But the one who was the king of baseball legends, the one whose very name could send a shiver up the spine of opposing pitchers, was Babe Ruth (just as the name of his legendary team, the Yankees, also sent opposing pitchers of the mid- to late-1920s into a state of panic).
There is nobody still living who actually played in a major league game with Ruth, but I've talked to maybe 10 or 20 players who met him one way or another. Ed Mayer, for example, was given a trophy by Babe Ruth in 1947 after an American Legion All-Star Game out in California.
With each mention of the Babe's name, I too would get a shiver up my spine, but for a different reason than the hurlers of old. For me, it was the thrill that I was talking to someone who'd actually met the great Babe Ruth.
There was one person, however, that I was hoping beyond hope to speak to: Babe Ruth's daughter Julia Ruth Stevens. Born in 1916, she was adopted by Ruth when he married her mother in the 1920s.
After a few unsuccessful attempts, I found what I thought might be the correct number for Mr. Stevens. Incredibly, she answered the phone and was happy to talk to me. We spoke for about 45 minutes about her life and about her famous father, a man she knew simply as "Daddy."
The golden rule of interviewing is never to allow yourself to become intimidated or starstruck, because that will contaminate the quality of the interview and make you forget what to ask. It wasn't easy, sitting there and talking to Babe Ruth's daughter, to not be at least a little bit in awe. For one, she was well into her 90s and still sharp as a tack and full of stories.
What was Babe Ruth really like? How did he treat people?
“People would ask him for so many things, and if he could, he’d give them to them. I mean, he would have given away every cent that he had if it hadn’t been for mother. Out of generosity, when one of the players, or someone, a friend, you know, “Babe, could you let me have so-and-so” he’d always say “Sure” But mother put a stop to that, because there would have just been no end to it.”
What strikes one about Ruth, at least in the legend, is his kindness. It seemed to be quite true. As Mrs. Stevens emphasized:
"He was always so genuine, and his love for children was very very real.”
Ruth would sign autographs for kids waiting outside his hospital window even when he was very sick, she told me. How many of today's stars would do that?
Sometimes the smallest details are the most precious, a sentence or two that paint an intimate portrait of baseball's most legendary figure. For me it was this little nugget:
"I remember that we lived on the seventh floor and the
rooftop was the ninth floor, so we could use the back stairs and we’d have
picnics up there.”
Babe Ruth and family having rooftop picnics...nine floors above the hustle and bustle of midtown Manhattan. That picture is a happy and fascinating one to imagine.
More from my interview with Babe Ruth's daughter in a future post.
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