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American Baseball Legend Babe Ruth |
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Written by Shelley Gollust |
(THEME)
VOICE
ONE:
I'm
Shirley Griffith.
VOICE
TWO:
And I'm
Doug Johnson with the Special English program, People in America. Every week we
tell about a person important in the history of the United States. Today, we
tell about Babe Ruth, America's greatest baseball player. Some say he was
the greatest sports hero of all time.
(MUSIC)
VOICE
ONE:
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George
Herman Ruth was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in eighteen ninety-five. George's
parents owned a bar where people came to drink
alcohol. His mother died when he was very young. His father was killed in a
street fight.
Young
George was forced to live on the streets of Baltimore. He stole things. He
fought with other children. He got into trouble. At the age of eight, he was
sent to live at Saint Mary's industrial school for boys. Catholic religious
workers operated the school. The religious workers helped George to act better.
And they taught him how to play baseball.
VOICE
TWO:
By the
age of eighteen, George was an excellent baseball player. In nineteen fourteen,
a teacher at the school wrote to a friend of his, Jack Dunn. Dunn was the
manager of the Baltimore Orioles minor league baseball team. He was the one who
decided who would play for the team. The teacher invited Dunn to see the young
player.
Dunn
watched George pitch the baseball. He offered the young left-handed pitcher a
job playing baseball for six months. He said the Baltimore Orioles team would
pay George six hundred dollars. Jack Dunn had to take responsibility for the
boy or George could not leave the school. Dunn decided to become George's legal
parent.
Jack
Dunn and his new player arrived at the Orioles' baseball park. The older
Orioles' players joked about the new young player. They called him,
"Dunn's babe. " The young baseball player
became known forever as Babe Ruth.
VOICE
ONE:
That
year, the Boston Red Sox baseball team bought the right to make Babe Ruth a
player for their team. Ruth pitched for the Red Sox teams during the next two
years. He became the best pitcher in the American baseball league. Then the Red
Sox discovered that he could hit the ball even better than he could throw it.
So Ruth became an outfielder instead of a pitcher. In nineteen nineteen, he hit the ball out of the baseball park
twenty-nine times. He hit more home runs than any other player that year.
(MUSIC)
VOICE
TWO:
In
nineteen twenty, the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth's contract to the famous New York
Yankees baseball team. That year, Babe Ruth hit fifty-four home runs. This was
more home runs than any other American League team hit that season. The next
year, he hit fifty-nine home runs. Babe Ruth's baseball skill and friendly
nature made him famous across the country and around the world.
Many
people came to the Yankee games just because they wanted to see Babe Ruth play.
He helped the team earn a great deal of money. The Yankees built a new baseball
stadium. Even today, Yankee stadium is known as "the house that Ruth
built."
VOICE
ONE:
Baseball
fans loved Babe Ruth because he was what some people called "larger than
life. " Sports writer Paul Gallico
wrote that Babe Ruth played ball in the same intense way that he lived his
life. Gallico said that whenever Ruth hit a ball out
of the baseball park the fans would become so excited that they were ready to
break the seats. It was impossible to watch Ruth swing his bat without
experiencing a strong emotion. In fact, in nineteen twenty, a man reportedly
died of excitement while watching Babe Ruth hit a home run.
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The
name of Babe Ruth appeared so often in the newspapers that sports writers
thought up new names for him. They called him "The Sultan of Swat." "The King of Clout." "The Babe. " They called him "Bambino." Sometimes they
shortened that name to "Bam."
VOICE
TWO:
Babe
Ruth led the New York Yankees to seven championships, including four World
Series titles. He hit more home runs than any other baseball player. In
nineteen twenty-seven, he hit sixty home runs. During his lifetime, he hit a total
of seven hundred fourteen home runs. Before he became a power hitter, he had
been among the best pitchers of his time. All these skills made Babe Ruth the
greatest player baseball has ever had.
In
nineteen thirty, Ruth earned eighty thousand dollars. This was more money than
the president of the United States, Herbert Hoover, earned that year. Reporters
asked Ruth why he should be paid more than President Hoover. Ruth
reportedly said: "Why not? I had a better year than he did."
Ruth
also earned money by permitting his name to be used on many products. A candy
bar was named after him. "Baby Ruth" candy bars still are popular
today.
(MUSIC)
VOICE
ONE:
Sometimes,
Babe Ruth got into trouble on the baseball field. He often arrived late. He got
angry often. He hit a baseball umpire. He had many disputes with the chief
baseball official.
In
nineteen twenty-one, the Yankees' manager suspended Ruth from playing. The next
year, Ruth did the worst thing a baseball player could do. He left the field
during a game to chase a fan who said something he did not like. He had to pay
five thousand dollars for violating the rules.
VOICE
TWO:
Babe
Ruth also got into trouble off the baseball field. He was a very large man who
liked to have a good time. He ate too much. He drank too much alcohol. He
played cards and lost money. He went to nightclubs. He drove his car too fast.
Some
people were unhappy about the way he acted. In nineteen twenty-two, New York
State Senator Jimmy Walker appealed to Babe Ruth at a dinner of the baseball
writers association. Mister Walker asked the great baseball star to be a better
example to the children of America. Babe Ruth stood up with tears running down
his face. He promised he would be a better person. He kept his promise. He was
never in trouble again.
VOICE
ONE:
Yet
Babe Ruth continued to eat too much. In nineteen twenty-five, he was returning
on a train from baseball spring training in the South. He became hungry. He
stopped at a train station. He reportedly ate twelve hot dog sandwiches. He
drank eight bottles of soft drink.
Ruth
developed severe stomach problems. He was taken to a hospital in New York. Babe
Ruth was so sick that doctors had to operate on him. He was in the hospital for
seven weeks. Many Americans worried about him until he got well.
(MUSIC)
VOICE
TWO:
Babe
Ruth loved children. In nineteen twenty-six, a child named Johnny Sylvester lay
in a hospital bed. He was very weak after an operation. His doctor thought that
a visit from Johnny's hero might help the boy get better. So Babe Ruth came to
the hospital. He wrote his name on a baseball and gave it to Johnny. He
promised to hit a home run that afternoon for the boy. Babe Ruth kept his
promise. In fact, he hit three home runs that day.
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VOICE
ONE:
There
are many stories about Babe Ruth and his life. Experts do not agree about which
ones are true. The most famous story about him concerns the nineteen thirty-two
World Series championship game. The Yankees were playing the Chicago Cubs in
Chicago. Ruth was at bat getting ready to hit. The Cubs and their fans were
trying to make Ruth angry. They insulted him. Ruth swung his bat and missed the
first pitch. The crowd laughed at him. Ruth swung and missed the second pitch.
The crowd made more noises. Then Ruth pointed his bat at the seats past the
center field of the ball park. He showed the crowd where he would hit the next
ball. And that was exactly where he hit the ball out of the park.
(MUSIC)
VOICE
TWO:
Ruth
stopped playing baseball in nineteen thirty-five. The next year he was one of
the first five players to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. After he
retired as a player, he wanted to be manager of a baseball team. But no such
position was offered to him.
Ruth
died in nineteen forty-eight of throat cancer. He was fifty-three years old.
Babe
Ruth is buried near New York City. People still come to visit his burial place.
They leave things there: A Yankees baseball hat. A small
American flag. A baseball. Americans leave
these things to show that they have not forgotten the Babe.
(THEME)
VOICE
ONE:
This
Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust.
It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE
TWO:
And I'm
Doug Johnson. Listen again next week for another people in American program on
the Voice of America.
(THEME)