i've long wondered why major league baseball, and the yankees in particular, never hired babe ruth to manage after he retired in 1935. after all, ruth, who had been a pro since 1914 and knew the game and its players, would have been a tremendous gate attraction. what owner, especially of a team that finished low in the standings, would turn down that increased revenue?
the new york times reported that babe ruth's daughter, julia ruth stevens, now 97, was invited to st. petersburg, fla. yesterday (3/10) to help celebrate the centennial of spring training in that city.
while there, stevens, who is in a wheel chair and has sight problems but apparently has a very lucid mind, gave an interview to the new york times' peter kerasotis.
i've found what she said intriguing, and it may be a better explanation for why ruth never managed than the major leagues' oft repeated claim that ruth was a carouser who "couldn't be trusted" to bring discipline to a team. the following is from kerasotis' article:
"[Julia] Stevens said a profound sadness overtook Ruth in his later years, particularly after his retirement in 1935, as one element of the game had eluded him.
"Daddy really wanted to manage," she said.
She has a theory different from the commonly held belief as to why her father never had that opportunity. It was believed that Ruth's once-unrestrained lifestyle scared owners. But, after his marriage to Claire [Hodgson, an actress, in 1929] seemed to calm him, the Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert said: "I think Ruth will make a splendid manager. He's settled down and he's very serious about his future."
Stevens said that what truly prevented Ruth from a shot at managing was the fear that he would have brought in black players, years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947.
"Daddy would have had blacks on his team, definitely," Stevens said.
Ruth also was known to frequent New York City's Cotton Club and befriended black athletes and celebrities. He once brought Bill Robinson, a tap-dancer and actor known as Bojangles, into the Yankees clubhouse. Robinson also was with Ruth during the 1932 World Series in Chicago, and at the game when Ruth was said to have called his home run. When Ruth died in August 1948, Robinson was an honorary pallbearer.
"I remember him talking about Satchel Paige," Stevens said of the Hall of Fame pitcher who was not allowed to play in the major leagues until he was 42. "Daddy thought Satchel Paige was great."
It pains Stevens when she reads that her father was unintelligent, or that he was an unrestrained carouser. She said her father was smart, had settled down, and was concerned about social issues. She said he was someone who befriended blacks and Jews when it was not popular. On Christmas in 1942, Ruth joined 49 other prominent Americans of German descent in publicly denouncing Adolf Hitler. Their "Christmas Declaration" appeared in a full-page New York Times advertisement, and in nine other newspapers.
-- Edited by mikehart on Tuesday 11th of March 2014 03:57:04 AM
