WHAT MADE BABE RUTH SUCH A GREAT HITTER?

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 51, 1 March 1941, Page 6 (Supplement)

WHAT MADE BABE RUTH SUCH A GREAT HITTER?

A hit! A palpable hit: Tint for all that, in the realm of eport, I would cheerfully place Gene Tunney among the "Corinthians, lads of mettle, good boys, by the Lord!" This select company would include Francis Onirnet and Robert Tyre Jones, jiin.. of golfing fame. Johnny Doeg and R. Lindley Murray, who rose to National Championship heights on the tennis court, and Jack Lovelock, of London and Xew Zealand, the auburn-haired little medical man in a hurry who ran many marvellous, miles in this country and broke the world's record for 1500 metres in winning the Olympic championships at this distance at Berlin in 1930. Such flaring fellows as Walter Hajjen, Jack Dempsey, and Babe Tvtith must be placed in a different category. The swaggering Hagcn was a joy to liehold on the links. He wae the greatest, competitor I ever met striding down the fairway, digging his way out of deep traps or running down a hair-raising putt in a pinch. He was a "hail fellow, well met," caey to meet and easy to like, but he never learned his training methods in any Sunday school. During the playing of the National Open Championship some years ago I left a convivial group in an hotel room at about 4.30 in the morning, llagen was in the group and he showed no eigns of leaving as I made mv exit. But he couldn't have remained much longer because he. was due on the. firet tee at 8.10 a.m. to start the last two rounds for the Open Championship—and he still had a chance to win! He didn't win that time, but it was with the same, devil-may-care attitude that he gained so many great victories on the links in earlier da vs.

For all-round work in the ring Dempfey wa« the beta heavy weight I ever paw. Shtifflin' Joe Louis could hit harder with either hand, but he didn't have. Dempsey's iron jaw and relentless fighting spirit. Tnnney was hard to hurt and a far more scientific tighter than Dempsey, but he didn't have Dempsey's punch. Where Dempsey belted h» opponents down in a fury, Tunney coldly cut them to bits. Dempsey was "slowing up a bit when Tunney c'ame along to win the title from him and again in a return bout. Which would have won if they had met when both were in their prime? Dempsey in the ring, Tilden on the ennis court, and Bob the Emperor Jones on the golf links were outstanding figures of their day. But perhaps Babe Ruth at bat topped them all. The Paul Bunyan of baseball! He etood out among the ordinary heroe* of the "dia-

iiiond', as ftiilllver towered above the Lilliputian!:. Even hi* e-capades were colossal. He never «li<l anything hy half-measures.

The Biilx-V baseball record need not Ik , reviewed bore. It may l>c found in its awesome length and lircadth elsewhere. Hut tlio.-c who know him best can still jrape with wonder or ro<-k with lauphter in recalling hi* "off the record" feat* tli roil jrli his hilarious career as •me of the most popular athletic heroes any gnino or any country produced. Huge of frame and with a moon face that wius unmistakable, the fellow had practiciilly no privaev once he rot=o to fame as a '"home-run hitter." lly nijrht or day he was rceopnUed and hailed wherever he went. And he went everywhere. Thi« product of po\crty-.*tricken neighbourhood of Kaltimore with little schooling, ho soon found luoney flniifi into lii — I:>j> for what }jave him the greatest plea-Mire in thi> world, playing baseball. Only ;i lew years away from the days when hi' didn't have a dime in his ra>;■;edy pant- the New York Yankees paid him :tiMHH> dollar* for a .-inple season in baseball! The following sprinn he had to borrow money from the dub to pay hi-, way to training rump. I-aler in his can-er lit> \\;i< paid a- a* Su.fMMi dollars for seat-on"-- i-ervice« on ilio ••.liam..nd." and mu«t have ma.le nlninrt ;i> imnli more in luora li\ ■■ -itlclines. He Wilis \\i>rr liv that lime and -aicd some of thai money. Bootlegger's Windfall. lint hefori- in- ii-ai-hed Ihe -aviii" st;ipr »ome of !i><~ liii.iiiii.il 11pi-rat i«>u« became famous. He went <iii i \:■ ml>-\ ille (oui of liv.' \\iM-k~ .11 .".IMHI ilnllnif. a week.

On a trip he -p<-nt rjll.iMMl ilollar-. mostly

eirertaiiiing hi- friend-, in tin- different' I cities. One h«.i\y item cm the i.iil which ! w;i- handed t.. him iu ( hi.-.12... where. :i - \ it- a lii-_' h;i«ehall city, he bad nn extra i -upply nf fricridr-. He hud a Miite jn , mi lintel, and in it he found «n empty i I closet. It war- i:i prohibition day*, and' 'a l.ootlcgcer. of coiir.-e, wii« cm hand.) "Put a lutta wine in that .-10-ct." said! I the Babe. The boot legycr did. He filled ' lit. The Main- and hi- friends emptied I it again. Thr bill tor tin- u ine vva- ! almost ."iirnfl dollar-. ; I i.e Yankees opened (he ...i-nn ii, ■ \V:i«llili'.Mitli on,- \c.ir. lnM.-.id nf taking tin- train fn m then- In New York with . the ..I her |,].iyer». 1! ; ,1,,. bought a neu I ear and started t.. drive up with » I couple ~f rr»nii». An hour or so later! the agency that sold him the m r re' ecived a telephone p.ill from Babe. He * had gone off the road. The par wa* upside .!..\mi in a culvert. Ho lnu-hed! about it. Nolkwlv wa- hurt. The agenct • ; manager said he unuld send out ; ■ iiKihani.- to li\ the <-.-ir. , -11.11. no:" mared the Babe. -fWi ' "bother, .ln.-t "-end mi- nnothi-r new car' 111 pay f..r it." And he did. j

He won! to Cuba dtire to make a niovio and ic«ei\i.l a cheque for 2.VWO df-llai.-w'iH-Ii I In- film wa> i-i.mi.lcjod. Jl<. -iu<k tin* cheque iu lai — vc-l |«>cket. hauling i! out now ami then to fhow tliOM? nho doubted )ii- tal? that he reallr had it. He almost wore it out that way. and :»\ the time ho 2»t around to present ing it at a hank the promoter? had run into difficult i.-, in peddling their film and their money had GonJ when it w.-i- i-r-iie<J. The Bal»e"r clicqucbecame ju-1 :i -nil.vl scrap of paper *h< , way lie bandied it. The B.ilk* laughc<) He thought it w.i- a g.-oJ joke <m him. 1"..r -«.me -c.iir.ui he wa* ill* day dream and tin- r»f the laic Miller Hnggiik'. Yankee manager of thoKday*. Ho won l>all gnmc after ball game in the afternoon, but at night hi«- disregard of the club rules of discipline xvas -uperb. H*- led late ...crties of Yankee player* along thr primro-c path of dalli.ince. tine such series of adventure* w.i<- cliniaxcd. u-hilc tho team w-a« in ( h'.cago. |,y an after-midnight frolic in ii .loliet brewery producing illegal brew, and fine of the group, potuebodv t]ie\ had picked np. }>er.«uadod the revelhrV I

•'1" hate ;Ui, ~:r,u.-ot: r , u .- ot Ilka , alofj -inn- ..j f.umin? ben. TJeafc : V,nkcc f. W ner. «hn h a< j bejrd eji, • ; thc~. Mijti, ramblinfTl •hourv (o P i r of Ih o j.ietW!Sftl i'.7V n ? h< " Vsnkee •ludge Landi*. tb« br.« r ,f bt«ha..fc -.were and new ruk* wet± I down for the pUyerr- oiu-errue, <\ Wlia: made Ba««- Rolh sndh't'«« 'hitler, for in-taiK-.- H f irf l-trengij] and co-ordiiaffli-a high dc-rer-. -n,-re were <&b* players who lw«i that. But BflSffo — they verr a-tcundinp: Tie Bfc» I and Frank of the JObAvii ing clan, wenl duck-huniinr ob ffa •j Bay. A* dawn brok« «c'.M t-cannuig the grey sky for dacL fe and again the Babe mould point el, I "There xhfy oamf." Frank Stenaj,, I I would look -a here he pointed td> ! nothing. tW guide oobUA* !Jhen.. Bin «-<• al] saw them «fea.fr came c1..-or. Th<- Babe could Teaili , I mobiJe licence pU<« numbert. a» almo-t incredible disianep. To.ae,4 I mvt-l hav<- been the M>er*l of Ikinak