July 1: The Babe

Watching TV this evening, a photo of Babe Ruth was shown on the telly and I pointed out who it was to my son, who is gradually learning the various icons of baseball from yours truly. I told him it was George Herman Ruth, but that he was better known as "The Babe". And, my daughter asked "Why did they call him Babe?", to which I had no response. Now, I fancy myself a longtime baseball fan and a huge advocate of the game. But, where Babe Ruth's nickname came from is one of those things I never questioned as a kid and, therefore, as an adult, I did not have an answer for my daughter. So, this evening, I looked it up. The story goes that in 1914, at the age of 19, Ruth was spotted by Jack Dunn, owner of the Baltimore Orioles of the International League at the time, who signed Ruth to his first professional contract. Now, at age 7, Ruth's parents had enrolled him into St. Mary's Industrial School, and gave custody of Ruth to the Jesuits at the time, where he was supposed to remain until he turned 21. So, in order to complete the contract and remove Ruth from the school, Dunn had to adopt him. People began to refer to Ruth as Dunn's "baby," which became "Babe". Thus, Babe Ruth was born. Interestingly enough, I also never knew that Ruth had played for the Orioles prior to his legendary status with the Red Sox and Yankees. And, "The Babe" wasn't the only nickname Ruth was given during his career. If you're interested, you can see the complete, and lengthy, list here.