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“Some 20 years ago, I stopped talking about the Babe for the simple reason that I realized that those who had never seen him didn’t believe me.”
— sportswriter Tommy Holmes
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Simply put, Baseball’s biggest legend. Ever. Not just a great baseball player– the great Bambino was also an all-around avid sportsman, outdoorsman, notorious _______, drinker, and most of all, one helluva natty dresser. Some great candid shots of the Babe after the jump.
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Babe Ruth clutching his bat, and ready for action -- June 4th, 1920.
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It was not uncommon for Ruth to knock the cover off of the ball at Griffith Stadium, what was uncommon was the day Griffith Stadium knocked out the great Babe Ruth. On July 5, 1924 the Washington Senators first baseman Joe Judge hit a fly ball to right field, Ruth ran as hard as he could after the ball that was slicing foul, before Ruth got to the ball he got knocked out when he ran into the concrete wall. There he was the Great Bambino knocked out cold for five minutes. The Babe recovers after Yankees’ trainer Doc Woods pours some cold water on his face. The next day in the top of 8th inning Ruth gets his revenge when he hits his 22nd home run of the season off of Senators’ pitcher Joe Martina.
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(Babe) "Ruth Knocked Out" in a game against the Washington Senators -- July 5th, 1924.
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From page 23 of the July 6, 1924 New York Times:
[It] happened in the fourth inning, when Babe made a valiant effort for a long foul from Joe Judge’s bat, which just sailed over the wall into the crowded seats. The Babe ran into the pavilion parapet with the full force of his body, and dropped unconscious to the grass. Uniformed policemen ran to his assistance and kept back the crowd that seemed disposed to leave the chairs and get a close-up of the injured warrior. Several photographers happened to be on the spot and snapped the Babe as Trainer Doc Woods ran up with the water bucket and the little black bag of first aid preparations.
At first it was thought that Ruth had been knocked out by a blow from the concrete on his chin, but it was soon discovered that he had been knocked out by a jolt in the solar plexus. His left leg was also hurt at the hip.
[Yankee manager Miller] Huggins wanted Ruth to quit, but he insisted upon staying in, and got a double in the sixth…
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Original caption -- The homerun king is an ardent motorist, often traveling from city to city in his car instead of going by train with the Yankees. Taking out some of his youthful admirers for a spin in his speedy Packard roadster after the game. -- April 28th, 1921.
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Photo of Babe Ruth with Georges Carpienter in Manhasset, New York. -- June 25th, 1921
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Original caption -- Yankees' champion batter, Babe Ruth, resting in a wheelbarrow on his farm in Sudbury, Massachusetts. -- Dec. 2nd, 1922.
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Original caption -- Babe Ruth with daughter Dorothy, now four years old on his farm at Sudbury, Massachusetts. -- Dec. 22nd, 1924.
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Babe Ruth with baseball players, Walter Johnson and Babe Adams, during the World Series of 1925.
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Original caption -- Baseball star Babe Ruth and fellow hunters pose in front of an automobile with the animals they captured. -- date unknown.
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Carol Rogers, the Babe and his wife... oh, and a snapping turtle. -- June 15th, 1929.
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Original caption -- Hurling the sphere! The wife of the King of Swat, Babe Ruth, is aiding him in rounding into pre-spring training condition, by throwing the medicine ball on the sands of Sea Spray Beach, Palm Springs, Florida. The Bam looks pretty natty in a bathing suit. -- Jan. 30th, 1930.
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Original caption -- St. Petersburg, Flaorida: Babe Ruth & Fish. Babe Is A True Follower Of Izaak Walton. Babe Ruth, the Behemoth of swat of the Yankees, is mixing business with pleasure on his early start in Spring Training. Hauling in big fish may be sport, but at the same time, it keeps the muscles limber. -- Feb. 12th, 1935.
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Original caption -- Down the Fairway. Approaching the pink of condition and prophesying a record crop of home runs for the coming season, the mighty Bambino of baseball, George Herman Ruth, arrived at St. Petersburg, Fla., for his annual pre-season sessions on golf links. Here is the Babe getting sessions for a hearty swing at the little pill. -- Feb. 11th, 1931.
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Original Caption -- Baseball's Forgotten Man. Babe Ruth waving the sceptre he carried when he was acclaimed as king of baseball. Baseball's most colorful character is now leading the life of a private citizen in his New York apartment and will go south this year as a private citizen. No spring training camp for him. -- 1 Dec 1935, Manhattan, New York.
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Original caption -- James J. Corbett, once heavyweight champion, a young orphan, and Babe Ruth, King of Swatsmiths, on the turkey farm of the Daven Port Hotel where Babe Ruth killed several of the gobblers for the Thanksgiving dinner given the orphans. -- Nov. 26th, 1936.
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Babe Ruth Smiling for the Camera (with Lou Gehrig).
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Original caption -- "The Youngsters Pay Their Respects." Though too young to have ever seen Babe Ruth play ball, these 4 youngsters wandered down to Yankee Stadium on completion of their neighborhood ball game, to pay their respects to the beloved athlete. They are shown outside Yankee Stadium, on their way to join the thousands who entered the rotunda of the great sports arena to pay their last respects to baseball's greatest figure. -- Aug. 17th, 1948.
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The Selvedge Yard 
ya know that’s goody-two-shoes Gehrig sitting next to him (“Babe Ruth Smiling for the Camera.”)
There are tons of great pictures of the two of them together.
As a lad I read and re-read this great old red hardcover Babe Ruth biography book. He lived a good one. Some of these pictures were in that book but I’ve never seen all the others! Amazing finds. Your website is incredible.
Come to think of it, I think I might still have that book “borrowed” from the library in a box at my parents house.
chills…
my favorite article yet
america at its finest
if i could only trade the internet and text messaging for 90 years of history
Great coverage of one of our country’s legendary men. After reading this last night, I laid in bed, troubled with the notion that someone like “The Babe” may never come along again. He was as great on the field as one could get. His off-field shenanigans were unbeknownst to me as a youngster, but find me one five-year-old who is as ardent a fan of the game as I was who doesn’t know about A-Rod’s roid rage and taste in women. Where have you gone
Joe DiMaggioMr. Ruth, indeed?
Is this a great country or what!