February 9, 1931: Ruth talks about Florida weather, the upcoming season, new Yankee manager Joe McCarthy and playing golf on the Jungle course.
About Babe Ruth's blended family:
Ruth married his first wife Helen Woodford in 1914 and the couple adopted Dorothy in 1921, although they presented her to the world as their own biological child. Late in life, Dorothy learned that her real mother was one of Ruth's mistresses.
Babe and Helen were estranged in 1925, but they were Catholic and remained legally married. In 1929, Helen died tragically ‒ some say conveniently and suspiciously ‒ in a house fire. Three months later, Babe married widow Claire Merritt Hodgson, an actress and model, with whom he had been having a long term affair. Claire had a daughter, Julia, from her previous marriage.
The media was much different in those days and sheltered the public from Ruth's indiscretions.
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| Reading (PA) Times, February 10, 1931 |
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| October 30, 1930 in Surrogate's Court in New York City. Claire, Julia, Dorothy, and Babe Ruth who is signing the papers that make him the legal father of Dorothy Helen Ruth and Julia Hodgson. (AP Photo colorized) |
Sources for this post include Wikipedia, the Reading Times, and Associated Press.
