In February 2025, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Babe Ruth’s arrival in St. Pete and the Jungle.
A century later, Babe Ruth is still considered the transcendent figure in baseball and one of the greatest icons in American history.
This is the presentation I made to the Azalea Neighborhood Association at the November general meeting.
THE DECADE THAT CHANGED AMERICA
When LIFE magazine published a special edition titled "The Roaring '20s: The Decade That Changed America," it was Babe Ruth that was on the cover, along with an anonymous model and unnamed dancers. Babe Ruth epitomized the joyous decade of cultural change and prosperity that ushered in the modern era.
1925: BABE RUTH ARRIVES IN ST. PETE
MARCH 1925: BABE RUTH ON THE JUNGLE GOLF COURSE |
| 1925: Babe Ruth, Al Lang and Yankees manager Miller Huggins at the Jungle Country Club |
There is a unique connection between Babe Ruth and the Azalea neighborhood. At the height of his fame, during every spring for over a decade, he was a guest at the Jungle Country Club Hotel (now Admiral Farragut Academy) in Azalea and played hundreds of rounds of golf on the Jungle course.
BABE RUTH'S DOUBLE-EAGLE
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| Babe Ruth double-eagle. Left, Charley Segar of the New York Mirror, right Fred Lieb |
Babe Ruth had a passion for golf. When he came to St. Pete for spring training, reporters followed Babe’s every move and the Jungle Country Club became famous throughout the country. Ruth remembered the double-eagle (scoring 2 on a par 5) on the 17th hole of the Jungle course as one of his greatest achievements. He scored the double eagle after hitting a 250-yard drive with an iron and then a 220-yard shot. The feat was so rare that when the New York Times reported on the story it was the first time the newspaper ever used the term "double-eagle."
1931 AT THE JUNGLE HOTEL
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| 1931: Babe Ruth with wife Claire in front of the Jungle Hotel |
THE JUNGLE HOTEL WAS FAMOUS IN STEREOSCOPE 3D!
BABE RUTH BIRTHDAYS IN THE JUNGLE
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| 1929 birthday cake with sports figures at the Jungle Hotel |
IN THE BEGINNING: REFORM SCHOOL AND BROTHER MATTHIAS
It’s not because he hit home runs and changed the game of baseball – well, that is only part of it.
It's true he transformed baseball and caused a revolution in the sport. His baseball accomplishments, together with his personal charisma and his rags-to-riches life story, made Ruth the most celebrated athlete of his era, arguably of all time.
George Herman Ruth, Jr. was born in Baltimore in 1895 and by age 7 he was hanging with the wrong crowd - smoking, drinking, skipping school and getting into mischief, so his parents enrolled him in reform school. For the next 12 years, Ruth rarely left the austere confines of the school.
Brother Matthias took Babe under his wing and taught him to play baseball. Ruth was grateful that the training he received at the school turned his life around. As a result, he donated his time and money to assist disadvantaged children throughout his life.
BABE RUTH AND CHILDREN'S CHARITIES |
| 1930. Babe Ruth talks with children at Knickerbocker Hospital in New York City after signing baseballs for all of them. |
Ruth was famous for his concern for children's welfare, often visiting orphanages and hospitals.
In 1927, he helped establish the American Legion Crippled Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, a forerunner of today’s Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
He didn’t do it for publicity - sports journalist Bill Slocum said: "For every picture you see of the Babe in a hospital, he visits fifty without publicity."
RACE RELATIONS
Babe Ruth played in numerous exhibition games with teams in the Negro League, mingling with fans in the "colored section" in violation of local laws.
MORE CHARITY
Ruth supported other social and moral causes, including those of the Jewish community around the world. |
| Babe Ruth plays in a WWI American Jewish Relief charity game held in Scranton, PA |
PRE-1920
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| Spanish flu. Wear a mask or go to jail. |
Americans lived through a dark period prior to 1920.
- With WWI came the draft and rationing of wheat, meat, sugar, butter, and fats
- The Spanish flu from 1918-20 had a higher mortality rate than Covid-19
- The post WWI recession lasted 3 years and 8 months
- The Black Sox game-fixing scandal caused Americans to lose faith in the integrity of baseball
As a new decade began, Americans just prayed for a return to normalcy. Instead, they would live through the wildest, most exuberant decade in history.
BABE RUTH PUT THE ROAR IN THE ROARING '20s
At about that same time, Babe Ruth was traded to the New York Yankees and his career took off when he switched from being a pitcher to playing in the outfield every day. He became much more than a baseball star – he was an international celebrity, the biggest of his time. Athletically gifted and charismatic, he dominated the media.
"This 19-year-old kid, crude, poorly educated, only lightly brushed by the social veneer we call civilization, gradually transformed into the idol of American youth and the symbol of baseball the world over - a man loved by more people and with an intensity of feeling that perhaps has never been equaled before or since."
‒ Harry Hooper, Boston teammate
