The Cincinnati Baseball Historical Review: No. 8 Babe Ruth's 1922 Cincinnati Trip
100 Years Ago, The Babe Charms In The Queen City And Gifts Bat To Local Ballplayer
Babe Ruth had barely set foot on Cincinnati soil when city officials hurried him to a waiting automobile outside the Pennsylvania Station at Pearl and Butler St. It was early Monday morning, Jan. 23, 1922. The Babe was in town for his off-season vaudeville act, accompanied by actor Wellington Cross and NYC theater manager Harry Weber. The show had a one week run at B.F. Keith’s theater downtown from Jan. 24-30.
Hundreds gathered at the train station to greet the Babe as a band dubbed “The Babe Ruth Band” played.
All the Babe wanted was a nap.
After unpacking at his suite at the Hotel Sinton, and of course, a quick nap, Babe was brought to City Hall and presented a key to the city by Mayor George P. Carrel. Reds president August Herrmann, standing next to Ruth, joked that he would “take good care of him and try and keep him here if I can.”
The week was full of Babe Ruth appearances, including a lunch at the Hotel Sinton where a life size “statue”, made of 447 pounds of sugar, was on display. Ruth also made stops at local orphanages, where he entertained scores of children. During his stop at The General Protestant Orphan Asylum in Mt. Auburn, the Babe was greeted by a little girl named Ruth. He picked her up and said, “Well, this is where Miss Ruth meets Mr. Ruth isn’t it my dear?”
Besides the vaudeville show and the dozens of stops on his tour, the Babe and The Cincinnati Enquirer devised a contest where citizens could vote for the top local amateur baseball player. The player would then be invited to the final show to receive the very bat that the Babe used to hit his record breaking 52nd HR in 1921.
The Babe Ruth Show at Keith’s theater was a smashing success.
The act opens with a man playing piano. Wellington Cross then enters the stage while on the phone, talking to August Herrmann. Herrmann tells Cross that the Babe is going into vaudeville, and is on the way to the theater to get some advice from Cross.
Suddenly, Ruth appears in a doorway, wearing his road Yankees uniform and carrying a bat and golf clubs. After taking a few swings, Ruth and Cross sing a duet. Ruth then leaves the stage to change into a suit, while Cross sings two numbers. When the Babe reappears, Cross explains to the audience that Ruth must have physic powers to know what kind of pitch is coming before he slugs a homerun. The pair then proceed to perform a few “mind tricks” before Ruth closes the show with some stories.
On Sunday, January. 29, after his final show at B.F. Keith’s, Babe Ruth presented Harry Borgman, the top vote getter in the best amateur ballplayer contest, the 52nd HR bat.
As the Babe handed Harry the famous bat, he gave a quick speech:
“I hope this bat becomes as useful to you as it was to me during the American League race last season. You will find it to be a wonderful club, and I hope that you break the amateur homerun record of Cincinnati.”
Later that night, Ruth and his entourage packed up and boarded a train for Detroit, where his tour continued.
In 2005, the Borgman family lent the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum the bat, which they displayed that summer.
On May 8, 2020, the bat sold at auction for $38,400.00.
Author note: The Babe Ruth bat was the first artifact I ever assisted with for display as an employee of the Reds HOF. And yes, I took a couple of swings.
I thought you were going to end the article with "and the Babe gave away 51 more "record setting" bats on his vaudeville tour."
Fun read and I'm glad you got a chance to swing the bat.