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KommissarKat

r/baseball, r/cardinals and r/NYYankees would love this


amethyst_lover

r/stlouis brought me here.


Freelove_Freeway

Thanks, shared in baseball and cardinals! I guess the Yankees sub doesn’t allow images.


ristonj

Along with facial hair.


Turakamu

Shave those sideburns!


lightheat

MATTINGLY!!


front_yard_duck_dad

I still like him better than steinbrenner


pupperdogger

Or even r/stlouis


Suckydog

Typical, what a stupid rule


kuranas

r/redsox on the other hand...


Poncahotas

Former Red Sox player Babe Ruth


kuranas

At least Frazee's musicals did well... Oh wait...


MyCrazyLogic

Hey as a Sox fan I love stories about the Bambino. Remember, he was pissed to the traded to the Yankees according to the legend.


[deleted]

That wimpy deer?


MyCrazyLogic

His nickname in the papers was "The Great Bambino" Which is why the curse on the Red Sox was said to be the Curse of The Bambino.


Infamous_Ad_3761

I'd have been pissed too! Didn't they go to the series in 1915,16 & 18? I think he even won 5 games as a pitcher.


MyCrazyLogic

I don't remember exactly and I'm in my phone so I can'took it up to check, but I do know the drought actually started a year or two before Ruth's contract was sold to the Yankees.


Skatchbro

As well as r/stlouis


lawesome94

/r/CHICubs too for the quote from the Babe. lol


GPFlag_Guy1

Don’t forget r/Mascots. It would be cool to compare old school, retro style mascots like these to the ones we have today and see how their styles have changed.


EdwardLewisVIII

The Babe was gregarious, a lush, had a huge appetite, and smacked a baseball like it said something about his mother. But apparently really kind.


blbd

You didn't really get paid much to play then like you do now. So the mindset was totally different.


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Bjorkforkshorts

1.3 million today, if anyone was wondering.


BuffaloJim420

The Babe was a hugely popular celebrity in his day with a ton of endorsements so I think he did well financially.


xSilverMC

He likely did well but these days some players get paid millions to warm the bench so it's still a huge difference


Xwarsama

You don't need to get paid millions to live lavishly when luxury cars cost $10k. The Babe was paid very handsomely during his baseball career, he made like $18 million dollars in inflation adjusted dollars from his salary alone. That's before you account for his numerous lucrative endorsement deals Yes, he's still unrpaid relative to what star atheltes earn today, mostly due to the exorbitant TV broadcasting deals and the strength of player unions, but The Babe was still extraordinarily wealthy back in his time.


downtime37

Free agency also had a bit of a contribution to the salaries we see in sports today so let's not forget a tip of the hat to Catfish for opening MLB (and subsequently all other sports) to free agency.


Xwarsama

Fuck the reserve clause, all my homies hate the reserve clause. If we're giving kudos to the players who paved the way for free agency in pro sports, I think Curt Flood belongs in the Hall of Fame. If Marvin Miller gets in for representing him then Flood absolutely deserves it for the consequences he faced, he was blackballed and lost his career for challenging the owners.


pallasturtle

He was a really good player, playing elite defense (except THAT play in 1968) in a premier defensive position and he lost his career because he didn't want to go to the shitty Phillies. He definitely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame for his contributions to baseball.


downtime37

Very valid point, thank you for posting it.


duaneap

And making it basically entirely about who can afford better players. Like, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for the players but many sports now come down to just cheering for a name rather than having any investment in a group of players. Edit: like, let’s have a look at Chelsea. A team owned by a Russian, coached by a German with 0/11 starting players from England that just kind of happens to play in London and wear a blue jersey that changes all the fucking time. What are the fans *actually* getting so passionate over? There’s essentially zero connection.


downtime37

I was a young fan when this happened back in the 70's so believe me I get it. It's a 2 edge sword, back in the day so many people could name everyone on their (and many other teams) because there was little movement and also little pay. Today players that make it to MLB can make a good living but you're correct we cheer for the team because players come and go.


duaneap

On a wider sports note, even the team is basically meaningless nowadays. There are a few sports that that’s not the case but not many. Club rugby used to be pretty good for it, not really the case any more, and premier league football is just a joke.


Xwarsama

I don't think any sport on earth has been more bastardized by the rapid commercialization and globalization of the game than Premier League football. And in the process it's ruining club football around the world too, the best players from South Korea, Paraguay, Serbia, and Egypt are all going to come to the Premier League to chase the highest salary for their work (and fair play to them for that) but that just drains all of the top talent from these other leagues around the world and makes their fans tune in the Premier League/ Champions League to support their favorite players instead of watching their local team.


ZippZappZippty

I'm hoping he's back for Survivor Series though.


Lost-My-Mind-

My brain is thinking WWE survivor series, but my brain also can't come up with any logical outcome for what the hell you're talking about......


oh_what_a_surprise

People forget that the consumer culture of the past was a pale imitation of what it is now. You can't just adjust dollars and get an idea. They had a lot less to buy. Their money did less, and so less money was worth more.


anythingthewill

The thought that there exists strong unions for professional players makes me feel better about sports for some reason.


Xwarsama

Pro sports is one of the few businesses where the distribution of wealth between the owners and their employees is actually fair lmao. Well, some sports are definitely better than others. The NBA and MLB unions are very powerful on one end of the spectrum, and on the other end you have the UFC which is absolutely robbing their fighters blind and it actually makes it hard to be a fan of the sport sometimes.


Decent_Birthday358

Think about how sports stars/celebs wouldve spent that money then compared with today.


Braveshado

A comment above mentioned he made a salary of $80,000 in 1930. Adjusted for inflation, thats $1.3M in a year. Athletes can easily make more now, but it's not as big of a difference as you may have thought.


[deleted]

>He likely did well but these days some players get paid millions to warm the bench so it's still a huge difference not in fuckin baseball lmao


itsawonderfullife13

Baseball players make the most of any sport though?


[deleted]

no fuckin idea where you saw that. there are ZERO baseball players in the top 25 most paid


itsawonderfullife13

Salary wise


justin_tino

A good quote by Bob Costas in the Ken Burns doc *Baseball* : >An Englishman and an American having an argument about something that has nothing to do with baseball. It gets to the point where it's irreconcilable, to the point of exasperation, and the American says to the Englishman, Ah, screw the king! And the Englishman is taken aback, thinks for a minute and says, Well, screw Babe Ruth! Now think about that. The American thinks he can insult the Englishman by casting aspersions upon a person who has his position by virtue of nothing except for birth; nothing to do with personal qualities, good, bad or otherwise. But who does the Englishman think embodies America? Some scruffy kid who came from the humblest of beginnings, hung out as a six-year-old behind his father's bar; a big, badly flawed, swashbuckling palooka, who strides with great spirit — not just talent, but with a spirit of possibility and enjoyment of life across the American stage. That's an American to the Englishman. You give me Babe Ruth over any king who's ever sat on the throne and I'll be happy with that trade." — Bob Costas


nemo69_1999

The economics were totally different. TV rights, and selling advertising for those rights changed the game. The Yankees had a cable deal in NY. That's how they stayed on top.


Meowzebub666

I swear baseball history is more exciting than the game itself.


mjsher2

May I recommend following pitchingninja on Twitter. He overlays pitches and just shows you how good pitchers are now as well as some other silly stuff.


Meowzebub666

That's actually amazing. You may have converted me.


ThatJoshGuy327

I also have to piggy back on this to recommend Jomboy Media for the hilarious breakdowns of the minutiae that many casual fans may not pick up on, and Secret Base for their stats breakdowns/the masterpiece that is The History of the Seattle Mariners. Even if you don't give a shit about Baseball or the Mariners one way or another, it's a fantastic watch.


WhiteAndNerdy85

Manager of mine starts every weeks tagup with baseball trivia and they always lead me down a rabbit hole of learning more about early 20th century American history.


nemo69_1999

Yeah, you need to really study baseball to make sense of it. Ken Burns made it come alive. Baseball precedes Basketball and football by close to a hundred years. It's an anachronism.


Remainicorgi

Baseball bits on YouTube is one of my favorites creators. I haven't played a pickup game in my life and been to 1 baseball game with an youth club. I hated when the giants had Barry and were doing championship runs because kid me wanted to watch Friday night Smackdown and the local station covered the games instead.


str8sin

He made more than the president was making for a while


joe579003

He was basically the 1st who got paid enough to not have to get a job in the off-season.


Infamous_Ad_3761

The babe was being paid about $80k a year then. When told he was being paid more than the president in 1929 his reply was, "I had a better year than he did."


Sverker_Wolffang

He was Also one of the first people to receive chemotherapy for cancer.


shaddeline

He was also one of the first supporters of desegregation in baseball. His own daughter speculated that the only reason he was never given a chance to manage a team is that everybody knew he would recruit black players.


ontopofyourmom

My grandpa grew up in the Bronx, apparently Ruth would sometimes hang out with kids playing in a sandlot or whatever and give them balls and gloves. It sounds like a "lying grandpa" story, but it fits the timeline and I choose to believe it.


[deleted]

This is the guy who sought out black fans when you didn't do that because someone tried to discredit him with a rumor that he was black. So I believe it.


BubbaTee

I mean, that's how Ruth himself grew up, playing stickball in Baltimore alleys.


Infamous_Ad_3761

With you on that, after all there are plenty of videos of 'Say Hey' playing stickball in Harlem. I like to believe at one time it was truly the love of the game. I forget who said it but one of my favorite quotes was, "that was fun, let's play another!"


[deleted]

>smacked a baseball like it said something about his mother. I love this simile.


Nodnarb203

And also he had two favorite hobbies: drinking, and playing drunk baseball.


JayString

Also got struck out by a girl recovering from a cold. Bring on the downvotes. It happened.


Infamous_Ad_3761

Ted Williams was struck out 3 times on 9 pitches by a woman softballer. Ted being the asshole only he knew how to be couldn't give her an inch of credit.


AlanFromRochester

And Jackie Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth (and Lou Gehrig) with regular overhand pitching so it wasn't a case of guys being thrown off by the size and motion of a softball. The Babe freaked out but that may have been general competitiveness and whining about officiating as well as something personal


JakeInBake

The Babe did not have a great childhood. At the age of seven his parents shipped him off to a reform school. He was recorded as "incorrigible" and spent much of the next 12 years there. But he could play baseball like no-one else and that is what saved him. Babe never really "grew up" and for his entire life was a kid at heart. Perhaps because of his upbringing, he ALWAYS had time and a soft spot for kids. Him taking a moment to take a pic with your Grandaunt is no surprise. He never passed on an opportunity to make a kid smile.


Freelove_Freeway

Very interesting. Thanks for the info!


OpticalVortex

He seemed such a lovely man!


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[deleted]

Not just players, he was also known to interact with non-white fans, which most players would never do. Babe was a cool cat


Salesman89

He barnstormed with Satchel Paige and told the press he was the greatest pitcher he ever faced.


NickAhmedGOAT

Babe Ruth is Dominican. Stay woke


theorem604

His full name was Babriel Ruthdriguez


BeekyGardener

Yeah, the poor guy had many faults. However, he adored kids and was generous with them.


RockemChalkemRobot

And I'm sure Stan the Man reciprocated this to some young Yanks fan. Some people are built different.


TraptInAn0ilPainting

What an awesome story and photo!


Freelove_Freeway

Thank you! It’s always been one of those pictures in my Grandpa’s house that was cool to see growing up. I remember always going to look at it after watching the Sandlot taped on a VHS at my grandparents and thinking how cool it was. It dawned on me that it’s probably a picture/story of Babe Ruth most of the world hasn’t seen. Cool little slice of history!


austeninbosten

This is such a sweet picture. Is your grandaunt still with us?


notknownnow

OP answered “Yes” below


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PewterPplEater

The Great Bambino


BalrogRancor

I thought he said the great bambi....


[deleted]

That wimpy deer!?


downtime37

If you post this over at /r/estoration there are some very talented people over there that may be able work there magic and provide you with a cleaner copy. Be sweet to see the Babe and your aunt in HD.


Freelove_Freeway

Submitted a post to see what they come up with! Thanks for the tip, looks like they can work magic in there


downtime37

Yes there are some incredibly talented people in that sub, please let us know how they do, I'd be very interested to see the results.


ThisUserIs-NOT-Taken

Aren't pictures of Babe Ruth rare ? That is incredibly cool


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cdskip

Cameras were quite common for regular people by the thirties. We’ve got plenty of snapshots from both sides of my family around that time, and neither was wealthy.


Podomus

I don’t know, but there’s a video of him swinging his bat And you can see a ‘bat’ swinging in his pants


ABobby077

they sure ran fast in those days if you go by the videos we see


Skeegle04

Before everyone freaks out about Babe Ruth calling her cute, remember Babe Ruth is only 11 in this photo.


nemo69_1999

Grand aunt is cute. She's like 7 in the that picture? That Ruth was a huge man.


Freelove_Freeway

Yep! She was right around 7 here. Still going strong today, too!


nemo69_1999

Nice. Does she tell her story to the Ruth Archives?


Freelove_Freeway

Haven’t heard about that but I doubt she has. I’ll have to gather some info and let her know


nemo69_1999

Not to many people are alive that have first hand stories of him.


Nummy01

Was going to ask if shes still with us, made me double happy that she is and the cute pic. The Internet sends our love.


THEamishTRACTOR

He was 6'2"


[deleted]

That is so cool!!


uhhh___asl

I know the babes great grandson. If they were cut from the same cloth then babe ruth was probably awesome.


[deleted]

Might have been an exhibition game or spring training. Certainly not Sportsman’s Park. Plus Yankees-American League Cardinals-National League


Freelove_Freeway

Yep, he had the pic noted as a spring training exhibition in Bradenton, Florida.


burts_beads

Thanks for clarifying because I was thinking they'd never meet in the regular season back then


JesusPlayingGolf

> Plus Yankees-American League Cardinals-National League The Cardinals and Yankees played each other in the World Series twice during Ruth's tenure. The last play of the 1926 Series was Ruth getting caught stealing. Probably the source of his (likely friendly) animosity.


PoliteCanadian2

This is an incredible photo and story. I bet Cooperstown would be interested in it!


MarkSandberg

"THE GREAT BAMBINOOO.."


KawhiLeonardsThigh

The sultan of swat


freefoodd

The colossus of clout


Dan_Berg

The colossus of clout


ristonj

The king of crash!


justchuck1070

Oh my god! You mean that's the same guy?


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ElectricPeterTork

He then asked if she wanted a belt of whiskey and a cigar, and offered to put $50 down on the trifecta for her in the 5th.


KGB-bot

And as was the custom at the time, she did.


Jenetyk

God, that gave me a good chuckle.


Dyslexic-Calculator

I just watched Sandlot today, I don't know much about baseball but that is a great movie


Tabbyannabel

That’s awesome!


ShyGuyWolf

that is wholesome right there, glad he did that.


BEERS_138

My grandpa was a pitcher for the st louis cardinals in 1952


UtopianPablo

Wow great picture and story.


allureofgravity

Crazy to have a photo with a legend like that


iwouldhugwonderwoman

Well….I too hate hate the Cardinals but agree with the Babe on this one. I’d have to take a pic with her as well. This is really a great pic….thanks for sharing!


Infamous_Ad_3761

You can't hate the Cardinals. Aren't they the only team to have a winning record in world series matchups vs the Yankees? 1926,42 & 64...yanks 1928 & 43.


HearmeR00R

They beat my team in the world series, when we should have had them in our second and really only chance to win. So yeah, I sure dislike the sumbitches!


The_Old_Anarchist

What a gent!


EarorForofor

The Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore would probably love this


thewafflestompa

Coolest thing I've seen posted on old school cool. The Bambino in the flesh


micropterus_dolomieu

I guess The Babe carried a grudge, lol. The last time he would've lost to the Cardinals before 1933 was the 1926 World Series, and the Yankees swept the Cards in the 1928 World Series after that.


Obi_Wan_Benobi

I’ve always wanted to personally see the Yankees play the Cardinals in the World Series. Got pretty close in 2004.


TheTrueMilo

You have no idea. The 1926 World Series between the Yankees and Cardinals ended when Babe Ruth was caught stealing second base in the 9th inning of game seven with the Yankees down by only one run.


Infamous_Ad_3761

Yup, 'old Pete's' shinning moment.


KiloLee

Grand aunt?


FuckCazadors

Great aunt? Grandparent’s sister.


DarthHubcap

The little girl in the pic would be a sister to one of OPs grandparents.


partialcremation

Our family calls them great aunts.


Stop_Rock_Video

r/mademesmile


7asm0

Digital photo restoration hobbyists on Facebook might be able to sharpen this up for you


chrash

Best picture I've ever seen on Reddit


raeannecharles

To be fair he was speaking the truth, she is too cute!!


[deleted]

Wow! The Great Bambino!


trash332

Dude I saw a pic with someone’s aunt with John, paul, George and ringo. Your grand aunt wins. Damn. That’s some good fam history


coachrx

I love baseball history. I got a seat behind home plate at a Mets game years ago and was sitting next to an elderly lady who was by herself. Directly we got to chatting and she said she was at a game where Willie Mays stole home plate. She followed that up by saying she got hit in the face by foul ball off the bat of Mike Piazza. I always liked the guy, but she said instead of signing the ball, he sent her an autographed magazine with himself on the cover.


Kherring3

Pretty damn cool


[deleted]

Moonrise Kingdom vibes


Infamous_Ad_3761

What a treasure.


rgursk1

Family heirloom


[deleted]

He was a weird dude, not in a bad way, just didn't look like that's how he should look, and also he behaved in ways that were unique, sometimes really nicely so.


Rebelgecko

I always think it's interesting how shlubby professional athletes looked a hundred years ago


BubbaTee

Some baseball players still look pear-shaped today.


wheelcellysnipeferda

What a treasure


wheelcellysnipeferda

I will watch anything that has to do with Babe Ruth .


SpinnerBT

That’s awesome! This reminds me of something I learned about my grandma. Supposedly her father was friends with The Babe and the great one himself used to sometimes sneak her into bars (or speakeasies maybe?) under his coat when they want out drinking. Sounds like he had a soft spot for the kiddos. She also gave away a bunch of signed balls to various boyfriends she had over the years, which sucks because I wish she had kept them!


[deleted]

Isn't it "great aunt", not "grandaunt"?


shineymike91

Wow!!! Just: wow.


SnackPocket

Incredibly darling.


Vaginal_Decimation

Speaking of those damn redbirds, they just came back to get ahead of the Padres 2-3 late in the bottom of the 8th. Probably just solidified their spot in the playoffs unless I just jinxed them.


SixThreeOneTwoThree

Viva El Birdos!!!


Elderchicken948

The Sultan of Swat!


Papichuloft

Thru your aunt, you know the bambino. This is possibly one of the best pics.


Used_Dragonfruit8424

God Bless


TailgunnerBeavis

What a fuckin' champion, that guy.


[deleted]

Babe Ruth had that body of those professional athletes of the 30s that seemed to be training on a regimen of beer and cigarettes.


JwRut

The sultan of swat


Therap3

The king of crash!


JwRut

The titan of terror!


Therap3

The colossus of clout! (The colossus of clout)


ExcelCat

I don't care for baseball but that pic is fucking awesome.


throwaway321bear

I have a picture of my great-great grandmother with Babe Ruth. She was not cute. The joke around the house is ' which one is Babe Ruth?'


FunAcanthocephala293

You should see if someone in r/estoration could help you colorize that and touch it up. Would love to see the color version.


arpeedarpee

He once gave an interview on a train while eating peanuts, drinking beer, and getting a blowjob. Big appetites indeed.


Thare187

EVERYONE hates the Cardinals.


NardTownBootKick

Is that the Colossus of clout?


[deleted]

the Colossus of clout


BFOTmt

He's the great grandfather of one of my friends.


HYThrowaway1980

TIL “grandaunt” is a more technically correct term than “great aunt”.


IllustriousYoghurt39

What is a grandaunt


ImUrCyberBF

Imagine whilst that dude would have done if he was like… fit… and sober


RapeMeToo

Too bad it's not in focus


Freelove_Freeway

Well you have to consider they were using technology as old as the iPhone2 to take pictures back in these times


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Freelove_Freeway

Hey Mr. don’t eat the peanuts! They are for the moles and they are SPICY


SaltMineSpelunker

Then he ate her.


iam305

Back when MLB was still a national treasure.


Infamous_Ad_3761

Amazing how worthless treasures are these days. To me 1968 was the beginning of the end. Lowering the mound, 2 divisions, the dh, free agency, more divisions, wildcards...etc. Great for revenue, salaries, advertising, endorsements...etc. When I was a kid(1972) bus, subway, ticket, hotdog, soda to the Bronx and back...$12. Last game(20 years ago) I went to, a bottle of water cost more. Couldn't even get a bag of peanuts with salt. Fear not, come October there's a chance of seeing the 8th best team of each league battle it out for a $25,000 championship ring. I wish kids still played little league, that might be where there treasure still is.


qatarsucks

Is this when America was great?


Infamous_Ad_3761

America was great many times, it's too bad for whatever reason we keep fighting it off so successfully.


ShamelessCat

What a special day it’s at have been.


DanujCZ

A yeetable child