It was a phone friendship that lasted over 20 years.
Back in 1995, I was looking for an idea for a show segment and noticed in Newsweek magazine article about it being the 100 anniversary of the birth of Babe Ruth. Over the next several months there were going to be a number of items commemorating the “Great Bambino’s” birth that would be hitting store shelves, plus items you could order by mail.
So I called the company that was named in the article that was handling the Ruth estate and said I’d like to do an interview about how a celebration like this is handled. How they developed the products…did they get permission from the estate, What was needed to get this all in order. (Just in case anybody wants to celebrate my 100th)
The woman on the phone said she’s got the perfect person to do the interview. She would call her to see if she’d like to chat with Fargo, and then call me back with the “yes” or no”.
Well the answer was YES, and the person I was going to be talking with was Julia Ruth Stevens, the adopted daughter of George Herman Ruth…the Babe himself.
Julia, was one of the most memorable recurring guests on my show. First thing a wonder was if she cared about and kept track of the Babe’s career. The answer was a definite yes.
We talked about the called home run in the ’32 World Series against Chicago, how many home runs he would have hit if he didn’t start his career as a pitcher and played everyday. Imagine if Lou Gehrig cane over to your house for dinner. Did “Daddy” get along with Ty Cobb? “Not really”, and the Babe’s love of children.
But we talked about his younger days as well including his days in an “Industrial” school and as a child took up “tailoring”. The Babe sewed shirts!
In our very first interview we talked about his expertise with the needle and she told me.(paraphrasing now) “I went to summer camp and all the other girls has nice blankets for their cots, but I was so disappointed that I didn’t have one so I went crying to daddy. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. Don’t worry Julia, I’ll make you one. But don’t you dare tell anybody I DID!”
She told me I was the first person she ever told that too.
As Julia got closer to the century mark in age, I lost track of her. I had a number for her in Sun City, and another in New Hampshire. They still were connected but never answered.
I read that her son took her to Las Vegas to live. I tried calling the Yankees to get a number for where I could reach either her or her son. But they followed their strict protocol and didn’t give it out. Which I fully understand.
Her stories were endless about the great days of baseball and I could have talked with her for hours.
I would later find out that my aunt and uncle were “snowbirding” in Sun City and lived literally minutes from her home. I knew I should have made that trip.
I’m going to podcast and air a couple of the many interviews I had with Julia and you’ll be able hear the warmth and kindness in her voice. Plus the love for her “Daddy”…Babe Ruth.
Photo: Facebook Hotstove MLB
