Latest / Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History / 1947-Apr-27 • Baseball Clip • Babe Ruth Day - Radio

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1947-Apr-27 • Baseball Clip • Babe Ruth Day - Radio · Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History

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  This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history.
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  WIP Mutual brings you now a special program in tribute to Babe Ruth.
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  From famous Yankee Stadium in New York, Mutual, in cooperation with every segment of the baseball world,
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  brings a tribute to one of the national pastimes all-time greats, Babe Ruth.
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  A crowd of some 60,000 persons here in Yankee Stadium and countless other thousands in baseball parks across the nation
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  pause now in honor of Babe Ruth.
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  Ladies and gentlemen, here's eminent Francis Cardinal Spellman.
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  Oh God of life and love and health, creator of all men, we beg thee to descend upon us with thy light, thy strength, and thy peace.
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  To bless our nation and all nations. To bless each person in every land.
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  To thee we turn today and pray thee be the spirit of our sports, the source of our spiritual inspiration
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  and physical strength for the upbuilding of our nation.
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  As on this occasion, we honor a hero in the world of sports, a champion of fair play, and a manly leader of youth in America.
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  We beseech thee to bless him and his apostolate among the youth of every land that he may continue to encourage and inspire the young
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  to live chaste, sober, and heroic lives that they may build for themselves bodies disciplined by the highest ideals of sportsmanship
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  for the glory of our beloved country, for the glory of thy beloved self.
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  Thou hast made the hearts of children and youth to rejoice and to benefit from the gladness they find in their games.
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  Thou hast given them a divinely created instinct for play, laughter, and joy.
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  And today we beg thy peace for the sake of these same youthful hearts that they may learn to know, to love, and to live thy goodness
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  not only in their sports and games, but also in the love of man for man, race for race, nation for nation.
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  O life-giving Father in heaven, whose breath is life to man's body and whose spirit is health to man's soul,
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  bless thou with a special love, him whom we here honor this day.
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  Granted to him, O God, thy tender mercies forevermore. Amen.
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  And now, ladies and gentlemen, to introduce today's first distinguished guest after his eminence, Francis Cardinal Spellman,
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  here is the Commissioner of Baseball, Albert B. Chandler.
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  Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered in the baseball parks and on the playing fields of America today
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  to pay tribute to and to say a prayer for an American boy who learned to play honestly and fairly
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  the national game of his people and became a national hero.
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  God grant that this resource may always remain with us, and that the spirit of baseball, the spirit of Babe Ruth,
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  and the spirit of God may be with us always as we build a new generation of young Americans humble in the sight of God
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  and fully capable of protecting our heritage as a free people.
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  And now, ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to present to you, representing the National League, its president, Mr. Ford Frick.
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  Ladies and gentlemen, as a personal friend, there are so many things I could say to the Jids.
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  He has been my good friend.
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  But speaking officially, I think the best thing I could do is read an inscription on a little token
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  that was prepared by the National League for the Babe.
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  This is what it says, to Babe Ruth, whose tremendous batting average through the years is exceeded only by the size of his heart
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  and whose capacity to hit home runs is surpassed only by his capacity to make and hold friends among those of us who know him.
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  That you ruined our hopes in too many a world series and too often batted our brains out and made us like it
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  does not diminish our pride in your accomplishments or our affection for you.
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  And with that go all the good wishes of the entire National League.
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  Good luck, Jidji, and God bless you.
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  And now, ladies and gentlemen, representing the American League, its president, Mr. Will Harridge.
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  To say Babe Ruth is to say baseball.
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  Down through the years, these names have been synonymous.
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  Forever will mean one and the same thing.
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  For the time has added to, not dimmed, the brilliant luster of that name, Babe Ruth.
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  We of the American League would like to feel that he belongs to us, for it was in the uniforms of the Boston Red Sox
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  and the New York Yankees that he won and held the affection and interest of all baseball for more than a score of years.
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  Yet one club or league could claim to a name which has meant baseball in its fullest and broadest sense.
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  Many great names shine through the pages, recording a long history of our national game.
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  Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Waller Johnson, Christie Matheson, shining brighter than them all,
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  not only because of his record as a player, but more so because he won the hearts of fans everywhere,
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  is the name Babe Ruth.
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  For what you have done for those fans, and for what you have done for all baseball,
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  we of the American League salute you, Babe Ruth.
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  This is Albert B. Chandler. At this time I would like to introduce a boy who will be under the leadership of Babe Ruth
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  when Babe takes over his new job as director of baseball for the American Legion.
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  Representing the boys of the American Legion, speaking for every American boy, ladies and gentlemen, here is Larry Cutler.
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  Thank you Mr. Chandler. I guess there are thousands of 13 year old fellows like myself in this country
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  who have heard about Babe Ruth ever since the first time they learned there was such a game as baseball.
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  It's a great honor to be here, just to be able to tell Babe Ruth how proud we are to have him back in baseball,
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  back where he belongs. And to know that Babe Ruth is going to be with us kids, well, that's the biggest and best thing
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  that could happen in baseball. From all of us kids, babe, it's swell to have you back.
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  And now ladies and gentlemen, the Bambino, the Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth.
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  Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen.
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  Ladies and gentlemen, you know how bad my voice sounds? Well, it feels just as bad.
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  You know this baseball game of ours comes up from the youth, that means the boys.
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  And after you're a boy and grew up to know how to play ball, then you come to the boys you see representing themselves today.
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  And your national pastime, the only real game I think in the world, baseball.
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  As a rule, some people think if they give them a football or a baseball or something like that, naturally they're athletes right away.
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  But you can't do that in baseball. You've got to start from way down the bottom when you're six or seven years of age.
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  You can't wait until you're 15 or 16. You've got to let it grow up with you.
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  And if you're successful and you try hard enough, you're bound to come out on top just like these boys have come to the top now.
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  There's been so many lovely things said about me and I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to thank everybody. Thank you.
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  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is our baseball story for today. From Yankee Stadium in New York,
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  Mutual, in cooperation with all of baseball, has brought you this tribute to Babe Ruth.
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  WIP Mutual brings you now, has brought you a special program in honor of Babe Ruth.