Grantland Rice on Babe Ruth

“When Babe Ruth goes after a run To establish his place in the sun, He can make any hurler Or pitcher or twirler Look like the Crown Prince of Verdun.”

“Babe Ruth might consider Mr. Gray's lines as to where "the paths of glory" lead to. Buck Freeman, who held the 25 home run record for twenty years, is now an umpire.”

“The entry that sticks his dome above the crowd becomes an open target for the first wayfarer who strolls along with a bludgeon or a snickersnee. We have received numerous letters stating openly that "Babe" Ruth was a detriment to the Yankees rather than an aid. We have never figured Ruth as valuable an aid as Tris Speaker or Hans Wagner, for two examples. But to say that any man is a detriment to a machine who can average something better than a run a game, exclusive of other tallies driven in, is ridiculous. Cobb cracked all records for run making when he scored 148 tallies in 1911. Ruth passed this mark last year and will break it again this season. And a run is still a run.”

“The scar is still upon my heart from 1922 The blight is still upon my soul for what I failed to do But now once more the battle cry comes sweeping down the plain And I come with lifted mace to wipe away the stain... For though I fell as Lucifer in last year's jamboree They'll find another "Babe" at bat in 1923.”

“The Babe is staring into space. You could read his thoughts. The bunch would soon be on the way, but he wouldn't be with them. He likes golf, but it hasn't taken the place of 50,000 spectators and the roar of the mob. No one knows better than the Babe how much he'll miss it—for a while. Just as Tunney did and Dempsey did and Bob Jones did. But he'll have his share of fun, and he won't be forgotten. He can say with Keats, in effect, "Till Time, that aged nurse, rocks me to patience." But he is still the showman. In the ball players' golf tournament at Sarasota I saw him play a pitch over a tree to the green with the ball resting in a ditch covered with water. "What a guy!" Mickey Cochrane said as the ball hit the green and the Babe came out covered with mud. What a guy!—doubled and redoubled.”