Babe Ruth -- And You Are There

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Ruth knocked out. Baseball player Babe Ruth knocked unconscious, after he ran into a concrete wall at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., while trying to catch a foul ball: photo by National Photo Company, 5 July 1924 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)

Wearing the familiar Yankee pinstripes
With the heraldic NY emblem elegantly covering the heart
Babe Ruth sits on a stiff-backed chair in front of his locker
It is locker No. 3
The photographer has caught Babe Ruth in the act of
Reaching across his body with his large and powerful right hand
To untie his left shoe
His long slim legs in black knee socks are crossed
And his body hunches forward over them
With his left hand dangling in his lap
His head is moon-shaped and seems much too big for his body
He cocks his head up to the left as if someone there is speaking
His eyes are intelligent and wary
His nose is broad
His ears are enormous
They are pinned back flat against the side of his head
In its cowish amplitude his face
Slightly resembles Severn Darden's

Three doors down the row of lockers
On a Persian strip rug
Which partially covers the bare board floor of the clubhouse
As if for temporary royal visitation
There rests a pair
Of two-tone Oxfords -- brown and white? --
The kind golfers used to wear

Babe Ruth at bat, Garret catching: photo by National Photo Company, 1922 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth: photo by National Photo Company, 1922 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth in reflective mood in New York Yankees dugout at Yankee Stadium, smoking a cigar before the game as American League President Ban Johnson looks on: photo by National Photo Company, 12 April 1922 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth, Ernie Shore, Rube Foster and Del Gainer of the Boston Red Sox: photo by Bain News Service, between 1915 and 1917 (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox: photo by National Photo Company, 1919 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth: photo by National Photo Company, 1919 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth carrying a 300 pound log for the stove, in snow: photo by National Photo Company, [192-] (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth rolls 'em down a new groove : photo by Underwood & Underwood, 30 October 1919 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth in the field: photo by Bain News Service, 1921 (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth, New York Yankees, with children on field at Yankee Stadium before a game: photo by Bain News Service, 1921 (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth at bat: photo by National Photo Company, 1921 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



George Herman "Babe" Ruth at the White House: photo by National Photo Company, 7 December 1921 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth warming up in the field during spring training, New Orleans: photo by Bain News Service, 23 March 1922 (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth and mascot: photo by Bain News Service, 1922 (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth, left, leads the New York Yankees onto the field at the ceremonial opening of Yankee Stadium: photo by Bain News Service, 18 April 1923 (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth Shaking Hands With U.S. President Warren Harding at Yankee Stadium: photo by Bain News Service, 24 April 1923 (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth, John McGraw, Nick Altrock and Al Schacht: photo by Bain News Service, 10 October 1923 (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth with John McGraw, manager of the New York Giants: photo by Bain News Service, 23 October 1923 (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth with U.S. General of the Armies John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing: photo by National Photo Company, 28 May 1924 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth crossing the plate after hitting his first home run of the season: photo by National Photo Company, 21 April 1924 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Three baseball stars here for the World Series, Washington, D.C. Left to right: George Sisler, Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb: photo by National Photo Company, 4 October 1924 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Yankees' Babe Ruth safe at third on Bob Meusel's fly out as Washington Senators' third baseman Ossie Bluege waits to apply the tag, Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.: photo by National Photo Company, 1925 (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)



Babe Ruth and former New York Governor Al Smith at the Biltmore Hotel and Country Club, Coral Gables, Florida: photo by G. W. Romer, 1930; image by J. G. Howes (Florida Memory Project/State Archive of Florida)



The Bam still a favorite. Although out of baseball for the last few years, "Babe" Ruth still retains his popularity with the millions of baseball fans the country over. With Mrs. Ruth the "Babe" is shown autographing a ball for an admirer at the All-Star game today at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.: photo by Harris & Ewing, 7 July 1937 (Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress)



George H.W. Bush, captain of the Yale baseball team, receives George Herman "Babe" Ruth's manuscript of his autobiography, which Ruth is donating to Yale: photographer unknown, 1948 (National Archives and Records Administration)