Babe Ruth poses with Monsignor Benjamin Bradley in 1921
Da Babe thrives on historical challenges. Getting to the right source is the key, and this one proved to be fairly easy. “I believe the photos are of Babe Ruth at Mt. St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Md., probably from his visit there in 1921,” said Mike Gibbons, executive director of the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore. “Ruth took a train from Baltimore there for a little PR visit for the school. He hit home runs for the students.” The museum has some other photos, similar to yours, in its archives. Gibbons said.
Gibbons was right on the mark, according to Christian Kendzierski, Mount St. Mary’s director of media relations. “The photo taken on the morning of May 7, 1921. Students of Mount St. Mary's were treated to a batting display by George Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth on the Mount's Echo Field, which still exists today,” according to text on a Mt. St. Mary’s display.
While Gibbons thought Ruth was standing with a Xaverian Brother, he’s actually posing with Monsignor Benjamin Bradley, a Catholic priest, who was college president at the time. “Msgr. Bradley is one of the Mount giants... president from1911-1936. He was a big time sports enthusiast,” Kendzierski said. The mistake about him being a Xaverian Brother apparently comes from a pictorial book that Ruth's daughter edited, Kendzierski said.
