The Sultan of Spring: Babe Ruth’s Grapefruit League legacy

Posted Feb 25, 2010 by TBO.com

Updated Feb 25, 2010 at 06:10 PM

On a clear night, the sounds of a tuba can almost be heard drifting along the St. Petersburg waterfront from the third floor of the historic Kelly Hotel in downtown St. Petersburg.

In the late 1920’s, Room 310 of the Dennis Hotel, as it was known back then, usually had one of its most famous tenants this time of year.

Babe Ruth preferred that room because it was spacious enough to house his boisterous personality – and even more boisterous parties. He would play his tuba for his guests as they partook in the bathtub full of prohibition era whiskey.

The exploits of Babe Ruth each spring would become the legends of Grapefruit League lore.

The Bay area would get its first exposure to Ruth when the Boston Red Sox temporarily moved their spring workout site from Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Tampa for the 1919 season. The Red Sox sold Ruth to the New York Yankees the next year. With the exception of the road trips during the 1920 season while the Yankees trained in Jacksonville, the Babe wouldn’t return to Tampa Bay for another five seasons.

The biggest fish in a little pond

The Yankees, in part because of worries by the team’s ownership over Ruth’s indulgence in the New Orleans’ nightlife, moved their franchise to the sleepy resort and fishing town of St. Petersburg for their spring rituals in 1924.

It would spark an annual six-week love affair that would last until Ruth’s retirement and bring unheard of publicity to the town of St. Pete through the throngs of media that followed Babe’s every move.

Although St. Petersburg lacked the grand night life of New Orleans, it certainly had enough leisure activities to keep Ruth occupied each March. The Babe was an avid, although not particularly skilled, golfer that would spend a great deal of his time away from the ballpark on the world class courses around the area such as the Jungle Club. These outings on the lynx would often draw large crowds. The Babe, not one to shy away from attention, would often ham it up for his spectators by cursing and tossing his clubs into a nearby lake after a botched shot.

Ty Cobb was a frequent playing partner of the Babe during these golf excursions and excessive gambling was the norm. After beating Ruth in three straight matches, Cobb had a special trophy made that was dubbed “The Ruth Cup” that he kept on a shelf next to his Hall of Fame plaque.

The Babe was also an avid angler during his time in Florida. He enjoyed the athleticism and fight of a hooked kingfish but it was the Gulf grouper that he truly sought. The large, rotund and somewhat homely reef inhabitant was said to remind him of himself. He would often bring his daily bag back to the the Flori-de-Leon or Rolyat hotel kitchens to have his catch cooked fresh for him.

Perhaps the only part of spring training that Ruth did not enjoy was the hot and humid weather. The Babe would place pieces of wet cabbage under his hat to stay cool on those muggy Florida days.

Babe’s spring exploits become spring training lore

In what is believed to be the longest home run ever hit in a game, Ruth, while still a member of the Red Sox, blasted an offering from New York Giant’s pitcher George Smith somewhere between 587 to 612 feet – depending on whose count you believe – at Plant Field in Tampa. The ball actually travelled onto the neighboring horse track. A plaque still stands to commemorate the tape measure shot.

As epic as his accomplishments were on the field, it was his postgame exploits that made him legendary.

According to Leigh Montville’s biography of the Babe entitled The Big Bam , it was during a Yankee road trip to Miami that Ruth had his greatest run-in with his hard drinking lifestyle. Literally. The Yankees had just finished a two game series against the Cincinnati Reds and Babe and his teammates, along with some travelling sportswriters decided to take in the Miami nightlife.

The two teams, always on the lookout for potential revenue, decided to play a third exhibition for the tourists at the Royal Poinciana Hotel in Palm Beach on a makeshift diamond on the resort’s cricket field. One particular quirk of the improvised playing field was the royal palms that dotted the resort grounds. During the first inning, a still inebriated Ruth attempted to chase down a towering flyball in centerfield and collided with a palm tree. The palm tree won and Ruth would be laid unconscious with a mild concussion to accompany his hangover.

A plaque along St. Petersburg’s Jack Healy Baseball Trail on Central Avenue commemorates perhaps one of the Babe’s most famous spring training stories.

In 1925, the Yankees held their training camp on what is known now as Huggins-Stengel Field in St. Petersburg. Like many of the practice ball fields of this era, it was not confined by a fence along the outfield. On one sunny afternoon, a group of alligators emerged from Crescent Lake, which marked the rightfield barrier.

Upon seeing the scaly spectators – of which he already held in disdain from being upstaged in the New York papers by sports columnist Damon Runyon’s pet alligator, Aloysius - Ruth darted from his position to take shelter in the dugout, much to the chagrin of fans and teammates.

Ruth would get his revenge on his teammates when he was presented a baby alligator by the local Elks lodge and set him loose in the Yankee clubhouse.

It was Ruth’s indulgences during that spring that would lead to “the bellyache heard ‘round the world.’ On the train ride back to New York from St. Petersburg, Babe doubled over in pain with what doctors would diagnose as an intestinal abscess. Whatever the cause of the ailment – it has been speculated to be anything from poor diet to a severe case of syphilis to the injection of sheep testosterone - it would cause him to miss almost 1/3 of the season and result in one of his worst statistical seasons of his career.

Each spring, the legend of Babe Ruth grew and the locals embraced their temporary resident. Stories abounded of local children who garnered an autograph or waitresses who attracted a different kind of attention.

With his playing career winding down, Ruth gave several kids from around the country what was quite possibly the most memorable spring training moment of their lives. As part of a contest by Standard Oil Company in 1934, Babe played host for 50 boys in St. Pete. Ruth took them all fishing and swimming and gave them private hitting instruction.

It has been 75 years since Ruth last stepped into the batters box yet his legend remains.

Especially in the place that he called home every March. His No. 3 is the first monument in the garden outside of the Yankees’ spring home at Steinbrenner Field.

As players take the field around the Bay, don’t be alarmed if you hear the faint sound of a tuba followed by a faint smell of an Ybor cigar.

It’s just the ghost of Babe Ruth.

He probably just wants a beer and a hotdog on a beautiful spring day in Florida.