Details about picture of Babe Ruth
I have an 8x10 photo of Babe Ruth receiving some sort of honor or citation from what I've been told was the mayor of NYC at the time. Ruth is sitting down in a robe and is obviously very close to the end of his life, he looks very frail. If anyone can give me some details about this (date, mayor's name) I would be very grateful. Steve Markowitz squidly9@yahoo.com
Answers ( 1 )
I'm hoping this might be an answer to your question. Babe Ruth retired in 1935, and in 1946, after experiencing some health issues was diagnosed with cancer, so he became more frail and was hospitalized in Memorial Hospital (now called Memorial Sloan Kettering, a cancer hospital). I've found two photos of the Babe sitting with another man and wearing a robe from that hospital.
The first was with William O'Dwyer, mayor of New York City from 1946 to 1950, and proclaimed April 27, 1947 as "Babe Ruth Day," and the Babe was able to attend the event. This photo was taken at Memorial Hospital where O'Dwyer sat with the Babe to have him sign programs for the premiere of The Babe Ruth Story which premiered on July 26, 1948. Now, the photo I found of O'Dwyer sitting with the Babe in a bathrobe seems to conflate the two dates in the caption which were a year apart but I can't be sure. So, I'm not sure about the date of the first photo, but it is one of Mayer O'Dwyer and Ruth sitting on a bench, with Ruth signing something, likely the programs, and it would have been I'd surmise in July 1948.. So, that's one photo.
Now, the second photo, believed to be the last photo taken of Ruth, is with Steve Broidy, President of Allied Artists Movie Studio. This photo was taken on July 29, 1948, again, two weeks before Ruth's death. This photo, if you go by the dates that Getty used for their photo, is just two days apart. While he is wearing the same robe, there is a marked difference in Ruth's physical appearance, the second one he appares significantly more frail and ill.
I would also like to note, that O'Dwyer and Broidy, do strangely look similar, so the second photo could be mistaken for O'Dwyer.
The first one, with Mayor O'Dwyer, Ruth doesn't look very frail but thin, his face seems full still but it's hard to tell with his head bent down, but the second he absolutely does look frail and gaunt. The pictures, if you go by the dates claimed by the sources, they are taken not far apart but within a week or so of each other. And he is wearing the same robe, so likely they were taken within a short time period. Now, since you didn't post an image to reference, I'd wager that the photo you have may have is the second one, referencing your description of the Babe's frail-looking condition. But since you say mayor, then perhaps it is a different photo, but these may help identify and date your photo.
Here are both images. #1. Ruth with O'Dwyer (Getty Images), (and the second posted a larger version), and below that, #2. Ruth with Broidy -
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*sources:
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/wrapped-in-a-bathrobe-in-memorial-hospital-the-bambino-news-photo/515384690?adppopup=true
http://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/2015/07/29/this-is-the-last-known-photograph-of-babe-ruth/