A bat – or two – from the Babe

Written by: Jamie Brinkman

I think I should start making a habit of thanking my co-workers at the beginning of all my #shortstops for unknowingly providing me with ideas. Whether it’s creating records I provide quality control on, or in this case, pulling artifacts to be sent out on loan to this year’s FanFest during All-Star Game Week, they bring light to quirky items and stories I in turn get to write about.

While staff gathered artifacts to be sent to Washington, D.C. this year, one in particular caught my attention. It looks a lot like a typical Babe Ruth model bat except that it is signed not just once by the Bambino himself, but twice.

The first signature, found below the model information on the barrel, is addressed to President Warren Harding in April 1923. The second, found on the opposite side, is to “Gov. Alfred E. Smith” and dated June 24, 1924.

The double signature piqued my interest. Did Ruth get the bat back from Harding? Or did he decide not to give it to him but didn’t want to waste a bat? Turns out, it was neither.

In his book Breaking Babe Ruth, Edmund Wehrle writes that while “sailing astride a tidal wave of accolades and fame enjoyed by no other athlete in American history, Ruth surprisingly, embraced politics.” He became friendly with multiple politicians, even visiting the White House as a guest of President Harding.

This passion for politics brought Ruth to the 1924 Democratic National Convention as a “correspondent” for the Christy Walsh Syndicate. While the column was most likely written by a ghostwriter, Ruth did indeed attend the Convention. And it was there that the mystery of the twice-signed bat is solved.

In 1923, while posing for a picture with Harding, the President asked Ruth if he could sign a bat for him. As we know, Ruth had signed the bat, but Harding died in August of that year before he could receive it. So, the following year, Ruth signed the bat yet again and presented it to New York Governor Al Smith at the Convention. Upon receiving the bat Smith told Ruth, “If I could handle the delegates the way you handle the bat, the result would be all right”, in which Ruth responded, “I’m glad to see (you’re) all set for a home run.”

While a kind gesture from Ruth (he would go on to campaign for Al Smith during his 1928 Presidential campaign), it was an odd choice. Harding was a member of the Republican Party while Smith was a member of the Democratic. Smith was a Catholic New Yorker, while Harding was a Baptist from Ohio. There appears to be no connection between the two men besides Smith running for the office Harding once held.