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WIP Mutual brings you now a special program in tribute to Babe Ruth.
From famous Yankee Stadium in New York, Mutual, in cooperation with every segment of the baseball world,
brings a tribute to one of the national pastimes all-time greats, Babe Ruth.
A crowd of some 60,000 persons here in Yankee Stadium and countless other thousands in baseball parks across the nation
pause now in honor of Babe Ruth.
Ladies and gentlemen, here's eminent Francis Cardinal Spellman.
Oh God of life and love and health, creator of all men, we beg thee to descend upon us with thy light, thy strength, and thy peace.
To bless our nation and all nations. To bless each person in every land.
To thee we turn today and pray thee be the spirit of our sports, the source of our spiritual inspiration
and physical strength for the upbuilding of our nation.
As on this occasion, we honor a hero in the world of sports, a champion of fair play, and a manly leader of youth in America.
We beseech thee to bless him and his apostolate among the youth of every land that he may continue to encourage and inspire the young
to live chaste, sober, and heroic lives that they may build for themselves bodies disciplined by the highest ideals of sportsmanship
for the glory of our beloved country, for the glory of thy beloved self.
Thou hast made the hearts of children and youth to rejoice and to benefit from the gladness they find in their games.
Thou hast given them a divinely created instinct for play, laughter, and joy.
And today we beg thy peace for the sake of these same youthful hearts that they may learn to know, to love, and to live thy goodness
not only in their sports and games, but also in the love of man for man, race for race, nation for nation.
O life-giving Father in heaven, whose breath is life to man's body and whose spirit is health to man's soul,
bless thou with a special love, him whom we here honor this day.
Granted to him, O God, thy tender mercies forevermore. Amen.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, to introduce today's first distinguished guest after his eminence, Francis Cardinal Spellman,
here is the Commissioner of Baseball, Albert B. Chandler.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered in the baseball parks and on the playing fields of America today
to pay tribute to and to say a prayer for an American boy who learned to play honestly and fairly
the national game of his people and became a national hero.
God grant that this resource may always remain with us, and that the spirit of baseball, the spirit of Babe Ruth,
and the spirit of God may be with us always as we build a new generation of young Americans humble in the sight of God
and fully capable of protecting our heritage as a free people.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to present to you, representing the National League, its president, Mr. Ford Frick.
Ladies and gentlemen, as a personal friend, there are so many things I could say to the Jids.
He has been my good friend.
But speaking officially, I think the best thing I could do is read an inscription on a little token
that was prepared by the National League for the Babe.
This is what it says, to Babe Ruth, whose tremendous batting average through the years is exceeded only by the size of his heart
and whose capacity to hit home runs is surpassed only by his capacity to make and hold friends among those of us who know him.
That you ruined our hopes in too many a world series and too often batted our brains out and made us like it
does not diminish our pride in your accomplishments or our affection for you.
And with that go all the good wishes of the entire National League.
Good luck, Jidji, and God bless you.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, representing the American League, its president, Mr. Will Harridge.
To say Babe Ruth is to say baseball.
Down through the years, these names have been synonymous.
Forever will mean one and the same thing.
For the time has added to, not dimmed, the brilliant luster of that name, Babe Ruth.
We of the American League would like to feel that he belongs to us, for it was in the uniforms of the Boston Red Sox
and the New York Yankees that he won and held the affection and interest of all baseball for more than a score of years.
Yet one club or league could claim to a name which has meant baseball in its fullest and broadest sense.
Many great names shine through the pages, recording a long history of our national game.
Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Waller Johnson, Christie Matheson, shining brighter than them all,
not only because of his record as a player, but more so because he won the hearts of fans everywhere,
is the name Babe Ruth.
For what you have done for those fans, and for what you have done for all baseball,
we of the American League salute you, Babe Ruth.
This is Albert B. Chandler. At this time I would like to introduce a boy who will be under the leadership of Babe Ruth
when Babe takes over his new job as director of baseball for the American Legion.
Representing the boys of the American Legion, speaking for every American boy, ladies and gentlemen, here is Larry Cutler.
Thank you Mr. Chandler. I guess there are thousands of 13 year old fellows like myself in this country
who have heard about Babe Ruth ever since the first time they learned there was such a game as baseball.
It's a great honor to be here, just to be able to tell Babe Ruth how proud we are to have him back in baseball,
back where he belongs. And to know that Babe Ruth is going to be with us kids, well, that's the biggest and best thing
that could happen in baseball. From all of us kids, babe, it's swell to have you back.
And now ladies and gentlemen, the Bambino, the Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth.
Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen.
Ladies and gentlemen, you know how bad my voice sounds? Well, it feels just as bad.
You know this baseball game of ours comes up from the youth, that means the boys.
And after you're a boy and grew up to know how to play ball, then you come to the boys you see representing themselves today.
And your national pastime, the only real game I think in the world, baseball.
As a rule, some people think if they give them a football or a baseball or something like that, naturally they're athletes right away.
But you can't do that in baseball. You've got to start from way down the bottom when you're six or seven years of age.
You can't wait until you're 15 or 16. You've got to let it grow up with you.
And if you're successful and you try hard enough, you're bound to come out on top just like these boys have come to the top now.
There's been so many lovely things said about me and I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to thank everybody. Thank you.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is our baseball story for today. From Yankee Stadium in New York,
Mutual, in cooperation with all of baseball, has brought you this tribute to Babe Ruth.
WIP Mutual brings you now, has brought you a special program in honor of Babe Ruth.