Muder: Research uncovers Hall of Fame path of Babe Ruth retired-number jersey
From SABR member Craig Muder at BaseballHall.org on May 16, 2014, with mention of SABR member Tom Shieber:
Babe Ruth was bigger than the game, evolving through deed and legend to become part of the fabric of American culture.
Today, a piece of that fabric lives in Cooperstown – a Ruth jersey that he never wore in an official game and yet was seen by millions of fans during Babe’s lifetime.
It’s a story – like so many others – that comes alive at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s new exhibit Babe Ruth: His Life and Legend.
Opening to the public June 13, the exhibit celebrates Ruth’s singular journey and tells the story of his larger-than-life persona through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it. The exhibit features more than 50 three-dimensional artifacts – none more evocative than the woolen No. 3 jersey acquired by the Hall of Fame on June 13, 1948, the day Ruth’s number was officially retired by the Yankees.
“A Hall of Fame official was on the field that day at Yankee Stadium when Ruth gave him the uniform,” said Tom Shieber, the Museum’s senior curator and the lead curator of the new Ruth exhibit. “The photo of Ruth looking out at the field with the number “3” on his back was seen world-wide, and it won a Pulitzer Prize for photographer Nat Fein.
“So just the fact that we have that jersey is incredible. But there’s so much more to this story.”
Read the full article here: http://baseballhall.org/news/museum-news/shirt-his-back-0
Originally published: May 16, 2014. Last Updated: May 16, 2014.