George Herman Ruth - David B. Stinson Author

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Babe Ruth’s Band At St. Mary’s Industrial School For Boys

By David Stinson on February 27, 2016

In February 1914, George Herman “Babe” Ruth signed his first professional baseball contract in the office of Brother Paul Scanlon, the Superintendent of St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys. Babe Ruth’s parents had signed their son over to the Xaverian Brothers when he was eight years old and Brother Paul, as superintendent of the school and Ruth’s legal guardian, was required to sign the player contract on his behalf. Present at the signing that day, in addition to Ruth and Brother Paul, were Jack Dunn, owner of the International League Baltimore Orioles, and Brother Gilbert, the Athletic Director at nearby Mount St. Joseph’s (High School) College (he was a friend of Dunn’s). Prior to that meeting, Dunn and Brother Gilbert had introduced Dunn to Brother Matthias Boutlier (or Boutelier), who was instrumental in helping Ruth develop his baseball skills. Ruth’s contract set his salary at $600 for the season.

Former Site of St. Mary’s Industrial School and Babe Ruth Field, Baltimore, Maryland, April 2015

The Baltimore Sun reported the signing on February 15, 1914:”[t]he Oriole magnate signed another local player yesterday. The new Bird is George H. Ruth, a pitcher, who played with teams out the Frederick road. Ruth is six feet tall and fanned 22 men in an amateur game last season. He is regarded as a very hard hitter, so Dunn will try him out down South.” On March 2, 1914, prior to Ruth’s departure for Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Dunn’s Orioles held spring training, Brother Paul took Ruth on a tear-filled tour of St. Mary’s so that Ruth could say goodbye to his friends at the school. Brother Paul then accompanied Ruth to Union Station in Baltimore, where he departed for North Carolina, on what was the first of Ruth’s many train rides.

The Famous Bands Of St. Mary’s Industrial School, Postcard (T & M Ottenheimer, Baltimore)

Although Ruth later would become the most famous export of St. Mary’s Industrial School, at the time of his departure, it was the St. Mary’s Bands that perhaps had brought the school the most fame in Baltimore and around the country (John Phillips Sousa is said to have stated that St. Mary’s was the best high school band he had ever heard).

St. Mary’s Industrial School Souvenir Program, Annual Concert, April 24, 1914 Image (Huggins and Scott Auctions)

On April 24, 1914, just a month and a half after Ruth departed the school, St. Mary’s held its Annual Concert. Included in the school program was a now-famous photo of Ruth and his teammates, who in 1914 were league champions (according to the photo). The photo depicts the team grouped in front of the school’s bandstand or gazebo. Exactly five years to the day after that concert was performed, a fire started by a errant piece of coal destroyed most of the buildings at St. Mary’s.

St. Mary’s Industrial School Baseball Team Photo 1914 (Image Huggins and Scott Auctions)

The fire destroyed the main school building, although the chapel that sat at the corner of South Caton Avenue and Wilkins Avenue was spared.

St. Mary’s Industrial School in 1919, After the Fire (Photo by Hildegarde Anderson of 3236 Ravenswood Avenue, Baltimore Sun Reprint of Hildegarde photo, 1962).

At the time of the devastating fire, Ruth was a member of the New York Yankees and well on his way to becoming a baseball legend. When Ruth learned of the fire he was determined to find a way to rebuild the school. Although it is not clear who’s idea it was, Ruth helped the school raise money through a tour by the St. Mary’s Industrial School Band. Brother John Sterne, who as an adolescent attended St. Mary’s, played in the band on that tour and years later recounted the event: “[d]uring the last road trip of the 1920 season, Babe sponsored the St. Mary’s Band to travel with the Yankees as ‘Babe Ruth’s Boys Band.’ Giving concerts at the ball parks before the game, the boys would later circulate among the patrons, collecting change and bills in their sailor hats. Not only was a goodly sum of cash received, but the free publicity was invaluable. By this effort, the Babe gave much back to his alma mater, of which he was always proud.” Cairnes, Phillip F. (Brother Gilbert), Young Babe Ruth, His Early Life and Baseball Career, From the Memoirs Of A Xaverian Brother, McFarland 1999, p. 11.

St. Mary’s Industrial School Private Mailing Card, Featuring Babe Ruth’s Band

Brother Paul, who was school superintendent at the time of the fire, accompanied the St. Mary’s Band on that trip. As part of St. Mary’s efforts to raise funds, the school produced a Private Mailing Card that pictures the St. Mary’s Band near the baseball field where Ruth once played. The bandstand, where Ruth posed for the 1914 team photo, is visible in the background of the card as well.

Reverse Of St. Mary’s Industrial School Private Mailing Card, Featuring Babe Ruth’s Band

The reverse of the Private Mailing Card includes a printed acknowledgement from Brother Paul, thanking patrons for contributing funds for rebuilding the school. One example of that card, which is pictured above, has a personal note from Brother Paul dated March 3, 1921, thanking “Miss Cramer” for a one dollar donation. Brother Paul adds, “Shall have our little boys pray for your intention. May God bless you.” Brother Paul remained at St. Mary’s until 1925, and three years later was named Superior General of the Xaverian order.

Newspaper Enterprise Association Photo of St. Mary’s Industrial School, Baltimore, Maryland, August 17, 1948

With the help of Ruth the school was rebuilt and continued to serve wayward boys of Baltimore another 30 years. On August 16, 1948, Ruth died in New York City and at St. Mary’s the following day, a special prayer service was held for Ruth at the school’s chapel. A NEA wire photo captures the moment. The photo’s description, set forth on the back of the photo, states: “BALTIMORE, MD. — Sorrowful boys at St. Mary’s Industrial School kneel at the altar in the school’s chapel for morning prayers after they were informed that Babe Ruth, a graduate of the institution and one of its greatest benefactors, had died. In center is Brother Herbert who taught at the school when Babe Ruth attended. At extreme right is Brother Charles, superintendent of the school.”

Newspaper Enterprise Association Photo Description of August 17, 1948 St. Mary's Industrial School Photo

Newspaper Enterprise Association Description of August 17, 1948 Photo, St. Mary’s Industrial School

St. Mary’s Industrial School closed in 1950, and the facility later was reopened as Cardinal Gibbons High School (as an aside, it was Cardinal Gibbons who performed Ruth’s Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Mary’s in 1907). Cardinal Gibbons High School closed in 2010. The property is now being redeveloped by St. Agnes Hospital. It is perhaps fitting that, once Babe Ruth died, the school that helped make him who he was, was shuttered as well. Newspaper accounts do not mention whether Babe Ruth’s Band played one last time in his honor the day he passed.

The Goddess “Gentlemen’s Club” – The Bar That Ruth Bought

By David Stinson on June 20, 2013

Chances are most baseball fans who park north of Camden Yards in the garages on Eutaw Street do not know the historical significance of the building they pass just before crossing Lombard Street on the way towards Camden Yards. That building, which currently houses The Goddess, a self-proclaimed “Gentlemen’s Club,” was once owned by Babe Ruth, and the sidewalk outside the building is where Ruth’s father died after injuries he sustained while trying to break up a brawl.

The Goddess Gentlemen’s Club

“The past exists all around us, you just have to know where to look.” This has been my motto for years and is one of the themes running through my book Deadball, A Metaphysical Baseball Novel. Babe Ruth’s ties to Maryland are a good example of this theme, from the house where he was born, to the orphanage and baseball field where he grew up, to the Catholic church where he was married. Other places tied to the Babe, while equally notable, are a little more difficult to detect, such as the home field where he played for the International League Baltimore Orioles, which is now a McDonald’s restaurant.

Goddess Gentleman's Club With Camden Yards Scoreboard in Background

Goddess Gentlemen’s Club With Camden Yards Scoreboard in Background

The same is true for the three-story building located at 38 South Eutaw Street. In 1915, Ruth’s Boston Red Sox won the World Series and legend has it that Ruth took part of his World Series earnings and purchased the building as a bar for his father, which became known as “Ruth’s Cafe.” Babe Ruth and his wife Helen lived above the bar on the second floor of the building during that following winter.

The Goddess, Located Across the Street from the Bromo Seltzer Tower

The only known photograph of the Babe and his father was taken inside the building in December 1915. Babe is seen standing behind the bar in the center of the photograph while his father, dressed in the same bartenders attire, is standing to the right. It being the Christmas season, the bar is decorated with ornaments and tinsel.

Ruth and His Father (Photograph by Vincent Velzis)

Just two plus years after Ruth purchased the building, tragedy struck as Ruth’s father died in the street outside the building. The brawl he tried to break up is said to have involved one of his relatives.

The Mean Streets of Baltimore – Where Babe Ruth’s Father Died

Ruth’s Cafe on Eutaw Street should not be confused with another establishment of the same name which Ruth’s father ran on West Conway Street. Prior to the construction of Camden Yards, Conway Street street ran northeast across what is now home plate, through the pitcher’s mound and second base, and across center field towards the green batters eye behind center field.

The memory of Ruth’s Cafe is honored at Oriole Park’s Budweiser Patio on Eutaw Street.

Budweiser Patio on Eutaw Street, with Plaque Honoring Babe Ruth

A plaque on the side of the Budweiser Patio honors Babe Ruth. It was erected by the “Old Timer’s Baseball Association of Maryland” although its age and appearance suggest it was relocated from another venue.

Babe Ruth Plaque at Camden Yards

The sign next to the Babe Ruth plaque relates a short history of the Ruth’s Cafe on Conway Street.

Camden Yard Sign Noting History of Conway Street Pub

A section of West Conway Street remains just southwest of Oriole Park and a sign for the street is located on Russell Street across from the main ballpark entrance at Schaefer Circle.

Intersection of West Conway Street and Russell Street

When the State of Maryland excavated the area during construction of Camden Yards, bricks from the building at 406 West Conway Street were unearthed and one is now on display at the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum.

Center Field at Camden Yards, Former Location of Babe’s Cafe

Yes, the past is all around us. We just need to know where to look. Should you find yourself making your way down Eutaw Street on the way to Camden Yards, be sure to stop at the Goddess and take a moment to appreciate it’s historical significance. Of course, it being a strip club, I will leave it to you to decide whether the building is better appreciated from the outside, as opposed to from inside the establishment.

This entry is filed under DBS Blog and tagged Babe Ruth, Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum, Babe's Cafe, Boston Red Sox, Bromo Seltzer Tower, Camden Yards, Conway Street, Deadball A Metaphysical Baseball Novel, Eutaw Street, George Herman Ruth, Helen Woodfard, International League Orioles, Lombard Street, Old Timer's Baseball Association of Maryland, Oriole Park, St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, The Goddess, Vincent Velzis. | 5 Comments

Babe Ruth Field At The Old St. Mary’s Industrial School

By David Stinson on February 17, 2012

One would think that, given how important Babe Ruth is to the sport of baseball, more would made of the fact that the baseball field where Ruth honed his skills as a child still remains to this day a baseball field in an area just west of downtown Baltimore.

The Infield at Babe Ruth Field, Baltimore, Maryland

Near the corner of South Canton Avenue and Route 1 just a half mile north of Interstate 95 is a ball field known as “Babe Ruth Field.”

Babe Ruth Field Scoreboard, Baltimore, Maryland

In 2007, as part of my research for Deadball, I visited the site, which at the time was still Cardinal Gibbons High School. Formerly, the school had been the St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, an orphanage and reform school run by the Catholic Church.

Dugout at Babe Ruth Field, Baltimore, Maryland

In addition to the cinder block dugouts and the chainlink backstop, one major difference between the field that Ruth played on and the field as it exists today is the orientation of home plate, which in Ruth’s day, was located in what is now centerfield.

Center Field at Babe Ruth Field, Baltimore, Formerly Location of Home Plate

Babe Ruth spent the majority of his formative years as a ward of the school, his parents having signed him over to the Xaverian Brothers out of desperation when he was just eight or nine years old.

Babe Ruth At St. Mary's Industrial School For Boys (Huggins & Scott Auctions image)

Brother Matthias Bouttlier, the school’s disciplinarian, helped harness Ruth’s natural abilities.

Home Plate at Babe Ruth Field, Baltimore, Maryland

In Deadball, the protagonist, Byron Bennett, then a member of the Cardinal Gibbons varsity baseball team, thinks he sees a game being played on the old St. Mary’s configuration of the field wherein George Herman Ruth hits a home run into the crowd of students sitting beyond right field.

Left Field at Babe Ruth Field, Formerly Right Field

With Cardinal Gibbons High School now closed and the facility no longer in use, the future of Babe Ruth Field is uncertain. Hopefully the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which owns the field, will continue to preserve the historic ballpark so future generations can stand where the Babe once stood and play ball.

This entry is filed under DBS Blog and tagged A Metaphysical Baseball Novel, Archdiocese of Baltimore, Babe Ruth, Babe Ruth Field, Baltimore, baseball, Brother Matthias Bouttlier, Cardinal Gibbons High School, David B. Stinson, Deadball, George Herman Ruth, St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, Xaverian Brothers. | 14 Comments

Babe Ruth’s Band At St. Mary’s Industrial School For Boys

The Goddess “Gentlemen’s Club” – The Bar That Ruth Bought

Babe Ruth Field At The Old St. Mary’s Industrial School

Buy Deadball, A Metaphysical Baseball Novel

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