[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 141 (Monday, September 8, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S8117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REMEMBERING BABE RUTH

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life and career of 
Babe Ruth, one of America's greatest baseball players. The man we know 
as Babe Ruth, was born on February 6, 1895, as George Herman Ruth, Jr. 
and passed away 60 years ago on August 16, 1948. In his obituary, the 
New York Times called him ``a figure unprecedented in American life. A 
born showman off the field and a marvelous performer on it, he had an 
amazing flair for doing the spectacular at the most dramatic moment.'' 
Although he played his last season in 1935, Ruth still holds the 
records for all-time highest slugging percentage. Ruth's 714 career 
homers and his consistent dominance in the batter's box rightly earned 
him the nickname, ``The Sultan of Swat.''
  However, Babe Ruth was more than a superior ballplayer. Although his 
dramatically big swing earned him a place in the record books, Mr. Ruth 
was a figure of legendary proportions who permanently changed the game 
of baseball and made it a fixture in American life. His famous 
``called'' shot in the 1932 World Series is so ingrained in our 
national memory and baseball lore that even our youngest children 
playing tee-ball in backyards across the country seek to emulate this 
iconic moment.
  Mr. Ruth was also famous for his generosity, working for the Red 
Cross during World War II, organizing charity golf tournaments with 
longtime adversary Ty Cobb, appearing at benefits, and buying more than 
$100,000 in war bonds. A year before his death, he established the Babe 
Ruth Foundation, which provided assistance to disadvantaged children. 
Linda Ruth Tosetti, Mr. Ruth's granddaughter, is a resident of 
Connecticut, and today I would like to remember her grandfather, one of 
the greatest sports legends in our Nation's history.

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