Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 30, 1995 TAG: 9505010056
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH VIGODA KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. LENGTH: Medium
Leonard Cassuto teaches English at Fordham University with a specialty in 19th-century American literature.
Adam Cox is working toward his doctorate in counseling psychology at Lehigh University, researching creativity and madness.
The Rev. Gabriel Costa is a priest and professor of mathematics and computer science at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.
All three attended a conference last week on Long Island, presenting scholarly talks.
About George Herman Ruth.
Yes, ``that'' George Herman Ruth. The Babe. The Bambino. The Sultan of Swat.
Babe Ruth hasn't played a major league game in 60 years. He's been dead for 47.
But he's still one of the biggest draws around.
From across the country, from Canada and Japan, an eclectic mix of professors, writers, historians, lawyers, biographers, Hall of Famers, doctors - even a veterinarian - gathered at Hofstra University from Thursday through Saturday to commemorate with papers, poetry and paeans the 100th anniversary of Babe Ruth's birth.
What it amounted to is a Ruthian-size - in other words, larger than life - orgy of baseball stories, anecdotes and remembrances, with a good-size portion of academic analysis of Ruth's place in American culture.
``Babe Ruth is a major figure in American history. He's a figure of enormous significance,'' said Cassuto, who Thursday co-presented a paper titled ``Babe Ruth and the Politics of Greatness.'' ``That significance deserves this sort of attention. There isn't any other athlete to whom we would pay this sort of attention.''
The conference - ``Baseball and the Sultan of Swat'' - offered 26 panels and forums covering such areas as Ruth and children, Ruth's influence on baseball around the world, and Ruth in art, music and vaudeville.
About 750 people attended, conference organizers said.
Thursday, opening day, Robert Merrill sang the National Anthem, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani - tied up in budget hearings - sent greetings in place of his scheduled appearance, Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke gave a speech, longtime Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen made a keynote address, and actor Eddie Bracken did a pantomime of a pitcher facing Ruth with the bases loaded.
And that was just in the morning.
After lunch, Hall of Famers Bob Feller, Harmon Killebrew, Robin Roberts and Ralph Kiner - who appeared on video because he was in Colorado broadcasting a Mets game - chewed the fat about baseball and the Babe.
For those who desired something more concrete than the recollections of old-timers, there was one panel discussion called ``The Mathematics of Babe Ruth and the Confrontational Structure of the Game.'' Father Costa, for instance, used charts and statistics to show that Ruth was a better hitter than Ty Cobb and Ted Williams. One amazing stat: Over a 15-year period, Ruth personally outhomered an average of six teams per year.
During his keynote speech, Allen recalled as a youngster seeing Ruth for the first time in Detroit, a game in which the Yankees were so far behind that at the end of the eighth inning, Ruth, who didn't expect to bat again, went into the Tigers' dugout instead of the Yankees' to do some visiting and jawing. Of course, Allen said, the Yankees rallied and Ruth's turn to hit came, so he ran from the Tigers' bench, grabbed his bat, and smacked a three-run homer to give New York the victory.
In 1948, Allen said, Ruth was rallying from the cancer that was killing him and was asked to talk to school kids. Ruth agreed, but needed someone to get him around. Allen was called into the office of Yankee executive George Weiss, who asked whether Allen would accompany Ruth and introduce him.
``I tried to hide my smile, but I couldn't, and Mr. Weiss said, `What are you laughing about?''' Allen said. ``And I said, `George, if there is anybody in the United States who doesn't need an introduction, including the president, it's Babe Ruth.'''
by CNB