Babe Ruth saved baseball.
Now baseball, and its fans, need to save the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in Baltimore.
This is more of a shrine, a baseball Holy Place than a museum. If you have never been, go, soon, especially now, the 100th anniversary of Babe becoming a Yankee.
You will not only find amazing pieces like Babe Ruth’s rosary or his hymnal from when he was 12 years old (we will tell you later how those treasures found a home) and of course plenty of baseball memorabilia. The museum is run by people who truly love what they do and love to tell the story of Babe Ruth, which, remains baseball’s greatest story ever told.
In an age where history is being trampled upon and thrown to the wolves, the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum has hit hard times because of Covid. A recent report published by the American Alliance of Museums surveyed directors of 760 museums and one-third of the museums were not confident of their museum’s survival over the next 16 months without additional financial relief.
Michael Gibbons is director emeritus and historian of the Ruth museum and truly a Ruth scholar.
He has given much of his life to the museum and to Babe’s legacy.
No one understands Babe’s place and his place in history better than Gibbons.
“We think that the mission of the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum is essential to the core foundation of American sports,’’ Gibbons told BallNine. “In my way of thinking Babe Ruth remains the ultimate icon, representing the significance of American sports not only on the American culture, but on the world’s culture.
“For us, our primary source of income is through the gate,’’ Gibbons said. “On a good day now, we are drawing 20 to 40 people.’’
That is not going to cut it.
Yankee fans didn’t go to Baltimore this year like they did for so many years. No fans in major league parks. Baltimore has been in serious trouble for years due to political and safety reasons. Crowds that once poured into the city for the Orioles, the Inner Harbor and iconic spots like Little Italy are not there anymore.
As a result, wonderful museums, like the B&O Railroad Museum, are hurting as much as the restaurants. And that is a shame. Staffs have been cut. Pay has been slashed. Those who are still working at the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum are working on partial wages to try to get through the difficult days.
“We are doing our best to continue our mission,’’ Gibbons promised. “We need to keep the legacy of Babe Ruth alive and do our best to get back to some sense of normalcy. I would hope that baseball fans would want to get involved in a noble cause.’’
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