1951 Yankee of the Past: Babe Ruth

RUTH-LESS
"Oakland President Clarence 'Brick' Laws, who conducts quite a bit of his baseball business on impulse, once almost signed the late and great Babe Ruth as manager of Oakland.
It was in 1945, Brick's second year as club president. Laws wanted a new manager and he wanted a name. What baseball name was greater than Babe Ruth? None, reasoned the Bricker- so let's grab him.
Laws called the Bambino in New York and told him he could have the Oakland manager's job.
'Fine,' said the Babe. 'I'll take it.'
'Okay,' okayed Brick. 'How much ya' want?'
'Oh,' answered Ruth, 'let's say $25,000.'
'It's a deal,' Brick said.
'And another $5,000 to bring my wife to Oakland,' threw in the Babe as an afterthought.
'Can't hear you all of a sudden, Babe. Must be a bad connection.'
Brick decided he might end up working for the Babe and canceled negotiations."

-Joe Wilmot in the San Francisco Chronicle (Baseball Digest, February 1951)

Stengel Recalls: THE FIRST TIME I SAW HIM
"In the spring of 1914, while heading North, the Brooklyn Robins stopped in Baltimore to play Jack Dunn's famous Orioles.
The Brooklyn right fielder was a knobby Dutchman with a big beak and ears- the same Casey Stengel whose New York Yankees have won the world championship the last two years.
The Baltimore pitcher was a tall boy with square shoulders and cornstalk shanks. When he took his cap off, Stengel could see that, although the boy parted his hair in the middle, small black curls hung rebelliously over his forehead. He was just out of high school, they said.
A left-hander, the boy threw very hard. Among the Robins he annoyed were Zach Wheat and Stengel.
The first time this young pitcher batted, Stengel, being a smart outfielder, shorted his position. The youth promptly belted the ball over Stengel's head for a triple.
'Where were you playing the kid?' Wilbert Robinson, Brooklyn manager, asked Stengel when the inning ended.
'In,' said Stengel. 'Where would I play a pitcher?'
'Out,' replied Robby, 'if he swung like this one. Anybody could see he could hit a ball.'
The next time the young pitcher batted, Stengel backed up twenty yards. He yelled sarcastically to Hy Myers, Brooklyn center fielder, 'I wonder if I'm back far enough this time.'
'What game you think you're in?' shouted Myers.
Stengel was still chuckling when the young pitcher hit the ball over his head- another triple. When Stengel entered the dugout, Robinson said nothing but spat expressively on the floor.
'What did say that's kid name was?' Stengel whispered to a teammate.
'Ruth- Babe Ruth,' was the answer."

-Harold Kaese, condensed from the Boston Globe (Baseball Digest, July 1951)