Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt
Rhett - to your point:
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It's called a photo-op. Here's the real story...
It is difficult to pinpoint precisely when the relationship turned frigid, as it did. But Gehrig increasingly objected to Ruth's public declamations against Yankee Manager Joe McCarthy, a man Gehrig almost revered as a second father. To Gehrig, such loose talk was just not permissible. An Unpleasant Visit
A petty incident curtailed further civility between Gehrig and Ruth. Dorothy, the 12-year-old daughter of Babe's first wife, went to visit Lou's mother one weekend in the early 30's dressed like a shabby tomboy. In the eyes of Mrs. Gehrig, who was domineering and opinionated, this was an insult.
"Why doesn't Claire dress her as properly as she does Julia?" Mrs. Gehrig said, angrily. (Julia was Claire Ruth's daughter by her first marriage.)
The remark quickly reached Claire's ears, then Babe's. Ruth barked: "Why doesn't Mom Gehrig mind her own damned business!"
Fiercely attached to his mother, Gehrig could never tolerate such a crude verbal assault on his mother's integrity. As a result, Babe and Lou rarely spoke to each other off the field. They shook hands at home plate in the traditional ritual after home runs and managed to be accommodating when photographers asked them to pose together. But Lou was forced to play-act his familiar grin in the presence of Ruth.
The last straw came when Ruth spoke disparagingly of Gehrig's cherished consecutive game streak. He said he regarded it as little more than a boring statistic. "This Iron Horse stuff is just a lot of baloney," Ruth growled. "I think he's making one of the worst mistakes a player can make. He ought to learn to sit on the bench and rest. They're not going to pay off on how many games he's played in a row." One Brief Gesture
The rift never healed. For a moment, when the Babe dramatically flung his arms around Lou at the Yankee Stadium ceremony on July 4, 1939 at which Gehrig delivered his famous farewell speech, it appeared that the disaffection between them may have eased. But in the last two years of Lou's life, Ruth paid little heed to his dying ex-teammate.