Read Babe Ruth: Legends in Sports for Free Online Page B

about his behavior, but Ruth just laughed at him. Huggins was a little man
     and Ruth didn’t take him seriously. Besides, despite being out of shape he hit nearly .500 in the spring. He felt indestructible.
    Then, near the end of spring training, all the late nights, drinking binges, smoking, and overeating caught up with him. The
     Yankees were on their way back to New York when Ruth, who had been complaining of stomach cramps, collapsed on a train platform
     in North Carolina.
    Rumors swept the country that he had died, but after a few days he felt a little better and left with Yankee scout Paul Krichell
     to rejoin the team. He made it as far as Washington, D.C., before collapsing again. This time he fell unconscious.
    Krichell somehow got him on the train to New York. When the train pulled into the station, Ruthhad to be removed through a window on a stretcher — he couldn’t walk and was so fat that the stretcher could not be maneuvered
     down the aisle. He was rushed to St. Vincent’s Hospital and admitted on April 9. He remained in the hospital for the next
     six weeks.
    Over time, the illness became known as the “bellyache heard around the world,” and it was often blamed on too many hot dogs
     and too much soda pop. But that wasn’t the cause. Ruth was seriously ill. Although the exact nature of the illness remains
     a mystery, he did undergo a minor operation to remove an intestinal abscess. Some have speculated that he had some kind of
     embarrassing disease, while others believe Ruth may have been receiving treatment for alcoholism. Whatever the cause, he was
     very, very sick for a long time.
    When he finally left the hospital on May 26, he didn’t look like Babe Ruth. He had lost thirty pounds, and his legs were rail
     thin and shaky from lack of exercise. His gaunt face made him look twenty years older. Even when he felt well enough to play
     again, he didn’t play like Babe Ruth.
    The Yankees had struggled without him and werealready out of the race. Through June and July, Ruth hit only .250 with a handful of home runs. The only bright spot on the
     team was rookie first baseman Lou Gehrig, who was hitting nearly .300.
    New York sportswriters looked at Ruth and saw a player near the end of his career. He was a thirty-year-old man who looked
     like he was fifty. Despite his weight loss in the hospital, he was still too heavy and waddled around the bases. A hard run
     left him weak. Pitchers weren’t afraid of him anymore. On one occasion Huggins even removed Ruth from a game for a pinch hitter.
    Incredibly, within weeks of leaving the hospital he resumed his late-night lifestyle. That didn’t help his recovery. He had
     met another woman, Claire Hodgson, and wanted to marry her, but because he was Catholic he couldn’t divorce Helen. On and
     off the field, Ruth was a mess.
    It all came to a head on August 29 in St. Louis. Ruth stayed out past team curfew and got caught. When he arrived at the park
     the next day, Miller Huggins told him, “Don’t bother getting dressed. I’m suspending you and fining you $5,000. You’re to
     go back to New York.”
    “What?” Ruth bellowed. He couldn’t believe Hug-gins would do that, but the manager had already checked with Jake Ruppert and
     the owner told him to do what he felt was best for the team. Ruth threatened his manager, saying, “If you were half my size
     I’d punch you.”
    Huggins stood his ground and didn’t flinch. “If I were half your size, I’d punch
you
,” he said. Then he told Ruth not to return to the ball club until he was ready to apologize, not only to Huggins but to his
     teammates.
    Ruth was angry and hurt. He railed against Huggins to the press and said he was going to appeal to Commissioner Landis or
     to Jake Ruppert. He didn’t think anyone could tell him what to do. After all, he was Babe Ruth. He foolishly believed that
     because he was so popular and famous either Landis or Ruppert would order Huggins to put him