Wrestling with the Babe
Don't even think about taking a swipe at the Sultan of Swat. That's the message home-run-king-turned referee George Herman "Babe" Ruth, at right, is sending
Don't even think about taking a swipe at the Sultan of Swat. That's the message home-run-king-turned referee George Herman "Babe" Ruth, at right, is sending to professional wrestler Manuel Cortez in this remarkable photograph taken during a match at the Portland Expo back in 1945. According to an account in the Lowell Sun, Cortez had been overly rough with his opponent, Seattle's Leo Numa, from the opening bell during a match in front of 2,300 excited Portlanders, and referee Ruth had to warn him repeatedly against unnecessary roughness.And while the bare-chested, 200-pound Cortez might have intimidated some officials, the fifty-one-year-old Bambino, who has climbed in and straddles the tattered lower ropes, shows no fear in raising his finger to the Mexican grappler. Such antics were all part of the show, of course, for the many Mainers such as the youngsters in the plaid shirts, just left of center, who reportedly howled and screamed advice to the rookie referee. (Such interaction with the crowd, Ruth told sportswriters of the time, was what attracted him to wrestling in the first place.)
Ruth's gentle show of force apparently proved insufficient to subdue this agitated athlete, however, as just moments later Cortez - who the Babe finally disqualified for his rough play - threatened to punch him. Despite being drenched in sweat (dressed in trousers and a long-sleeved shirt, Ruth estimated that he must have lost four pounds during the bout), the Babe responded by cocking his left fist and "roared mightily" at the wrestler, who soon thought better of his violent response.
As unusual as this scene appears, America's favorite slugger was no stranger to the ring - or to Maine - by the time this photograph was taken. Before the Red Sox incurred the infamous (and now proudly broken) curse that bore his nickname, the Bambino served in various roles at boxing and wrestling matches, all the while building a record lifetime slugging percentage that still stands. He was also a frequent visitor to the Pemaquid Peninsula during the 1920s and thirties, and baseballs bearing the legend's trademark "The Babe" autograph still adorn the mantels of a few lucky homes there.
But baseball was not on the minds of the Mainers gathered on this warm evening in Portland sixty years ago. Instead these spectators, from the dapper gents in suits and ties, at lower left, to even a few members of Portland's fairer sex, at lower right, have all come to observe a spectacle in the ring. They have gathered, no doubt, to marvel as much at the Bambino's performance as that of the grapplers, and the violent charade that the Babe offered here, like his legendary prowess at the plate, certainly did not disappoint.
Ruth's gentle show of force apparently proved insufficient to subdue this agitated athlete, however, as just moments later Cortez - who the Babe finally disqualified for his rough play - threatened to punch him. Despite being drenched in sweat (dressed in trousers and a long-sleeved shirt, Ruth estimated that he must have lost four pounds during the bout), the Babe responded by cocking his left fist and "roared mightily" at the wrestler, who soon thought better of his violent response.
As unusual as this scene appears, America's favorite slugger was no stranger to the ring - or to Maine - by the time this photograph was taken. Before the Red Sox incurred the infamous (and now proudly broken) curse that bore his nickname, the Bambino served in various roles at boxing and wrestling matches, all the while building a record lifetime slugging percentage that still stands. He was also a frequent visitor to the Pemaquid Peninsula during the 1920s and thirties, and baseballs bearing the legend's trademark "The Babe" autograph still adorn the mantels of a few lucky homes there.
But baseball was not on the minds of the Mainers gathered on this warm evening in Portland sixty years ago. Instead these spectators, from the dapper gents in suits and ties, at lower left, to even a few members of Portland's fairer sex, at lower right, have all come to observe a spectacle in the ring. They have gathered, no doubt, to marvel as much at the Bambino's performance as that of the grapplers, and the violent charade that the Babe offered here, like his legendary prowess at the plate, certainly did not disappoint.
- By: Joshua F. Moore
