Stuff to Listen to and Watch
Babe was one of the most famous and best-loved stars of the time. He was known for his greatness on the field and his popularity off the field. He was always willing to pose for the camera, sign autographs and joke around with reporters and fans.
Beginning in the 1930’s, Babe began to appear in some radio productions and even in some short films and full movies! There was no TV yet, so kids listened to stories on the radio — just like people watch TV today.
Here’s part of an interview Babe did later in life when he was thinking back when he famously called his home run in the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs:
(Click here to learn more about the Called Shot)
In 1934, there was a radio show called “The Adventures of Babe Ruth”. Brought to the airwaves by Quaker Oats, the shows were on the radio a few times a week, with a voice actor playing the role of Babe Ruth.
Although these are pretty simple stories, we thought it might be fun for you to listen to some of these programs. Click below to listen to any of the episodes (they last about 15 minutes each):
Listen to The Adventures of Babe Ruth Episode 1: Dusty Collins
Listen to The Adventures of Babe Ruth Episode 2: Dutch Reaver
Listen to The Adventures of Babe Ruth Episode 5: Harry the Hat
Listen to The Adventures of Babe Ruth Episode 6: Sweet William
Listen to The Adventures of Babe RuthEpisode 7: There Are No Bad Kids
Listen to The Adventures of Babe Ruth Episode 8: Chick Foster
Listen to The Adventures of Babe Ruth Episode 11: Kidnapped
Listen to The Adventures of Babe Ruth Episode 12: Bobby Lee
Later, Babe himself participated in some radio programs, including 1937’s “Sinclair Babe Ruth Program” as well as two in 1943 – “Here’s Babe Ruth” and “Baseball Quiz”.
In addition, Babe was in several short films and feature-length movies. His pictures were very short and simple. Three of them, made in the 1920’s, were silent pictures: “How to Hit a Home Run”, “Headin’ Home” and “Play Ball with Babe Ruth”.
After that, he did two other films in the 1920’s, before doing a series of shorts in the 1930’s. These short films were typically played in the movie theater before or after a feature film. Back then, there were also a lot of double-feature movies and these shorts were sometimes played between the main movies. Here’s one complete example of a short film starring the Babe from 1932 called, “Fancy Curves”:
Babe made a number of these movies where the films are either showcasing Babe’s baseball skills or his themes about the importance of learning. Here’s a small portion of another example called, “Perfect Control”:
A very nice man named Leon Fichman was in three of these short movies, including “Perfect Control”, when he was a kid. Mr. Fichman was 9-years-old at the time! We talked to him in the Summer of 2006 and you can hear his comments in our Audio Interviews section. Listen to Mr. Fichman talk about these films.
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