Title

Babe Ruth Comes to Weehawken

Description

On May 5th, 1928, famed baseball player Babe Ruth made an unscheduled stop in Weehawken when he was pulled over by police for speeding. A court date was set for May 21st, and as word spread around town that the Bambino was to appear before a municipal judge that morning, "several score of youthful admirers" besieged the courthouse for several hours, waiting for their hero to arrive and be judged. They were disappointed when Weehawken Police Chief Patrick Dolan announced that the charges had been dropped and that the Babe would not be making an appearance. According to a report in the New York Times, when the Chief was asked why the ticket was withdrawn, he replied "The Babe's the greatest ballplayer in the world, isn't he? And he's Irish, isn't he? And we have to stick together, don't we?" (Source: "Ruth is Freed as Speeder" - New York Times, May 22, 1928)

Subject

WHC19280521

Date

1928

Type

IH

Identifier

WHC19280521

Coverage

Weehawken, NJ [40.7663711,-74.02537149999999]

Tag

Government

People

Police

Rights

This digital image may be used for educational or scholarly purposes without restriction. Commercial and other uses of the item are prohibited without prior written permission from the Weehawken Historical Commission.