I suspect and imagine that we all are aware of the term “a labor of love”. I think we’ve all engaged in one or two along the way and we understand the concept. Frankly I find the idea of using the word labor and love in the same sentence a bit oxymoronish (is that a word) but I digress. I guess it means that if you love what you are doing than it simply is not labor. That said, I am fortunate in that regard.
I know of another who is equally as fortunate and she has embarked on a journey that will soon come to fruition and you can actually help! Curious? I bet you are….at least a little.
Her name is Linda and her project is The Universal Babe.
That’s right, that Babe…..Give a click here and take 90 seconds and let her tell you about the project. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1004781951/universal-babe
Linda never knew her Grandpa as he passed away before she arrived, but she learned of him first at the hand of her mom, Dorothy Ruth Pirone.
Dorothy and Dad
Tales in the home led to a search for books and periodicals and finally to many who knew Babe and conveyed to her first hand knowledge of his thoughts, words and deeds. She came to learn things about the man that had long since left the passages of history, if they appeared at all.
Among them was Theodore Roosevelt “Double Duty” Radcliffe who regaled her with stories of Grandpa Babe and his support of the Negro Leagues.
Negro League star, “Double Duty” got his nickname because he often would pitch the first game of a doubleheader and catch the second.
Others told her things about Babe’s exploits to the Far East and his vision for the game of baseball as in the 1930s he became baseball’s leading ambassador while traveling through Japan.
Babe and the boys.
His love and generosity for and to children is well documented but not as well-known is that Babe stood up and spoke out against the Holocaust, at a time when, sad to say, not many were doing so, especially in the sports world!
“If you think you know Babe, this will surprise you” she wrote and we are now weeks away from the unveiling of The Universal Babe.
It was 64 years ago August that Babe left us, it was 98 years ago July that he played his first major league game; and he still beckons to us, he still enamors us, he still calls to us. And now through the labor of love of his loved one, we will come to know him again.
And in ways never known before…..
And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, July 19, 2012.
About fenwaypark100
Hello and welcome, my name is Raymond Sinibaldi. A retired history teacher, after 26 years in the classroom, a baseball fan for three score and five, I have authored 13 books. Eight about baseball and her glorious history; most recently Yankees in the Hall of Fame and Dodgers in the Hall of Fame. An aficionado of the Kennedy Administration, I have written four books in that realm and also co-authored a book of motivational stories for coaches. The first, The Babe in Red Stockings which was co-authored with Kerry Keene and David Hickey and released in 1997. It is a chronicle of Babe's days with the Red Sox. We also penned a screenplay about Babe's Red Sox days so if any of you are Hollywood inclined or would like to represent us in forwarding that effort feel free to contact me. In 2012 we three amigos published Images of Fenway Park in honor of the 100th birthday of Fenway Park. That led to the creation of this blog. The following year, 2013 came my first solo venture, Spring Training in Bradenton and Sarasota. This is a pictorial history of spring training in those two Florida cities. The spring of 2014 brought forth the 1967 Red Sox, The Impossible Dream Season. The title speaks for itself, and it also is a pictorial history. Many of the photos in this book were never published before. The spring of 2015 brought 1975 Red Sox, American League Champions. Another pictorial effort, this will be about the Red Sox championship season of 1975 and the World Series that restored baseball in America. The spring of 2016 brought 61 Motivational Stories for Every Coach of Every Sport. My first JFK effort was in 2017 with John F Kennedy in New England, which was followed by JFK From Florida to the Moon (2019) and JFK At Rest in Arlington (2020). Jackie's Newport came about in 2019 and in 2023 came both Yankees in the Hall of Fame and Dodgers in the Hall of Fame. I was fortunate enough to consult with sculptor Franc Talarico on the “Jimmy Fund” statue of Ted Williams which stands outside both Fenway Park and Jet Blue Park Fenway South, in Fort Myers Florida. That story is contained in the near 300 posts which are contained herein. Throughout the years this blog has morphed from an exclusive Red Sox focus, to a broader baseball perspective to a blog about life, with baseball a large portion of it. This year, 2024, I have reactivated this blog which lay dormant for quite some time. Welcome aboard, pass the word and feel free to contact me about anything you read or ideas you may have for a topic. Email me at fenwaypark100@gmail.com.
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