
If you enjoy gossip mongering nearly 90 years after the fact, then Harvey Frommer has the book for you. In his Five O'Clock Lightning to be released in November, Frommer reveals the shocking news that Babe Ruth frequented whorehouses (gasp!):
During one bacchanalian bash, Frommer says, "Seizing the moment, savoring the time, perhaps a bit tipsy, the Babe climbed atop a piano and bellowed at the women, 'OK, girls, anyone who does not want to get [bleep]ed now can leave!'" When he traveled with the Yanks, one of Ruth's favorite brothels was the oddly named "House of the Good Shepherd" in St. Louis. "Babe exiting the whorehouse would always stop off next door at a bakery at about five in the morning and gulp down a dozen freshly baked donuts. He could never get his fill," Frommer relates. He says Ruth's favorite women were "mostly prostitutes, who in the 1910s and 1920s spoke of themselves as 'sporting girls.'
Hmm, 'sporting girls'? I like that. That makes me an athlete. The "Curse of the Bambino" probably had a much different meaning in the red-light districts of AL cities in the '20s and '30s. Too bad the miracle of penicillin was still a decade away, so most of these ladies had to pay for indulging the hedonistic appetites of the "Sultan of Social Disease". Wouldn't it be great if we had a wonder drug now for a gentleman's ailment? Seriously – how about it science? The pain is making me pass out when I urinate. -KD


"Sporting girls"? Are we to believe that Babe Ruth liked the she-male, muscular type?
Finally, now I can brag that I have something in common with Babe Ruth.
What the hell is a "prostitue"? Is that…like…two prostitutes in one? Babe Ruth…was there anything he couldn't do?
Thanks Ballstastic. There's no spell check on the
titestittiestitles. And my hangover has disabled my internal spell check. Gold star for you sir.He was just there for the billiards, little Bill.
To quote Crazy Larry, "Fucking females is for poofs."
He also used to frequent a brothel in St. Louis that was owned by a woman named Mae Traynor – he used to eat a pile of corn on the cob and then party down wit’ da girls!
Eeew!
None of this is a surprise – the world has known for decades Babe Ruth liked ho’s!
Also, you have to understand what the word “Sporting” meant in the early 20th Century – a “sport” was one who enjoyed drink, women, gambling – all dat! One who was cool with whatever; had an “it’s all good” attitude. We’d call them a “Playa” today. Ever heard the phrase “Be a sport!” or “He’s a good sport?” Brothels were called “Sporting Houses” and their tricks/johns were their “Sports.” It wasn’t until later that the word Sport meant baseball and such – in those days that was called “Athletics.”