Happy Fathers’Day from Old Time Baseball Photos!

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Happy Fathers Day from Old Time Baseball Photos!

“He was the greatest man I’ve ever known,” -Babe Ruth, speaking of his father-figure and mentor, Brother Mathias

All of us here at Old Time Baseball Photos (actually, that would be Ron and me!) want to wish all the fathers out there a very Happy Fathers Day!

What American institution has ever been better at bonding together grandfathers, fathers and sons, generation after generation, than the great game of baseball. And so what better way to celebrate Fathers Day on Old Time Baseball Photos than with a photo tribute to some of baseball’s more notable fathers and sons!

On Fathers Day last year, I posted the classic photo of the Babe tending bar at his father’s saloon. One of the readers took me to task saying: “That photo is inappropriate for Father’s Day. The only real father figure in the Babe’s life was Brother Mathias.” Plus, the pic was taken during the 1915 Christmas season at old-man Ruth’s Baltimore gin mill, not really appropriate for a mid-summer holiday. 

I had to admit the guy raised a good point. So to set the record straight, this year I’m posting a nice photo of the Babe with Brother Mathias, Babe’s true father-figure.  

Here’s a few words about Brother Mathias from Robert Creamer’s great book, “Babe – The Legend Comes to Life”:

“He was a huge man, nearly six feet six inches tall and probably over 250 pounds. He had a calm, expressionless face that could turn icy cold when he was displeased. The boys at St. Mary’s were scared of Brother Mathias, whom they referred to as the Boss, but he had qualities that endeared him to them. He was immensely strong, stronger than any of them, and that impressed them. He never ranted or shouted. He was always calm, always consistent, always fair – and they appreciated that. If they misbehaved or broke a rule, they were punished. ‘He gave everyone a fair break but, brother, if you ever crossed him, you sure were in trouble.’

“There is no testimony that Mathias administered corporal punishment. Usually a boy was deprived of certain meager privileges allowed at the school, like freedom during the recreation periods or the right to play ball. When the punishment was over, the incident was over too as far as Brother Mathias was concerned; and the boys looked upon this as eminently just.”

“Brother Mathias could hit tremendous fungos, long towering fly balls, and he would hit them swinging the bat with one hand.  Ruth said: ‘I think I was born as a hitter the first day I ever saw him hit a baseball.’ In later years, Mathias would work for hours with George, hitting the boy grounder after grounder. ‘I could hit the first time I picked up a bat,’ Ruth also said, ‘but Brother Mathias made me a fielder.'”

Brother Mathias was quite a man…and we’re happy to recognize him for all he did for one young troublemaker at St. Mary’s Orphanage who lacked disipline named George Herman Ruth; and also for all the hundreds of other boys he influenced over the years at St. Mary’s. For many, he was the only father-figure they ever had. 

…And with that, let me wish a very Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there! Hope you enjoy your day!

By the way, if you’d like to share some reminiscences about your dad or your grandfather and baseball, please do so in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you! 

Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Excerpts edited from Babe, by Robert Creamer.

Check out my two books, both now available on Amazon in e-book and paperback:  “Paul Pryor in His Own Words: The Life and TImes of a 20-Year Major League Umpire” and “Memorable World Series Moments.” All profits go to the Illinois Veterans Foundation

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