Babe Ruth note graces local display

10/19/2003

Babe Ruth may have left Boston with a curse, but the legendary baseball player left Toledo with something considerably better.

A handwritten letter from the Bambino praising his 1928 trip to Toledo was unveiled Friday by the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library. It will be displayed through the end of the month in the local history and genealogy department on the third floor downtown.

The letter, addressed to Paul Block, Sr., then-publisher of The Blade, was written during a visit on June 18, 1928, when Ruth and the New York Yankees were in town to play an exhibition game against the Toledo Mud Hens.

In the note, Ruth says how pleased he is to be a guest of The Blade and to have the opportunity to meet area baseball fans and amateur players.

The letter was donated to the library by Mr. Block's son, William Block, Sr., chairman emeritus of Block Communications, Inc., The Blade's parent company. It will reside permanently in The Blade Rare Book Room in the library.

Many have considered the Boston Red Sox cursed ever since they traded Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920.