Ruth Grows Serious in Spring Training Routine, Deserting Ranks of Play Boys
By Brian Bell
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 15.-(A.P.)-Babe Ruth has grown up. He has deserted the ranks of play boys and in the spring training camp of the New York Yankees is working feverishly to get into condition for a season he expects to be productive of many home runs. Time was when the Babe threatened to follow the example set by other great but goofy southpaws and make baseball his side line instead of his main stock in trade. Not so now. He is taking the task of getting in shape quite seriously.
When the slugger reported to Miller Huggins, manager, he weighed 223 pounds, only about five pounds more than he will carry through the hot days of summer. He is not nearly as fat as he looks. He is just big. To the nuked eye there was little difference in girth between the Ruth who started training at St. Petersburg the other day and the Ruth who hit three home runs in one world series game last autumn.
“Only this beastly sunburn,” was his reply to a question if he had any troubles this spring.
The goose is hanging high for the big fellow and he is going about his work with no clouds in his baseball sky. The sunburn soon will pass away. Ruth has signed a record-breaking contract and this pleaseshin1 for if there is one thing he would rather do than another, it is break a record. He has become a seriously concentrated businessman, creating trust funds, making gilt-edge investments and saving his money against that day when no home runs will crash from the big Ruthian bat.
