#TBT: Babe Ruth made quick stop in Corpus Christi in 1946
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On a steamy summer day in late May 1946, the Great Bambino boarded an airplane in Mexico City, ready to head home to La Guardia Airport in New York. But he made a quick stop in Corpus Christi, of all places.
Babe Ruth was in Mexico City on a trip with Bernardo Pasquel, vice president of the Mexican Baseball League. Bernardo’s brother, league president Jorge Pasquel, was attempting to lure the retired legend into accepting an executive position with the league. Ruth spent about two weeks south of the border, including participating in a batting exhibition which resulted in a monthlong suspension for the pitcher, who allegedly attempted to strike out Ruth.
The news of his trip was all over the national sports pages, with most assuming he would accept some type of position with the league. But Ruth didn’t talk about any offers on his return, holding firm that he was just on a vacation with his wife, daughter and son-in-law.
The Corpus Christi Jaycees, upon finding out Ruth would be traveling to Mexico City in early May, reached out to see if the Sultan of Swat would stop in Corpus Christi and make an appearance at Buc Stadium to help promote local baseball, which residents thought needed a shot in the arm. Ruth wrote back that he would be unable to stop.
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But then on May 31, as Ruth and his wife flew home on Eastern Airways, they made a quick pit stop in Corpus Christi. They landed at Cliff Maus Airport, and Ruth’s first comment upon exiting the plane: “Lord, it’s hot.”
When asked by Caller-Times reporter Hoyt Hager about his trip to Mexico City, Ruth merely said he’d gone “for a good time,” and no deals were made with the Mexican league. He told another outlet that he spent most of his time playing golf and fishing, and Hager mentioned the already peeling sunburn the legend sported on his arms from time spent in Acapulco.
Ruth met with the head of the Corpus Christi chapter of Disabled American Veterans, who invited him to that weekend’s state convention, but Ruth had an engagement in New York the next day.
Instead, Ruth and his wife stopped into the airport’s café the Fly Inn, and had a Coke among local admirers. The Fly Inn was a small lunch spot, with only 10 red stools for seating, but offered up freshly made food and cold drinks to the weary traveler. According to Hager, everyone in the airport was full of talk of Ruth’s stop, with the exception of a 7-year-old who finally asked, “Who’s Babe Ruth?”
The Babe then boarded the plane and was off to New York. He became ill in November that year, with what was eventually determined to be cancer, and died in 1948.
Allison Ehrlich writes about things to do in South Texas and has a weekly Throwback Thursday column on local history.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Babe Ruth made brief stop at Corpus Christi airport in 1946
