Babe Ruth’s Last Visit to Hot Springs
May 25th, 2016Babe’s Last Visit to Hot Springs
This never-before-seen photo, shot circa 1941, is believed to be the only photograph of baseball legend Babe Ruth in Hot Springs in the 1940s.
Posted online by an anonymous Midwestern blogger in her “Me, Take Three” blog, it shows the writer’s father, Robert Harrison Jr., at age 3 with the legendary Ruth in what is believed to be Whittington Park. Harrison, an Air Force Photography Corps veteran, passed away at the age of 77 in 2015.
Ruth was a huge fan of Hot Springs and visited often, as part of baseball spring training and later as an enthusiastic lover of the city and its attractions. His legendary 500-foot-plus home run into the Arkansas Alligator Farm is chronicled elsewhere on this website.
A big thank you to the daughter of Robert Harrison, Jr. for providing us with this historic photo of Babe in Hot Springs.