Babe's Dream facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Babe's Dream |
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Artist | Susan Luery |
Year | 1995 |
Medium | Bronze |
Dimensions | 16 feet (4.9 m) tall |
Location | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
39°17′5.81″N 76°37′14.56″W / 39.2849472°N 76.6207111°W | |
Owner | Maryland Stadium Authority |
Babe's Dream is a bronze statue of the legendary baseball player Babe Ruth. Artist Susan Luery created it in 1995. You can see this impressive statue in Baltimore, Maryland. It stands at West Camden Street and South Eutaw Street, near Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The statue shows Babe Ruth wearing a baseball glove. However, there's a small mistake! The glove is for a right-handed player, but Babe Ruth actually threw the ball with his left hand.
Contents
Meet Babe Ruth: A Baseball Legend
Even though Babe Ruth became super famous playing for the New York Yankees, his story began in Baltimore. He was born and grew up there. It was also where he first learned to play baseball.
Babe's Early Life and Baseball Start
Babe's Dream shows Ruth as a young man, just starting his baseball career. The artist, Susan Luery, wanted to show his big dreams. She wanted to capture his hope of making it to the major leagues. Baseball was a way for him to escape a tough childhood.
Babe Ruth was born on February 6, 1895. When he was seven, his parents sent him to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys in Baltimore. They hoped he would learn more discipline there. This school turned out to be where Babe truly fell in love with baseball.
Babe Ruth's Amazing Career
Babe Ruth is a true legend in baseball history. He played for 22 years! He set a record for career home runs with 714. This record stood for a long time, until Hank Aaron broke it in 1974. Many people say Ruth changed the game of baseball in America forever. His hometown of Baltimore wanted to honor his achievements. They decided to dedicate a statue to his amazing life and legend.
The statue shows Ruth as a strong competitor. He is looking out into the future, ready for what's next. Susan Luery, the artist, said he looked like "a man looking at his destiny." She felt his determined pose showed he was a great player. He was facing forward, with his whole career ahead of him. From that point, Ruth's career quickly soared into the record books.
The Artist Behind Babe's Dream
Susan Luery, the artist, was also born in Baltimore, Maryland. She studied art at the Maryland Institute College of Art. There, she learned to make her artwork even better.
How the Statue Was Made
To create Babe's Dream, Luery did a lot of research. She read books about Babe Ruth. She also talked to people who knew a lot about him and baseball. This helped her feel a strong connection to her subject. She even had someone who looked like Babe Ruth come to her studio. This model helped her get the details just right.
It took Luery seven months to create a smaller, 28-inch model of the statue. After that, she started working on the much larger version. She finished the 16-foot-tall statue in 1994. It was placed at Camden Yards on Babe Ruth's 100th birthday in February 1995. The statue was officially shown to the public at an Orioles baseball game. Luery and Babe Ruth's daughter, Julia Ruth Stevens, even threw out the first pitch to celebrate!